KapStone Paper & Packaging (formerly Stone Arcade Acquisition Corporation) is an American pulp and paper company based in

Northbrook, Illinois Northbrook is a suburb of Chicago, located at the northern edge of Cook County, Illinois, United States, on the border of Lake County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 35,222. When incorporated in 1901, the village was known as Shermerv ...

. 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 A special purpose acquisition company (SPAC; ), also known as a "blank check company", is a shell corporation listed on a stock exchange with the purpose of acquiring a private company, thus making it public without going through the traditional ...

, 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 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 s ...

. 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 corporation, 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 ...

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 packa ...

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;

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 ...

Summerville, South Carolina Summerville is a town in the U.S. state of South Carolina situated mostly in Dorchester County, with small portions in Berkeley and Charleston counties. It is part of the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...

, 21 corrugated box and

corrugated fiberboard Corrugated fiberboard or corrugated cardboard is a type of packaging material consisting of a fluted corrugated sheet and one or two flat linerboards. It is made on "flute lamination machines" or "corrugators" and is used for making corrugate ...

plants, and 65 packaging distribution centers. 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 corrugate ...

, saturating Kraft products,

Corrugated fiberboard Corrugated fiberboard or corrugated cardboard is a type of packaging material consisting of a fluted corrugated sheet and one or two flat linerboards. It is made on "flute lamination machines" or "corrugators" and is used for making corrugate ...

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, w ...

. 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