Kaufman Container Celebrates Milestone

Kaufman Container (Cleveland, OH) is celebrating its 100th Year Anniversary. Starting off in 1910 as a small glass-recycling operation, the company has grown into a provider and decorator of glass, plastic, aluminum, and metal containers, tubes, closures, celon bands, and dispensing systems, offering custom molds and package development. It serves customers in personal care, household and industrial chemical, automotive, pet and vet, pharmaceutical, food, and beverage markets.

The company recently invited customers and suppliers to a 100th Anniversary Open House featuring a "Past and Present” theme. Guests were given a facility tour, including the firm's screen room, quality control lab, warehouse, and decorating facility. The Open House concluded with a 1910-esque cocktail party for guests and Kaufman’s staff, who listened to a Titanic-style string quartet and watched an old-time Charlie Chaplin reel.

Guests at Kaufman Container’s 100th Anniversary Open House get a tour of our state-of-the art decorating facility by KCC employee Patrick Fuhrmann.

Ken Slater, President of Kaufman Container, says even with the recent economic conditions over the past few years, Kaufman Container has been committed to withstanding the tough times for a brighter future.  “While nobody has been immune to this, we feel that Kaufman has great financial and market strength, as well as good supplier and customer relationships that have helped us weather the tough economic climate,” says Slater.  “We are optimistic about the future and in lieu of the tough times have even increased our sales force with the belief that things are slowly turning around.  We want to start planting those seeds now and be prepared for when that time does come. Continued growth is definitely in our future.”

Kaufman Container credits its success to the hard work and dedication of its employees over the years. “Being around for 100 years didn’t just happen by accident.  It took a lot of planning, hard work, and a little bit of luck to get here,” quips CEO Roger Seid, who decided he would express his gratitude by raffling off a car to a Kaufman employee.  “One of our mottos at Kaufman Container has always been ‘One More Thing.’  I wanted to extend that attitude to one of our outstanding and dedicated associates.”  All employees were entered and week by week names were removed from the drawing in a reverse-raffle style drawing.  The winning ticket – which was picked by Seid’s four-year-old granddaughter, the 4th generation of family involvement at Kaufman – went to a 27-year Kaufman employee. 

(left front) Chuck Borowiak, Vice President of Operation and (Center) Ken Slater, President celebrate with guests and Charlie Chaplin at Kaufman Container’s 100th Anniversary Open House at their facilities in Cleveland, Ohio.

That tenure is not rare at Kaufman Container, whose average employee length of service is 11.4 years.  Many employees have made their careers here at Kaufman and have truly become experts in the packaging and decorating industry.  With the breadth of knowledge and longevity that our employees carry, it’s hard to find a more qualified staff of people.  “We allow our employees to make smart decisions based on the training they have and the knowledge they carry in regards to their own customers and job responsibilities,” says Slater.  “The pace of business here is too fast not to empower our employees and allow them to make the best decisions possible for the company and our customers.  And if we don’t have the answer, our folks will not stop until we can find it.  Finding what our customers need is our utmost priority. Kaufman Container is determined to deliver a quality product with a level of service that cannot be beat.”

Three generations of the Seid family, who became owners of Kaufman Container in 1948.  From left, Anita Seid (wife of late Bernie Seid), Roger and Paula Seid, Sara and John Blankenship.

In 1982, Kaufman Container introduced its first decorating services based on customer demand. Starting off as a small-scale decorating facility for last-minute projects, it quickly grew into a state-of-the-art decorating operation. In 2006, the company relocated corporate headquarters in Cleveland, combining two buildings – one a warehouse and office, the other our decorating facility – into one. Other services added include Just-In-Time programs, warehouse spaces, quality assurance programs, in-house graphics teams, and supplier-audit programs.  Most recently, Kaufman Container has added roll stamping and a steam tunnel for shrink labeling to our already vast decorating options. Two state-of-the-art decorating facilities handle screen printing, hot and roll stamping, and pressure-sensitive and shrink labeling.  Warehousing programs are available in Minnesota and Ohio facilities as well. The corporate headquarters is located at 1000 Keystone Parkway in Cleveland, Ohio.