Great Northern Corp. Marks 50 Years in Business
APPLETON, WI—May 30, 2012—In the month of May, Great Northern Corp. celebrated its 50th anniversary in business, having grown from a handful of employees operating leased equipment in a rented building to an industry leader with more than 1,000 employees and operations in seven states.
Still headquartered where it all began in Appleton, WI, Great Northern is one of the nation’s largest independent producers of corrugated packaging. In addition to commercial and custom packaging, Great Northern is also a leader in consumer packaging, point-of-sale displays, edge protection solutions and protective roll cradles.
J. James Davis and Robert W. Brown are still active on the board of directors of the privately held company, which they founded in 1962 on the site of the current headquarters. They credit the company’s success, growth and future potential to the core values that have guided it from the beginning: integrity, personal commitment, entrepreneurial spirit and a shared future.
That entrepreneurial spirit is still a vital part of the culture at Great Northern, said Brown. “If we think we can do something to get an adequate return, and particularly if it isn’t exactly like the other products we’re making, we really encourage that kind of thinking.”
“In 20 years or 80 years, who knows what products we will have by then,” said Davis. “But I think the same core values will be in place. I can’t believe that human nature is going to change that much.”
About Great Northern Corp.
Great Northern Corp. designs, manufactures and distributes packaging solutions and point-of-sale display programs for industrial, commercial and retail products. Its operations include: consumer packaging and display, temporary and permanent displays, point-of-sale packaging and fulfillment services; commercial packaging, corrugated and custom packaging; laminations, VBoard® edge protection; and Rollguard protective packaging systems for rolled and cylindrical products. More information is available at www.greatnortherncorp.com.
Source: Great Northern.
