Bemis Company
Encyclopedia
Bemis Company, Inc. is an American
manufacturer of flexible packaging products (ranging from self-venting cook-in-bag vegetable packages to pet food bags to puncture-resistant, sterile medical packaging) and pressure-sensitive materials. Bemis divisions are located in 13 countries and its products are distributed worldwide. Bemis is part of the S&P 500
index.
Two key innovations Bemis' company originally pioneered were the printing and machine-sewing of bags. (Traditionally, bags were stenciled and hand-sewn.) Bemis' first order was for 200 half-barrel sacks. To allay worries that machine-sewn bags were inferior to traditional hand-sewn bags, Judson Bemis unconditionally guaranteed every bag his company manufactured.
In 1867, Judson Bemis' brother, Stephen A. Bemis, returned from the gold rush and joined Judson in the bag manufacturing business. Bemis Bro. Bag Co. opened its second plant in 1880 in Minneapolis, followed by a third in Omaha, Nebraska in 1888. These plants were followed by others in New Orleans, Superior (WI), San Francisco, Indianapolis, Memphis, Kansas City, Seattle, and Winnipeg. In the early 1900s Bemis opened its first paper bag manufacturing plant.
"If the world is a better place for our lives, that influence will go on forever." – Judson Moss Bemis
In July 2009, Bemis signed a definitive agreement with Rio Tinto Group
, a mining company, to acquire the American division of food packaging sub-company Alcan Packaging. This brought the company's employment to over 20,000 employees at 81 plants. Also, this acquisition raised pro forma 2009 net sales for Bemis to $4.8 billion (annually).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
manufacturer of flexible packaging products (ranging from self-venting cook-in-bag vegetable packages to pet food bags to puncture-resistant, sterile medical packaging) and pressure-sensitive materials. Bemis divisions are located in 13 countries and its products are distributed worldwide. Bemis is part of the S&P 500
S&P 500
The S&P 500 is a free-float capitalization-weighted index published since 1957 of the prices of 500 large-cap common stocks actively traded in the United States. The stocks included in the S&P 500 are those of large publicly held companies that trade on either of the two largest American stock...
index.
History
Bemis Inc. was founded by Judson Moss Bemis in 1858 in St. Louis, Missouri as a manufacturer of printed cotton bags for food products. Its first location was on the second floor of a machine shop, which provided steam to operate the printing presses and readily-available maintenance personnel for machine repairs.Two key innovations Bemis' company originally pioneered were the printing and machine-sewing of bags. (Traditionally, bags were stenciled and hand-sewn.) Bemis' first order was for 200 half-barrel sacks. To allay worries that machine-sewn bags were inferior to traditional hand-sewn bags, Judson Bemis unconditionally guaranteed every bag his company manufactured.
In 1867, Judson Bemis' brother, Stephen A. Bemis, returned from the gold rush and joined Judson in the bag manufacturing business. Bemis Bro. Bag Co. opened its second plant in 1880 in Minneapolis, followed by a third in Omaha, Nebraska in 1888. These plants were followed by others in New Orleans, Superior (WI), San Francisco, Indianapolis, Memphis, Kansas City, Seattle, and Winnipeg. In the early 1900s Bemis opened its first paper bag manufacturing plant.
"If the world is a better place for our lives, that influence will go on forever." – Judson Moss Bemis
Overview
Bemis currently comprises 13 sub-companies operating 81 plants in 13 countries. Bemis Company, Inc. is a large supplier of plastic products for the food industry, with secondary interests in medical, pharmaceutical, chemical, and agriculture industries.In July 2009, Bemis signed a definitive agreement with Rio Tinto Group
Rio Tinto Group
The Rio Tinto Group is a diversified, British-Australian, multinational mining and resources group with headquarters in London and Melbourne. The company was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto river, in Huelva, Spain from the...
, a mining company, to acquire the American division of food packaging sub-company Alcan Packaging. This brought the company's employment to over 20,000 employees at 81 plants. Also, this acquisition raised pro forma 2009 net sales for Bemis to $4.8 billion (annually).