Champion International

Last updated

Champion International was a large paper and wood products producer based since 1980 in Stamford, Connecticut. [1] It was acquired by International Paper in 2000.

Contents

From 1893 it had been based in Hamilton, Ohio, expanding to plants in Texas and Western North Carolina by the 1930s. It was the largest coated paper manufacturer in the country through World War II, but struggled in the decades after that with industrial, labor and environmental issues.

History

The company was founded by Peter G. Thomson, who had purchased patents for a card coating machine from Charles H. Gage, president of the Champion Card and Paper Co. of Pepperell, Massachusetts. In exchange Gage received a half-interest in Thomson's venture. Thomson established the Champion Coated Paper Co. in 1893, building a plant in Hamilton, Ohio, along the Great Miami River, 20 miles (32 km) north of Cincinnati. Thomson at first advertised his company as the "western branch" of the better-known Massachusetts concern. [2] Thomson soon bought out Gage, and moved the entire Champion operation to Ohio. [3]

The Champion factory was completely destroyed in a December 1901 fire. It was rebuilt and back in operation by June 1902. [3] The factory was destroyed again in the Great Flood of 1913, when fire broke out. [4] The factory was rebuilt in three months. [5]

In the late 1930s, Champion opened a plant in Pasadena, Texas. [6] It also had a paper mill in Canton, North Carolina, in the western part of the state.

After Peter Thomson died in 1931, the company was taken over by his second eldest son, Alexander. Another son, Logan, took over Champion in 1935, and remained in charge until his death in 1946. [5]

Champion was the largest coated paper manufacturer in the country through World War II, but struggled after the war. The company laid off a third of its workforce in 1961, and merged with U. S. Plywood Corp. in 1967, forming U. S. Plywood-Champion Papers Inc. The name was changed to Champion International Corp. in 1972. [5]

In the 1980s, Champion's Chief Executive Officer, Andrew C. Sigler, pushed the company to find ways to redesign and improve manufacturing operations and quality of products. This led to a decade-long transformation, guided by principles of sociotechnical design. The success of the initial projects led the whole company to adopt the process. By various measures of revenue, output, and quality, the changes were successful. In a $2 billion dollar deal, Champion merged with St. Regis Corporation in the summer of 1984; St. Regis had been a takeover target of Rupert Murdoch. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

By the 1990s, environmental concerns were affecting the company's prospects for future growth. In the US, a growing awareness that the country was running out of space in its garbage dumps signaled changes in the markets served by the paper industry. Minimum standards for the use of recycled paper were increasingly adopted. Concerns about water pollution and toxic waste byproducts of the milling process were growing. [13] In particular, Champion settled several lawsuits brought by North Carolina and Tennessee over operations at their Canton, North Carolina site and, by 1999, had sold the paper mill there. [14]

The company's stock price was stagnant by the late 1990s as a new CEO, Richard Olson, came to the helm.

In 1980, the company headquarters had moved to Stamford, Connecticut, at One Champion Plaza (now 400 Atlantic Street). [1] In 2000, Champion was bought by International Paper, which moved its headquarters office from Purchase, New York, to Champion's headquarters in Stamford. [15] The Champion International building had been a cultural attraction for more than 20 years, hosting a small art museum known as the "Whitney at Champion". In 2005, International Paper moved their headquarters to Tennessee. Their former headquarters at 400 Atlantic Street was sold to the Landis Group, who stopped providing free space to the Whitney. [16] [15]

International Paper announced in September 2013 that it would shut down operations at its Courtland Mill facility in Courtland, Alabama, which had been one of the area's largest employers since 1970. [17] The abrupt announcement created economic and environmental concerns in Lawrence County, Alabama. Residents, current employees, and local businesses hoped the vacated facility would serve as home for another company but braced for a devastating economic impact. In March 2017, crews began the demolition of the 2,200-acre (890-hectare) facility. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merritt Parkway</span> Parkway in Connecticut

The Merritt Parkway is a controlled-access parkway in Fairfield County, Connecticut, with a small section at the northern end in New Haven County. Designed for Connecticut's Gold Coast, the parkway is known for its scenic layout, its uniquely styled signage, and the architecturally elaborate overpasses along the route. As one of the first, oldest parkways in the United States, it is designated as a National Scenic Byway and is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Signed as part of Route 15, it runs from the New York state line in Greenwich, where it serves to continue the Hutchinson River Parkway, to Exit 54 in Milford, where the Wilbur Cross Parkway begins. Facing bitter opposition, the project took six years to build in three different sections, with the Connecticut Department of Transportation constantly requiring additional funding due to the area's high property value. The parkway was named for U.S. Congressman Schuyler Merritt. In 2010, the National Trust for Historic Preservation called the Merritt Parkway one of "America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windham Textile and History Museum</span> Textile museum in Willimantic, Connecticut

The Windham Textile and History Museum is a museum in Willimantic, Connecticut, in the New England region of the United States. It is currently located in Main St.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway</span> Railroad operating in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin

The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway (DM&IR), informally known as the Missabe Road, was a railroad operating in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin that used to haul iron ore and later taconite to the Great Lakes ports of Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota. Control of the railway was acquired on May 10, 2004, by the Canadian National Railway (CN) when it purchased the assets of Great Lakes Transportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pawtucket Canal</span> Canal in Massachusetts, US

Completed in 1796, the Pawtucket Canal was originally built as a transportation canal to circumvent the Pawtucket Falls of the Merrimack River in East Chelmsford, Massachusetts. In the early 1820s it became a major component of the Lowell power canal system. with the founding of the textile industry at what became Lowell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Station (New Haven)</span> Railroad station in Connecticut

New Haven Union Station is the main railroad passenger station in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the third such station in the city of New Haven, preceded by both an 1848 built station in a different location, and an 1879 built station near the current station's location. Designed by noted American architect Cass Gilbert, the present beaux-arts Union Station was completed and opened in 1920 after the previous Union Station was destroyed by fire. It served the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad for the next five decades, but fell into decline following World War II along with the United States railroad industry as a whole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selfridge Air National Guard Base</span> Air National Guard base in Michigan, USA

Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I in April 1917.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republic Steel</span> Steel manufacturing company

Republic Steel is an American steel manufacturer that was once the country's third largest steel producer. It was founded as the Republic Iron and Steel Company in Youngstown, Ohio in 1899. After rising to prominence during the early 20th Century, Republic suffered heavy economic losses and was eventually bought out before re-emerging in the early 2000s as a subsidiary. The company currently manufactures Special Bar Quality (SBQ) steel bars and employs around 2,000 people. It is currently owned by Grupo Simec, based in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The Birmingham District is a geological area in the vicinity of Birmingham, Alabama, where the raw materials for making steel - limestone, iron ore, and coal - are found together in abundance. The district includes Red Mountain, Jones Valley, and the Warrior and Cahaba coal fields in Central Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackstone Canal</span> United States historic place

The Blackstone Canal was a manmade waterway, linking Worcester, Massachusetts, to Providence, Rhode Island, and Narragansett Bay, through the Blackstone Valley, via a series of locks and canals in the early 19th century. Construction started in 1825, and the canal opened three years later. After the opening of the Boston and Providence Railroad (1835), the canal struggled for business. Its transportation role was taken over by the Providence and Worcester Railroad, which completed a parallel line in 1847. The canal shut down in 1848. Several segments of the canal are preserved, and the canal alignment and remains are on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in Fairfield County, Connecticut</span>

This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The locations of National Register properties and districts for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below may be seen in an online map.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelly-Springfield Tire Company</span> Tire manufacturing company

The Kelly-Springfield Tire Company was an American manufacturer of tires for motor vehicles, it was founded in Springfield, Ohio by Edwin Kelly and Arthur Grant in 1894. It was acquired in 1935 by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, who maintained it as a subsidiary until 1999 when it was integrated into Goodyear North America. It continues today as a major brand under Goodyear.

The American Woolen Company is a designer, manufacturer and distributor of men’s and women’s worsted and woolen fabrics. Based in Stafford Springs, Connecticut, the company operates from the 160-year-old Warren Mills, which it acquired from Loro Piana SpA in June 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merrimack Canal</span> Canal in Lowell, Massachusetts

The Merrimack Canal is a power canal in Lowell, Massachusetts. The canal, dug in the 1820s, begins at the Pawtucket Canal just above Swamp Locks, and empties into the Merrimack River near the Boott Cotton Mills. The Merrimack Canal was the first major canal to be dug at Lowell exclusively for power purposes, and delivered 32 feet (9.8 m) of hydraulic head to the mills of the Merrimack Manufacturing Company. The Merrimack Manufacturing Company was the first of the major textile mills constructed in Lowell. It was demolished around 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vietnam Memorial Bridge</span> Bridge in South Hadley to Holyoke, Massachusetts

The Vietnam Memorial Bridge is a girder bridge that spans the Connecticut River between South Hadley and Holyoke, Massachusetts. It was built in 1990 to replace the original Holyoke-South Hadley, the Old County Bridge, which was built in 1889 by New Jersey Steel and Iron Company and was designed by Edward S. Shaw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Can Company</span> Former American manufacturer of tin cans

The American Can Company was a manufacturer of tin cans. It was a member of the Tin Can Trust, that controlled a "large percentage of business in the United States in tin cans, containers, and packages of tin." American Can Company ranked 97th among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts. During its peak of productivity, the American Can Company employed up to 800 people from the surrounding neighborhoods. It was a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average from 1959 to 1991, though after 1987 it had renamed itself Primerica, a financial conglomerate which had divested itself of its packaging arm in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company</span> American steelmaking company

The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company (1852–1952), also known as TCI and the Tennessee Company, was a major American steel manufacturer with interests in coal and iron ore mining and railroad operations. Originally based entirely within Tennessee, it relocated most of its business to Alabama in the late nineteenth century, following protests over its use of free convict labor. With a sizable real estate portfolio, the company owned several Birmingham satellite towns, including Ensley, Fairfield, Docena, Edgewater and Bayview. It also established a coal mining camp it sold to U.S. Steel which developed it into the Westfield, Alabama planned community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lowell Power Canal System and Pawtucket Gatehouse</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Lowell Power Canal System is the largest power canal system in the United States, at 5.6 miles in length. It is operating through six major canals on two levels, controlled by numerous gates. The system was begun in the 1790s, beginning its life as a transportation canal called the Pawtucket Canal, which was constructed to get logs from New Hampshire down the Merrimack River to shipbuilding centers at Newburyport, Massachusetts, bypassing the 30-plus-foot drop of the Pawtucket Falls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greeneville (Norwich, Connecticut)</span> United States historic place

Greeneville is a neighborhood of the city of Norwich, Connecticut, located northeast of downtown Norwich along the west bank of the Shetucket River. Most of the neighborhood is designated Greeneville Historic District, a historic district that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monadnock Mills</span> United States historic place

The Monadnock Mills are a historic mill complex in Claremont, New Hampshire. They extend along the southern bank of the Sugar River on both sides of Water Street, between the Broad Street bridge to the east, and the junction of Main and Water Streets in the west, where they abut the industrial area formerly associated with the Sullivan Machinery Company; there also a small number of surviving elements on the north side of the river opposite this area. The complex represents the surviving elements of what was once the largest manufacturing complex in the upper Connecticut River watershed area, and one of its oldest. The mills were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Many of its buildings have been repurposed to other uses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Smelting and Refining Company</span> Former ore refining facility in Tooele County, Utah, United States

The International Smelting and Refining Company was a subsidiary of Anaconda Copper that operated primarily out of the International Smelter near Tooele, Utah. The International Smelter began operation in 1910 as a copper producer handling ores from Bingham Canyon and was expanded into a lead smelting operation in 1912. Copper smelting finished at International in 1946, and the lead smelter shut down in January 1972. The closure of the smelter would lead to the associated Tooele Valley Railway to be shut down ten years later in 1982. The company also handled several other Anaconda owned interests. After the shut down of several of the International Smelting sites, environmental reclamation has been performed by Anaconda Copper's successor company ARCO and the EPA Superfund program.

References

  1. 1 2 Beller, Peter (2000-08-27). "In Business – Paper Company Moving To a Tower in Stamford". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2017-10-23.
  2. ↑ "The Champion Coated Paper Company". Laurel House. p. 1. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  3. 1 2 "The Champion Coated Paper Company". Laurel House. p. 2. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  4. ↑ "The Champion Coated Paper Company". Laurel House. p. 3. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 "The Champion Coated Paper Company". Laurel House. p. 4. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  6. ↑ Pasadena, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved October 29, 2009. Texas State Historical Association
  7. ↑ Potts, Mark (August 1, 1984). "St. Regis sets merger with Champion". Washington Post. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  8. ↑ "St. Regis, Champion International plan merger". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. August 1, 1984. p. 35.
  9. ↑ "St. Regis, Champion to merge". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 1, 1984. p. 12.
  10. ↑ Cole, Robert J. (August 1, 1984). "Champion, St. Regis set merger". New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Market gains on economic news". Milwaukee Journal. August 1, 1984. p. 8, part 2.
  12. ↑ Potts, Mark (August 29, 1984). "Paper company merger gets conditional go-ahead". Washington Post. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  13. ↑ Reilly, Amy Messinger. "Corporate Facts: Champion International Corp.," The Advocate and Greenwich Time (Connecticut). June 18, 1989. p. E-4.
  14. ↑ "Accord Clears Way to Give River New Look". March 13, 1988. p. 24. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  15. 1 2 "International Paper to relocate headquarters". msnbc.com. 2005-08-16. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  16. ↑ Charles, Eleanor (2001-03-18). "In the Region/Connecticut; Corporate Shift to Close Stamford's Whitney Branch". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2017-10-23.
  17. ↑ "International Paper, Lawrence Co.'s largest employer, closing Courtland mill". WAFF TV. 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  18. ↑ Wetzel, Michael (March 23, 2017). "IP begins demolition of closed Courtland mill". The Decatur Daily . Retrieved October 16, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.