KapStone Paper & Packaging (formerly Stone Arcade Acquisition Corporation) is an American pulp and paper company based in Northbrook, Illinois. It was founded in 2005 as Stone. Since November 2018 it has been a subsidiary of WestRock Company.

History

Stone Arcade Acquisition Corporation, a special-purpose acquisition company, was started in 2005, and became an ongoing business concern when it completed its first acquisition—of

International Paper 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 ...

—in 2007. By 2010, the firm was ranked 5th in Fortune Magazine's list of 100 Fastest-Growing Companies. In 2011 it made the list again, ranked 20th fastest-growing. In October 2011, KapStone was ranked #10 on

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

list on 100 Best Small Companies. On August 27, 2015, members of the

Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers The Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers (AWPPW) is a trade union in the western United States affiliated with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. It was established in September 1964, when West Coast rank-and- ...

at KapStone's Longview paper mill went on strike for 10 days over stalled contract negotiations.

Acquisitions

The firm acquired the Roanoke Rapids kraft paper mill from International Paper in January 2007. In July 2008, it acquired the Charleston kraft paper mill from

MeadWestvaco MeadWestvaco Corporation was an American packaging company based in Richmond, Virginia. It had approximately 23,000 employees. In February 2006, it moved its corporate headquarters to Richmond. In March 2008, the company announced a change to sta ...

. On October 31, 2011, KapStone acquired U.S.Corrugated, Inc. It was started in 2006 by Dennis Mehiel, and primarily produces corrugated industrial packaging, with manufacturing facilities in seven states. KapStone acquired Longview Fibre Paper and Packaging from

Brookfield Asset Management Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a Canadian multinational company that is one of the world's largest alternative investment management companies, with over US$725 billion of assets under management in 2022. It focuses on direct contro ...

on July 18, 2013 . Two years later, on June 1, 2015, it acquired Victory Packaging, headquartered in Houston, Texas. On November 2, 2018, KapStone itself was acquired by rival pulp and paper company, WestRock Company.

Locations and subsidiaries

The company has

kraft paper Kraft paper or kraft is paper or paperboard (cardboard) produced from chemical pulp produced in the kraft process. Sack kraft paper (or just sack paper) is a porous kraft paper with high elasticity and high tear resistance, designed for packag ...

manufacturing facilities in

Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina Roanoke Rapids () is a city in Halifax County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 15,754 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Roanoke Rapids Micropolitan Statistical Area, and is also an anchor city of the Rocky Mo ...

;

Cowpens, South Carolina Cowpens is a town in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,162 at the 2010 census. The town was founded in 1876, and was incorporated in 1880. History The community was named on account of pens for cattle near th ...

;

North Charleston, South Carolina North Charleston is the third-largest city in the state of South Carolina.City Planning Department (2008-07)City of North Charleston boundary map. City of North Charleston. Retrieved January 21, 2011. On June 12, 1972, the city of North Charlest ...

;KapStone Paper Buying 6 MeadWestvaco Mills for $485 Million
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Longview, Washington Longview is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. It is the principal city of the Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cowlitz County. Longview's population was 37,818 at the time of the 2 ...

. Other assets include a

lumber mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

in Summerville, South Carolina, 21

corrugated box Corrugated box design is the process of matching design factors for corrugated fiberboard boxes with the functional physical, processing and end-use requirements. Packaging engineers work to meet the performance requirements of a box while control ...

and corrugated fiberboard plants, and 65 packaging

distribution centers A distribution center for a set of products is a warehouse or other specialized building, often with refrigeration or air conditioning, which is stocked with products (goods) to be redistributed to retailers, to wholesalers, or directly to con ...

. It has approximately 6,200 employees. There are several subsidiaries operating in specific fields or in specific countries: KapStone Kraft Paper Corporation, KapStone Charleston Kraft LLC, KapStone Container Corporation, KapStone Europe SPRL, KapStone Asia Limited.

Products

KapStone produces sack paper,

containerboard Containerboard or corrugated case material (CCM) is a type of paperboard specially manufactured for the production of corrugated board. It includes both linerboard and corrugating medium (or fluting), the two types of paper that make up corruga ...

, saturating Kraft products, Corrugated fiberboard sheets and boxes, and construction

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

. The company's paper brands include Kraftpak, DuraSorb, TEA-Kraft, FibreLok, FibreShield, and FibreGreen.

References

External links

WestRock Company website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kapstone American companies established in 2005 Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Companies based in Northbrook, Illinois Manufacturing companies based in Illinois Manufacturing companies established in 2005 Pulp and paper companies of the United States 2005 initial public offerings 2018 mergers and acquisitions Special-purpose acquisition companies