Hammermill Paper Company is an American paper manufacturer originally founded in 1898 as the Ernst R. Behrend Company. The company was purchased in 1986 by

International Paper Company The International Paper Company is an American pulp and paper company, the largest such company in the world. It has approximately 56,000 employees, and is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. History The company was incorporated January 31, ...

, where the namesake survives as a

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

of paper.

History

Hammermill Paper Company was founded in 1898 by the brothers Ernst, Otto, and Bernard Behrend and their father Moritz Behrend in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

. Ernst served as President and Otto, secretary. Construction of their first paper mill, in Erie, began that same year. Behrend changed the name of the company before the first mill even opened in honor of his father's papermills in Germany. The company expanded by buying a mill in

Oswego, New York Oswego () is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 census. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in Upstate New York, about 35 miles (55km) northwest of Syracuse. It promotes itself as "The Port C ...

, that was making copier paper exclusively for

Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (; also known simply as Xerox) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut (ha ...

. In the 1960s, mills were acquired in

Lock Haven, Pennsylvania Lock Haven is the county seat of Clinton County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located near the confluence of the West Branch Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Creek, it is the principal city of the Lock Haven Micropolitan Statistical Area, ...

and near

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. In 1962, they bought the Strathmore Paper Company. After a failed takeover by

Paul Bilzerian Paul Alec Bilzerian ( hy, Փօլ Պիլզերեան, born 1950) is an American businessman and corporate takeover specialist. Education and family Bilzerian was born in Miami, Florida but grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts in an Armenian America ...

and brothers William and Earle I. Mack (sons of New Jersey real estate developer

H. Bert Mack H. Bert Mack (1912 - 1992) was an American real estate developer, founder of the Mack Company, and patriarch of the Mack family. Biography H. Bert Mack founded the Mack Company Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

headquarters in 1988.

Innovations

* 1952: Hammermill developed the neutracel pulping process. * 1954: In a cooperative venture with the Haloid-Xerox Company, they created the first xerographic copier papers. * 1986: Hammermill became the first manufacturer to market paper optimized for

laser printers Laser printing is an electrostatic digital printing process. It produces high-quality text and graphics (and moderate-quality photographs) by repeatedly passing a laser beam back and forth over a negatively-charged cylinder called a "drum" to d ...

References

External links

Hammermill brand at International Paper

International Paper Pulp and paper companies of the United States 1898 establishments in Pennsylvania Manufacturing companies established in 1898 Defunct pulp and paper companies Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1986 {{US-manufacturing-company-stub