Every great company springs forth from a great idea. In our case, that idea was the concept of recycling. Our predecessors were granted a patent in the late 1890's for the process they developed to turn old newspapers into new paperboard, and we have been carrying that idea forward ever since.

Edward K. Mullen, Vice Chairman of the Board of The Newark Group, along with three co-investors, first invested in a mill in Newark, New Jersey called Newark Boxboard. A producer of 100% recycled paperboard, the mill needed customers, strong financial management and creative energy. The entrepreneurial spirit of the company was applied to developing innovative converting methods, the first of which was multi-ply laminating of completed book covers that joined together two panels and a spine in a continuing manufacturing process. This "unitizing" capability became the foundation of the company's second business, serving book manufacturers.

In the mid-1970's, Mr. Mullen recognized the need to control the quality of the supply feeding the mills, and acquired the mills' primary supplier, North Shore Recycled Fibers. This acquisition gave the growing company the vertical integration that characterizes it today. Acquisitions and investments in paperboard products brought capabilities for cores, tubes, roll headers and the like. The Newark Group acquired a major recycled paperboard business in Europe in 1999, and opened a manufacturing capability in solidboard for the North American market.

From recycling to manufacturing to converting, we developed and acquired the companies that made us a vertically integrated international recycled paperboard company. Along the way, we invested in each one, so that every business of the company is now a leader in its area of expertise in North America, and increasingly, among the top companies around the world. We are the only paperboard company with a manufacturing and product presence in both North America and Europe. And, we are continuing to grow.