Champion International Paper

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 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. Champion merged with St. Regis Corporation in the summer of 1984. [7] [8]

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. [9] 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. [10]

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. [11] 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. [12] [11]

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. [13] 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. [14]

Related Research Articles

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base US Air Force base near Dayton, Ohio, United States

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene and Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. Patterson Field is approximately 16 kilometres (10 mi) northeast of Dayton; Wright Field is approximately 8.0 kilometres (5 mi) northeast of Dayton.

The Merritt Parkway is a limited-access parkway in Fairfield County, Connecticut, with a small section near 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 as the continuation of 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".

Windham Textile and History Museum 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.

Pawtucket Canal 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.

Union Station (New Haven) Main railway station in New Haven, CT

Union Station, also known as New Haven Railroad Station or simply New Haven, is the main railroad passenger station in New Haven, Connecticut. Designed by noted American architect Cass Gilbert, the 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 until it fell into decline, along with the rest of the railroad industry in North America after World War II. It was shuttered in 1972, leaving only the under-track 'subway' open for passengers, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 3, 1975, but it was almost demolished before the Northeast Corridor Improvement Project in 1979. Reopened after extensive renovations in early 1985, it is now the premier gateway to the city.

Eli Whitney Museum museum in Hamden, Connecticut, USA

The Eli Whitney Museum, in Hamden, Connecticut, is an experimental learning workshop for students, teachers, and families. The museum's main building is located on a portion of the Eli Whitney Gun Factory site, a gun factory erected by Eli Whitney in 1798. The museum focuses on teaching experiments that are the roots of design and invention, featuring hands-on building projects and exhibits on Whitney and A. C. Gilbert.

Blackstone Canal United States historic place

The Blackstone Canal was a waterway linking Worcester, Massachusetts, to Providence, Rhode Island through the Blackstone Valley via a series of locks and canals during the early 19th century.

Lake Whitney (Connecticut)

Lake Whitney is a lake in Hamden, Connecticut, that is a part of the Mill River. The lake was a water source for the New Haven, Connecticut, metro area, until it was discontinued in the early 1990s. Now with a new water treatment facility rated for up to 15 million gallons per day, Lake Whitney has been reconnected as a reserve water source for the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority. This act has caused a lot of controversy in the area mainly because of residents' concerns about the water flow over the waterfall into the Mill River. Because of this, the regional water authority has agreed to extract only enough water to satisfy the need and change these levels depending upon the season. They also agreed to install a pump to ensure the flow of water over the dam at all times and are currently building a fish ladder to allow fish to swim upriver.

Kelly-Springfield Tire 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.

Merrimack Canal

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.

Watertown Arsenal Historic former US military base

The Watertown Arsenal was a major American arsenal located on the northern shore of the Charles River in Watertown, Massachusetts. The site is now registered on the ASCE's List of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks and on the U.S.'s National Register of Historic Places, and it is home to a park, restaurants, mixed use office space, and currently serves as the national headquarters for athenahealth.

Vietnam Memorial Bridge

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 bridge that was built in 1889 by New Jersey Steel and Iron Company and was designed by Edward S. Shaw.

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 formerly a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average from 1959–1991, though after 1987 it had renamed itself Primerica, a financial conglomerate which had divested itself of its packaging arm in 1986.

Lowell Power Canal System and Pawtucket Gatehouse United States historic place

The Lowell Power Canal System is the largest power canal system in the United States, at 5.6 miles in length. The system's estimated output is 10,000 horsepower, operating 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.

Middlefield–Becket Stone Arch Railroad Bridge District United States historic place

The Middlefield–Becket Stone Arch Railroad Bridge District is a historic district extending through parts of the towns of Chester, Middlefield, and Becket, Massachusetts. The district encompasses a 3.7-mile (6.0 km) stretch of railroad right of way in which there are ten bridge crossings, including nine over the west branch of the Westfield River. The bridges were built in four time periods: 1840, 1866, 1912, and 1928. Nine of the ten bridges are stone or concrete masonry work, and one is a truss girder bridge. All are, with only minor exceptions, in excellent and original condition. The bridges were built to carry the Western Railroad through on its run from the Connecticut River to the Hudson River. This section of railroad was the most expensive the company had to build, costing over $1 million in 1840.

Greeneville (Norwich, Connecticut) 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.

Wyman-Gordon

Wyman-Gordon is a company that designs and manufactures complex metal components. Founded in 1883 as a manufacturer of crankshafts for looms, it has a long history of making forged metal components, particularly for the aerospace industry. Wyman-Gordon is now a subsidiary of Precision Castparts Corp., and is based in Houston, Texas. It has 13 plants in five countries, and employed about 2,500 people as of 2012.

Monadnock Mills 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.

Buffalo Mill Historic District United States historic place

Buffalo Mill Historic District is a national historic district located at Buffalo, Union County, South Carolina. The district encompasses 190 contributing buildings and 2 contributing structures associated with the Buffalo Mill textile mill complex and mill village. The mill complex includes the main mill, mill office, power house, ice factory, mill warehouse, company store, and company bank/drug store. The main mill building features applied stylized Romanesque Revival detailing. The mill village housing varies from large, free-classic, Queen Anne style supervisor's houses, to shingle-style bungalows, to simple, one-story, workers residences. The village also includes a school and a baseball field/park.

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. Pomeroy, C. David, Jr.: Pasadena, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved October 29, 2009. Texas State Historical Association
  7. Cole, Robert J. (August 1, 1984). "Champion, St. Regis set merger". New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  8. "Market gains on economic news". Milwaukee Journal. August 1, 1984. p. 8, part 2.
  9. Reilly, Amy Messinger. "Corporate Facts: Champion International Corp.," The Advocate and Greenwich Time (Connecticut). June 18, 1989. p. E-4.
  10. "Accord Clears Way to Give River New Look". March 13, 1988. p. 24. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  11. 1 2 "International Paper to relocate headquarters". msnbc.com. 2005-08-16. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  12. 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.
  13. "International Paper, Lawrence Co.'s largest employer, closing Courtland mill". WAFF TV. 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  14. Wetzel, Michael (March 23, 2017). "IP begins demolition of closed Courtland mill". The Decatur Daily . Retrieved October 16, 2017.