St. Louis, MO-
By Eric Anderson
Anchor Packaging, the 8th largest plastic packaging thermoformer in North America, celebrates its first 50 years in business with a track record of rapid growth, quality and financial stability, according to a press release.
At a time when the U.S. thermoforming industry is undergoing dramatic consolidation and isolated bankruptcies, Anchor Packaging remains as a successful, privately-held entity with a strong balance sheet. The company began operation in November 8, 1963 as a converter of plastic film and expanded operations in 1978 to include thermoforming, sheet extrusion, and blown film. In 1985, a new manufacturing facility was constructed in Paragould, Arkansas to accommodate the thriving thermoforming business. As business continued to grow at a rapid pace, the facility was expanded several times until it reached its current capacity of 310,000 sq. ft. To accommodate its film business, Anchor established a 160,000 sq. ft. production facility in Marmaduke, Arkansas in 1990.
In total, Anchor facilities are over 2 million square feet which not only provides logistical efficiency, but also insures against supply chain interruptions by diversifying manufacturing across six separate locations.
Robert R. Hermann Jr., Chairman and CEO of Hermann Companies, Anchor’s parent, shared that “it has been a great 50 years for the company and for my family, as we have seen the seeds planted in 1963 grow into a thriving company with strong roots in extrusion, thermoforming, injection molding, blown film, printing, and trim-in-place technologies. We look ahead to another 50 years, as we continue to expand in existing markets and pursue opportunities to reach new markets”.
President Jeff Wolff, stated “our mission has been, and remains, to continually delight our customers. This company is well positioned for a virtually-unlimited horizon of new product possibilities and we expect the next 50 years to continue our legacy of meeting customer requirements with innovation and packaging solutions that make them successful.”
Anchor Packaging’s products include upscale take-out packaging used for merchandising prepared ready-to-heat meals in most supermarkets chains, and take-out meals in many major chain restaurants and other foodservice operations.
