Corrugated Sheet and Box Production – October 2025 M&A Activity

In 1856, tall top hats were the height of fashion for men. Two English gentlemen in the hatter trade, Edward G. Healy and Edward E. Allen, resolved to find a material that would maintain the tall shape, yet was flexible to fit individual noggins. The solution they arrived at was to form paper into pleats, giving it a wavy shape for strength. They fed paper through a very simple hand-cranked machine that had two intersecting fluted rollers, typically used to create ruffled fabric, such as on collars or cuffs. They patented the invention in England, but never made the leap to using their invention to create a shipping box.

American ingenuity was behind the next step forward in the form of a US patent filed in 1871 by Albert L. Jones for “an improvement in paper for packing,” which described the use of “corrugated or crimped sheet of paper to one side of which is attached a flat sheet of paper by pasting” to create an effective cushion for the contents being packed. A common use was to wrap the corrugated paper around fragile items such as bottles or kerosene lamp chimneys.

Three years later, a machine was developed for producing large quantities of corrugated material. That same year, another inventor, Oliver Long, added a liner sheet to the second side, trapping the corrugation in the middle and producing the corrugated material we know today. In 1894, the first corrugated box was manufactured in the US. The cheaper product quickly replaced the previously dominant wooden crates and boxes used to ship products.

Corrugated’s Long Boom

For the past decade, the corrugated packaging sector has stood apart from the ups and downs of the broader general commercial print industry. Corrugated production surged before, during, and after the Covid pandemic shutdown. Every click by an online shopper echoed down the supply chain to a box converter, corrugated sheet production line, kraft linerboard mill, and yes, even to the loggers bringing in the raw timber for pulp. Business was good, which drove a steady stream of mergers and acquisitions.

As we observed as far back as 2015, the transactional activity in the manufacturing of boxes of all sorts was brisk, unlike its troubled cousin, commercial printing. Not only was the box far less susceptible to disruption by the transition of content to online sources, but the inherent recurring nature of packaging production also made the entire box supply chain desirable for investment. (See The Target Report: The Box is in Demand – October 2015.)

Three years later, we chronicled how the sector shed its image as a mature commodity business. At that time, the CEO of DS Smith (now merged into International Paper), commenting on the company’s acquisition, exclaimed that the corrugated segment was “an exciting and fast-paced environment where we are experiencing strong momentum.” (See The Target Report: Corrugated Gets Glam - May 2018.)

The enthusiasm for the corrugated box business continued unabated at the local supplier level with consolidators such as Welch Packaging. The company executed one acquisition after another in its laser-focused campaign of acquiring family-owned corrugated box companies. (See The Target Report: Catching the Wave in Corrugated Cartons – February 2020.)

The Covid pandemic certainly did not cool acquirers’ ardor for the corrugated business. In a classic bidding war that played out globally in the public markets, International Paper announced in April 2024 that it had prevailed over Mondi in the competition to land DS Smith. The industry was in a full-scale frenzy of roll-ups and consolidation plays. (See The Target Report: Corrugated Consolidation – June 2024.)

Corrugated Sheet and Box Producers Hit the Brakes

Now the story has turned. The Wall Street Journal reported in September 2025 that U.S. box shipments had fallen to their lowest levels since 2016 and that nearly nine percent of domestic containerboard capacity had gone offline within eight months. The Journal article stated that this was an unprecedented and sudden decline that represents roughly twice the capacity lost during the 2009 recession. The M&A and plant closure data from October confirms what many operators already feel: the corrugated market has entered an uncompromising correction phase. In October, corrugated producers announced the closure of four plants.

Georgia-Pacific is closing its corrugated box production facility in Mt. Olive, Illinois. This follows the company’s closure of its large containerboard mill in Cedar Springs, Georgia, announced in May 2025.

Smurfit-Westrock, headquartered in Ireland, announced the closure of a corrugated sheet & box production facility in the City of Industry in California. The company has been aggressively downsizing since Smurfit acquired Westrock in July 2024. The CEO noted that subsequent to the merger, the company has shed 4,500 employees and closed mill capacity of 500,000 tons of containerboard and consumer board grades. However, it is not all gloom and doom about the corrugated business at Smurfit-Westrock; the company recently announced that it would invest nearly $19.3 million in its Saltillo, Mississippi operation over the next year, expanding its production of corrugated cases, boxes, and trays.

Packaging Corporation of America (PCA) announced the closure of two corrugated sheet & box production facilities, one in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and the other in Salisbury, North Carolina. This follows the company’s earlier announcement this year that it would close its corrugated box manufacturing facility in East Point, Georgia.

As we previously reported, it was only a week after their respective shareholders had separately approved the sale of DS Smith to International Paper that International Paper announced the closure of six facilities. (See The Target Report: Paper Industry Transformation Moves Forward – October 2024.) Shortly after the deal closed on January 31, 2025, the drumbeat of plant closure announcements resumed. A total of eighteen plants have closed since International Paper won the bidding war for DS Smith.



Rationalization, Not Retreat

It would be a mistake to read the current downturn as existential for the corrugated business. The corrugated sector remains indispensable, but it is adjusting after a decade of relentless consolidation. The closures announced in October and over the past year represent the squeezing out of redundant and less efficient facilities. The combination of Smurfit with Westrock, each in itself the result of a series of mergers, and International Paper’s purchase of DS Smith were both huge deals, bringing together extensive networks of mills and production facilities. Such large deals are bound to require rationalization of facilities to eliminate redundancies. The surprise is not that these two behemoths are closing facilities; rather, it is the magnitude and scope of the reductions that tells us that the company’s leadership teams perceive soft underlying market conditions in addition to the need to rationalize their production networks.

The Wall Street Journal has hypothesized that the corrugated market is a harbinger of the state of the larger economy. As demand for corrugated sheet has retreated to the lowest levels since 2016, some see this as an indication that we are headed into a recession. Among other reasons, trade tensions have led to a decline in exports, thereby reducing demand. The housing market has been softer, resulting in reduced new purchases of appliances and furniture that require a lot of corrugated packaging. These and other trends find their way up through the supply chain, reducing demand for packaging.

Another theory for the dramatic reduction in demand for corrugated is that the big e‑commerce companies are revising their shipping processes, reducing box size, shipping more items in paper and plastic envelopes, and avoiding box-in-a-box packing. On-demand box-making machines that customize each box to the exact required size also reduce the use of packaging materials.

A Month of Mixed Signals

In contrast to all the plant closures in corrugated products, adjacent paper-based segments are holding their own. ProAmpac’s purchase of International Paper’s bag converting operations extends its sustainable-materials portfolio. Cascades sold its Cascades Flexible Packaging business to Texas-based Five Star Holding, which takes Cascades out of the printed plastic packaging and films business, allowing greater focus on its fiber-based businesses. The paper recycling business consolidated further with FV Recycling, a Mississippi-based portfolio company of Jones Capital, as it acquired Mid America Paper Recycling, a Chicago-based company.

At the level of the local box manufacturer, the aforementioned Welch Packaging added another notch to its belt. In October, Welch announced the “merger” with Phoenix/Packaging of Mount Joy, Pennsylvania. Welch has completed a continuous stream of 42 acquisitions and now has in excess of 1,700 employees with over 26 manufacturing plants. It is an extraordinary story of a steady and deliberate 40‑year execution of a mission-focused acquisition strategy.

Corrugated paper products remain at the heart of the physical economy. Boxes still move goods, convey brands, and while doing so, protect the contents inside. While it may be an indication of an economic slowdown or possibly an imminent recession, the present downturn may simply be the corrugated packaging industry catching its breath after a remarkable run.

   

	2025 October - Mergers and Acquisitions in the Printing, Packaging, Paper & Related Industries
	Deal Party #1 (Surviving Entity)	Pre-Deal Revenue (US$Mil)	Party #1 Address	Deal Party #2	Pre-Deal Revenue (US$Mil)	Party #2 Address	Date Deal Public	Deal Value (US$Mil)	Deal Structure (Intermediary)	Notes	Links
	Taylor Corporation	No Data	North Mankato, MN	Gooten	No Data	New York, NY	10/27/25	No Data	Acquisition	Print-on-Demand system	Link
	Taylor Corporation	No Data	Brooklyn, OH	Grover Gaming Printing	No Data	Ayden, NC	10/23/25	No Data	Assets Acquisition	Specialty gaming products	Link
	Welch Packaging Group	No Data	Elkhart, IN	Phoenix/Packaging	No Data	Mount Joy, PA	10/21/25	No Data	Acquisition	Corrugated boxes	Link
	CastlePierce	No Data	Oshkosh, WI	Quality Assured Label	No Data	New Hope, MN	10/20/25	No Data	Acquisition	Labels and carded packaging	Link
	ProAmpac (Port co. Pritzker Partners)	No Data	Cincinnati, OH	Bag converting operations (Div. International Paper)	No Data	CA, OR & TX (Memphis, TN)	10/17/25	No Data	Acquisition	Paper bag manufacturing	Link
	FV Recycling (Port co. Jones Capital)	No Data	Hattiesburg, MS	Mid America Paper Recycling	No Data	Chicago, IL	10/14/25	No Data	Acquisition	Paper recycling	Link
	Lewis Color	No Data	Statesboro, GA	Commercial Print Business (Div. Apex Color)	No Data	Jacksonville, Fl	10/13/25	No Data	Acquisition (Corp Dev Assoc)	Commercial printing	Link
	Wise	No Data	Alpharetta, GA	Business Forms Business (Div. Apex Color)	No Data	Jacksonville, Fl	10/13/25	No Data	Acquisition (Corp Dev Assoc)	Business forms	Link
	Five Star Holding	No Data	Houston, TX	Cascades Flexible Packaging (Div. Cascades)	No Data	Kingset Falls, QC	10/8/25	$22.2	Divestiture	Flexible packaging films	Link
	CAI Software (Port co. STG Partners)	No Data	Lincoln, RI	Print ePS	No Data	Pittsburgh, PA	10/8/25	No Data	Merger	MIS system for printing	Link
	Blazing Trails Media	No Data	Flagstaff, AZ	The Sidney Sun-Telegraph (+3 Titles)	No Data	Sidney, NE	10/3/25	No Data	Acquisition (Cribb & Associates)	Community newspapers	Link
	Sheridan Div. CJK Group	No Data	Brainerd, MN	Vicks Lithograph & Printing	No Data	Yorkville, NY	10/3/25	No Data	Select Assets Acquisition	Publication printing	Link
	Alexander Watson Associates	No Data	Amsterdam, The Netherlands	Stirling Consulting	No Data	Yarmouth, ME	10/1/25	No Data	Acquisition	Industry consulting	Link

   

	2025 October - Bankruptcy Filings in the Printing, Packaging, Paper & Related Industries
	Filing Party	Date Case Filed	Pre-Petition Revenue (US$Mil)	Case #	Filing Party Address	Circuit	Region & City	Judge	Attorney for Debtor	Notes
	Chapter 11 Filings:
	Bunting Graphics	10/9/25	No Data	25-22741	Verona, PA	3rd	Western PA Pittsburgh	Gregory L. Taddonio	Andrew K. Pratt	Architectural graphics & signage
	Altman & Nelson Printing Co., Inc.	10/1/25	No Data	25-60091	Victoria, TX	5th	Southern TX Houston	Christopher M. Lopez	Robert C. Lane	Commercial printing
	Chapter 7 Filings:
	Thermal Label Warehouse, LLC	10/30/25	No Data	25-32046	Knoxville, TN	6th	Eastern TN Knoxville	Suzanne H. Bauknight	Maurice K. Guinn	Thermal label distributor
	HI Wind Down Corporation (FKA Humanoids, Inc.)	10/13/25	No Data	25-11828	Los Angeles, CA	3rd	Delaware Wilmington	Thomas M. Horan	David M. Klauder	Comic & graphic novel publishing

   

	2025 October - Non-Bankruptcy Closures in the Printing, Packaging, Paper & Related Industries
	Closed Company / Facility	Date of Closure	Pre-Closure Revenue (US$Mil)	Closing Address	Related Party	Related Party Address	Date Closure Public	Notes	Press Releases
	Jet Packaging	12/7/25	No Data	Dickson, TN	ValorFlex	Dickson, TN	Oct-25	Flexible packaging & printed films	Link
	Rogers Printing	11/13/25	No Data	Ravenna, MI	None	N/A	Oct-25	Publication printing	Link
	Georgia-Pacific - Corrugated box plant	12/31/25	No Data	Mt. Olive, IL	Georgia-Pacific (Div. Koch Industries)	Atlanta, GA	10/30/25	Corrugated box production	Link
	Smurfit Westrock - Corrugated box plant	12/14/25	No Data	City of Industry, CA	Smurfit Westrock	Dublin, Ireland	10/29/25	Corrugated sheet & box production	Link
	Reindl Bindery (Div. Taylor Corp.)	11/12/25	No Data	Germantown, WI	Taylor Corporation	North Mankato, MN	10/7/25	Bindery & finishing services	Link
	PCA - Full-line corrugated box plant	12/1/25	No Data	Allentown, PA	Packaging Corporation of America (PCA)	Lake Forest, IL	10/7/25	Corrugated sheet & box production	Link
	PCA - Full-line corrugated box plant	12/19/25	No Data	Salisbury, NC	Packaging Corporation of America (PCA)	Lake Forest, IL	10/7/25	Corrugated sheet & box production	Link
	Flexoprint	Nov-25	No Data	Mesa, AZ	None	N/A	10/6/25	Flexible packaging films	Link
	Flexoprint	Nov-25	No Data	Baldwin, WI	None	N/A	10/6/25	Flexible packaging films	Link

PE Places Bets on Two New Packaging Platforms – September 2025 M&A Activity

September 2025 was marked by the establishment of two new private equity-backed platforms in the packaging segments, underscoring the continued appeal of packaging as a growth and consolidation play for financial sponsors. While the PE-driven fever to acquire new label printing and other packaging companies has steadily cooled down over the past three years, these latest transactions reaffirm that, although lessened, the owners of independent packaging printing companies can expect continued interest from private equity firms to provide at least one possible path to an exit when they are ready.

Portrait Capital Enters the Packaging Segment

A new platform focused on label printing was formed by Portrait Capital, which entered the sector with two acquisitions announced on the same day. The platform was established with the acquisition of AAi Labels & Decals, located in Jonesboro, Arkansas. AAi Labels & Decals utilizes screen printing, flexography, offset, digital, and wide-format printing technologies to produce a diverse range of products, most notably durable labels that can withstand outdoor and industrial environments. Compliance requirements often drive demand for these products, and as such, they must often meet strict performance specifications. These labels include safety notices, informational decals, and nameplates that manufacturers apply to their new equipment products. Durable labels are attractive to private equity due to the regulatory-driven demand, high barriers to entry due to certification processes to meet specifications, and the recurring need for these types of labels on almost everything that is manufactured.

Portrait Capital simultaneously announced its first bolt-on acquisition to the AAi Labels platform, Texas-based Sticker Ranch. The acquired company sells labels via its online shopping portal, which includes a simple-to-use design tool and ordering interface. Sticker Ranch brings an updated sales channel to the mix, layered onto the well-established AAi production platform. The founder of Sticker Ranch has been tapped to be the CEO of the new platform, while the former owners of AAi Labels & Decals begin their transition to retirement. The announcement left no doubt that Portrait Capital will pursue additional strategic acquisitions for its new platform investment.

CORE Industrial Partners Forms Momentium

Momentium, a new company launched by CORE Industrial Partners, represents the creation of a platform brand to bring together prior related investments under one unified umbrella. The new platform brand was unveiled with the announcement that CORE acquired Superior Lithographics. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Superior specializes in large-format offset-printed products, including folding cartons, top sheets for corrugated cartons, and litho labels. The acquired company is focused on serving the food and consumer product markets that drive recurring revenue for printed packaging. Superior’s history is grounded in providing high-quality litho sheets that are used to decorate corrugated cartons, such as those used in discount-club warehouse-environment stores where consumers self-serve multipacks of a product.

In addition to the latest acquisition of Superior, the Momentium platform now incorporates CORE’s two prior packaging acquisitions. In December 2023, the fund acquired Century Box, a folding carton manufacturer based in Methuen, Massachusetts. In its announcement of that deal, Core Industrial Partners clearly articulated that Century Box was only the first round in its reentry to the packaging industry. Strategic initiatives and complementary acquisitions were planned and implemented. Less than a week later, the fund made good on its promise and announced round two, the acquisition of General Converting, a folding carton manufacturer in Bolingbrook, Illinois. (See The Target Report: The One-Two Punch Platform– November 2023.)

The aggregation of the three packaging companies under the Momentium platform brand enables CORE to promote a consolidated offering with over 400,000 square feet of manufacturing, with more than 370 employees across six facilities in three states. In addition to adding product capabilities, this latest acquisition reflects the strong trend in the packaging industry for companies to build geographic diversity via their acquisition strategies. With the purchase of Superior, Momentium can now claim coast-to-coast coverage in its manufacturing base. (For more on recent trends in the packaging segments, see The Target Report Annual Review – TTM August 2025.)

New Packaging Platforms Expand PE Focus to Specialty Labels

There has been a steady drumbeat of new platforms established in the packaging segments over the past couple of years. After several years of a red-hot market for flexo-based manufacturing companies that produce high-volume prime label products, the past year has been marked by the launch of platforms that aim to exploit more nuanced niches within the larger packaging market.

In June, Seneca Label & Packaging was launched by label industry veteran Nizar Elias with the purchase of Seneca Printing Express & Label.* The acquired company, located in western Pennsylvania, focuses primarily on serving the industrial market with cut-and-stack label products produced on offset presses. The acquisition was notable not only for the specialty products produced but also for the buyer’s plans to use Seneca Label as a platform for additional acquisitions.

In another non-prime-label transaction, Chattanooga, Tennessee-based private equity firm River Associates acquired ID Label at the end of last year. The acquired company produces variable information barcode labels and warehouse signage. The company’s labels, although not packaging per se, are attached to all sorts of packages as they move through the supply chain. River Associates noted that the acquisition was intended as a platform company investment and that they will be seeking complementary add-on acquisitions.

These differentiated packaging platforms illustrate a shift from high-volume prime labels toward specialized, defensible niches such as durable labels, variable barcode labels, industrial and compliance-driven products.

Abundant Opportunities Remain

Statistics from industry groups indicate that while the production of labels, folding cartons, and flexible packaging is highly concentrated in a few large manufacturers at the top end of each segment, there are still a considerable number of independently owned companies in the middle and especially at the lower end of the scale in terms of size. While the top firms capture a large share of the business, a substantial portion of the demand for packaging still goes to a long tail of independent companies that compete on service, customization, niche substrates and applications, speed-to-market, specialty coatings, short runs, and regional logistics. For owners contemplating an exit, September’s transactional activity serves as a reminder that private equity’s appetite for packaging remains strong, especially in specialized and differentiated niches.

* Graphic Arts Advisors, publisher of The Target Report, served as exclusive advisor to Seneca Printing Express & Label in this transaction.

   

	2025 September - Mergers and Acquisitions in the Printing, Packaging, Paper & Related Industries
	Deal Party #1 (Surviving Entity)	Pre-Deal Revenue (US$Mil)	Party #1 Address	Deal Party #2	Pre-Deal Revenue (US$Mil)	Party #2 Address	Date Deal Public	Deal Value (US$Mil)	Deal Structure (Intermediary)	Notes	Links
	O'Rourke Media Group	No Data	Saint Albans, VT	Gunnison Country Times	No Data	Gunnison, CO	9/30/25	No Data	Acquisition	Community newspaper	Link
	Welch Packaging Group	No Data	Elkhart, IN	Elite Packaging	No Data	Jeffersonville, IN	9/29/25	No Data	Acquisition	Corrugated boxes	Link
	Skandacor	No Data	Webster, NY	Bagels Systems	No Data	Barcelona, Spain	9/25/25	No Data	Acquisition	Print laminating equipment	Link
	J3 Marquee Ventures	No Data	Salisbury, MO	The Glasgow Missourian (Prop. Main Street Media)	No Data	Glasgow, MO	9/19/25	No Data	Acquisition (Dirks, Van Essen)	Community newspaper	Link
	Portrait Capital	No Data	New York, NY	Sticker Ranch	No Data	San Antonio, TX	9/19/25	No Data	Acquisition	Label printing	Link
	Portrait Capital	No Data	New York, NY	AAi Labels & Decals	No Data	Jonesboro, AR	9/19/25	No Data	Acquisition	Label printing	Link
	Hybrid Software Group	No Data	Cambridge, UK	Conics	No Data	Ypres, Belgium	9/18/25	No Data	Acquisition	Graphic software consulting	Link
	Momentium (Port co. CORE Industrial Partners)	No Data	Bolingbrook, IL	Superior Lithographics	No Data	Los Angeles, CA	9/16/25	No Data	Acquisition (Mesirow)	Folding cartons	Link
	Compu-Mail	$24.0	Grand Island, NY	Twenty-First Century Press	No Data	Buffalo, NY	9/10/25	No Data	Acquisition	Commercial Printing	Link
	Hybrid Software Group	No Data	Cambridge, UK	Brandz (Div. Congra Software)	No Data	Ghent, Belgium	9/10/25	No Data	Acquisition	Packaging design software	Link
	Labelink	No Data	Anjou, QC	l’Empreinte	No Data	Laval, QC	9/8/25	No Data	Acquisition	Commercial Printing	Link
	FIMI Opportunity Funds	No Data	Tel Aviv, Israel	Landa Corporation Ltd. dba Landa Digital Printing	$18.2	Rehovot, Israel	9/7/25	$80.0	Debt-to-Equity  Conversion	Digital printing equipment	Link
	Public Products	No Data	Sarasota, FL	BC Sales	No Data	Sarasota, FL	9/5/25	No Data	Acquisition	Screen printing apparel	Link
	South Texas News	No Data	Beeville, TX	The Banner-Press	No Data	Brenham, TX	9/5/25	No Data	Acquisition (Dirks, Van Essen)	Community newspaper	Link
	Paxton Media Group	No Data	Paducah, KY	Better Newspapers (15 titles)	No Data	Mascoutah, IL	9/2/25	No Data	Acquisition (Cribb & Associates)	Community newspapers	Link
	Paxton Media Group	No Data	Paducah, KY	Leader Publications (3 titles) (Prop. Boone Newsmedia)	No Data	Niles, MI	9/2/25	No Data	Acquisition (Cribb & Associates)	Community newspapers	Link
	Veritiv (Port co. Clayton, Dubilier & Rice)	No Data	Atlanta, GA	S. Walter Packaging Corp.	No Data	Trevose, PA	9/2/25	No Data	Acquisition	Specialty packaging	Link
	Nelson Media	No Data	Ansgar, IA	The Belmond Independent	No Data	Belmond, IA	9/1/25	No Data	Acquisition	Community newspaper	Link

   

	2025 September - Bankruptcy Filings in the Printing, Packaging, Paper & Related Industries
	Filing Party	Date Case Filed	Pre-Petition Revenue (US$Mil)	Case #	Filing Party Address	Circuit	Region & City	Judge	Attorney for Debtor	Notes
	Chapter 11 Filings:
	Rockford Silk Screen Process, Inc.	9/17/25	No Data	25-81268	Loves Park, IL	7th	Northern IL Rockford	Thomas M. Lynch	George P. Hampilos	Fleet graphics
	Presentation Media	9/2/25	No Data	25-17723	Gardena, CA	9th	Central CA Los Angeles	Sheri Bluebond	Steven R. Fox	Retail display & trade show exhibits
	Chapter 7 Filings:
	All In Graphics & Printing LLC	9/11/25	No Data	25-15365	Las Vegas, NV	9th	Nevada Las Vegas	Natalie M. Cox	Rory J. Vohwinkel	Printing & copying
	Baldwin Graphics, Inc.	9/4/25	No Data	25-00364	Washington, DC	4th	District of Columbia	Elizabeth L. Gunn	Richard G. Hall	Printing & copying

   

	2025 September - Non-Bankruptcy Closures in the Printing, Packaging, Paper & Related Industries
	Closed Company / Facility	Date of Closure	Pre-Closure Revenue (US$Mil)	Closing Address	Related Party	Related Party Address	Date Closure Public	Notes	Press Releases
	Phoenix Press	10/9/25	No Data	New Haven, CT	None	N/A	Sep-25	Commercial printing	Link
	Epic Print	10/16/25	No Data	Fletcher, NC	None	N/A	Sep-25	Commercial printing	Link
	Action Printing	10/31/25	No Data	Fond du Lac, WI	Marketing.com (Port co. JAL Equity)	Eureka, MO	9/26/25	Publication & catalog printing	Link
	Sheridan - Printing facility	2/28/26	No Data	Random Lakes, WI	Sheridan (Div. CJK Group)	Madison, WI	9/22/25	Publication & catalog printing (Formerly Times Printing, then Kappa Printing)	Link