MeadWestvaco#History

MeadWestvaco was a producer of packaging, specialty papers, consumer and office products and specialty chemicals. The company had 153 operating and office locations in 30 countries, and served customers in over 100 countries. The company’s paperboard, package and paper brands included Carrier Kote, Custom Kote, Printkote, Tango, Digipak, Amaray, Dosepak and Vision. MeadWestvaco held leading positions in the markets it served. MeadWestvaco managed over 3 million acres (12,000 km²) of forestlands that met environmental standards and was certified to Sustainable Forestry Initiative standards.{{cite web |url=http://www.meadwestvaco.com/NewsEvents/PressCenter/index.htm |title=MWV: Press Releases |publisher=MWV |access-date=4 May 2012}}{{cite web |url=http://www.meadwestvaco.com/StewardshipSustainability/EnvironmentalPerformance/index.htm |title=MWV: Environmental Performance |work=MWV: Press Releases |publisher=MWV |access-date=4 May 2012}}

MeadWestvaco was formed in January 2002 as the result of a merger between The Mead Corporation of Dayton, Ohio, and Westvaco.{{Cite news|last1=Sidel|first1=Robin|last2=Sook Kim|first2=Queena|date=2001-08-30|title=Mead and Westvaco Agree to Merge In Marriage of Midsize Paper Firms|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB999036749291230444|access-date=2021-08-09|issn=0099-9660}}{{Cite news|date=29 January 2002|title=COMPANY NEWS; MEAD AND WESTVACO SHAREHOLDERS APPROVE MERGER|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/29/business/company-news-mead-and-westvaco-shareholders-approve-merger.html|access-date=2021-08-09|issn=0362-4331}}

The Mead Corporation was founded as Ells, Claflin & Co in 1846.{{Cite web|title=WestRock Co.|url=https://richmond.com/business/westrock-co/article_4c9455a7-1770-56bf-a968-5b5a69a1e0bb.html|access-date=2021-08-09|website=Richmond Times-Dispatch|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=7 January 1946|title=Firm Marking Century of Paper Making|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/412201607/|access-date=2021-08-12|website=Newspapers.com|language=en}} In 1856, the name was changed to Weston & Mead. In 1861, it became Mead & Weston. In 1881, the company's name changed again, this time to The Mead Paper Company. In 1890, the Ingham Mill in Chillicothe was purchased by the Mead Paper Company, making it a two mill operation.{{Cite web|last=Breeden|first=Tom|title=The Life & Death of "Mother" Mead|url=https://www.chillicothegazette.com/story/news/2021/03/28/life-death-mother-mead/6974766002/|access-date=2021-08-12|website=Chillicothe Gazette|language=en-US}} In June 1906, the mill in Dayton closed and milling operations shifted to the Ingham Mill.{{Cite web|date=8 June 1906|title=Mill is Moved|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/290073564/|access-date=2021-08-12|website=Newspapers.com|language=en}}

In 1888, Westvaco's predecessor company was founded as Piedmont Pulp & Paper Co.{{Cite web|last=Blackwell|first=John|title=Mead Westvaco merger creates $16 billion packaging giant|url=https://richmond.com/mead-westvaco-merger-creates-16-billion-packaging-giant/article_f91191d9-c30b-5dd1-9a9b-cb976f89c508.html|access-date=2021-08-09|website=Richmond Times-Dispatch|date=27 January 2015 |language=en}}

In March 1920, the Mead Fibre Company was created to take over operations of the Kingsport Pulp Corporation in Kingsport, Tennessee.{{Cite web|date=23 February 1923|title=Mead Fibre Employs More Men than Any Other Plant|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/590904542/|access-date=2021-08-12|website=Newspapers.com|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=7 March 1920|title=The Mead Fibre Company|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/667601041/|access-date=2021-08-12|website=Newspapers.com|language=en}} In 1921, the Mead Sales Company was formed to sell the Mead Paper Company's projects.{{Cite web|date=7 January 1946|title=Firm Marking Century of Paper Making|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/412201607/|access-date=2021-08-12|website=Newspapers.com|language=en}} In 1928, the Mead Paperboard Corporation was formed to operate mills in Virginia, South Carolina and Tennessee. In 1930, the Mead Corporation was formed to unite the several Mead companies under one umbrella.{{Cite web|date=13 May 1930|title=Plan $120,000,000 Debenture Issue to City Service|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/172931399/|access-date=2021-08-12|website=Newspapers.com|language=en}}

During the 1930s and '40s, the company acquired several mills and companies, including the Dill and Collins mill in Philadelphia, the Brunswick Pulp and Paper Company in Brunswick, Georgia and the Escanaba Paper Company. It was first listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1935.{{Cite web|last=Breeden|first=Tom|title=The Life & Death of "Mother" Mead|url=https://www.chillicothegazette.com/story/news/2021/03/28/life-death-mother-mead/6974766002/|access-date=2021-08-12|website=Chillicothe Gazette|language=en-US}}

In 1955, Mead acquired the Chillicothe Paper Company and the Jackson Box Company.{{Cite web|last=Breeden|first=Tom|title=The Life & Death of "Mother" Mead|url=https://www.chillicothegazette.com/story/news/2021/03/28/life-death-mother-mead/6974766002/|access-date=2021-08-12|website=Chillicothe Gazette|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=16 November 1955|title=Sale of Chilpaco to Mead Ok'd|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/292435282/|access-date=2021-08-13|website=Newspapers.com|language=en}} In 1957, Mead acquired Cleveland Paper, a merchant paper distributor.

In 1966, Mead acquired Westab, a school supply company whose product line included the Big Chief tablet, Spiral Notebook brand and Hytone Notebooks.{{Cite web|date=9 June 1966|title=Westab, Inc. Is Merged With Mead|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/198218991/|access-date=2021-08-13|website=Newspapers.com|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=11 May 1966|title=Education Key To Merger Plan|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/404296072/|access-date=2021-08-13|website=Newspapers.com|language=en}}

In 1968, Mead entered the information technology sector by acquiring Data Corporation for $6 million and renaming it Mead Data Central.{{Cite book|last1=Bourne|first1=Charles P.|url=http://archive.org/details/historyonlineinf00bour|title=A history of online information services, 1963-1976|last2=Hahn|first2=Trudi Bellardo|date=2003|publisher=Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press|others=Library Genesis|isbn=978-0-262-02538-6}} Mead was originally interested in an inkjet printing system developed by Data. However, Data had also been working on a full-text information retrieval system for the U.S. Air Force, and by 1967 had adapted this product to the task of indexing and searching legal precedent as part of an experiment with the Ohio State Bar.{{Cite book|last1=Bourne|first1=Charles P.|url=http://archive.org/details/historyonlineinf00bour|title=A history of online information services, 1963-1976|last2=Hahn|first2=Trudi Bellardo|date=2003|publisher=Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press|others=Library Genesis|isbn=978-0-262-02538-6}} After a study led by Arthur D. Little indicated that the product had a profitable future, Mead Data Central launched it as the LEXIS legal research system in 1973. In December 1994, Mead sold the LexisNexis system to Reed Elsevier for $1.5 billion.{{Cite news|last=Gargan|first=Edward A.|date=1994-10-06|title=THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Reed-Elsevier Building Big Presence in the U.S.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/06/business/the-media-business-reed-elsevier-building-big-presence-in-the-us.html|access-date=2021-08-13|issn=0362-4331}}

The U.S. state of Illinois subsequently audited Mead's income tax returns and charged Mead an additional $4 million in income tax and penalties for the sale of LexisNexis; Mead paid the tax, but sued for a refund in Illinois state court.{{Cite web|date=2008-04-15|title=Court rules on two tax cases|url=https://www.scotusblog.com/2008/04/court-rules-on-two-tax-cases/|access-date=2021-07-26|website=SCOTUSblog|language=en-US}} On April 15, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed with Mead that the Illinois courts had incorrectly applied the Court's precedents on whether Illinois could constitutionally apply its income tax to Mead, an out-of-state, Ohio-based corporation.MeadWestvaco Corp. v. Illinois Dep't. of Revenue, 553 U.S. 16 (2008).{{Cite web|date=17 April 2008|title=Execution: Attorney general asks for lifting of stays|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/422936330/|access-date=2021-07-28|website=Newspapers.com|language=en}} The Court reversed and remanded so that the lower courts could apply the correct test and determine whether Mead and Lexis were a "unitary" business.

In the 1960s and '70s, Mead acquired several companies, including the Woodward Corp, an iron company, in 1968, Stanley Furniture of Virginia in 1969 and Murray Rubber in 1977. In 1978, Mead and 13 other companies were sued for violating anti-trust laws.{{Cite web|date=8 September 1982|title=Mead settles in antitrust lawsuit|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/395618943/|access-date=2021-08-13|website=Newspapers.com|language=en}} The suit alleged that the companies had collaborated to increase the cost of cardboard containers between March 1973 and December 1975. In 1982, Mead settled an antitrust lawsuit for $45 million.

In 1986, Mead acquired Ampad makers of legal pads which it sold in 1992 to Bain Capital.

Mead acquired the Hilroy Companies in 1994 from a consortium of banks that had purchased Olympia and York from the receiver, O&Y's subsidiary through Abitibi-Price.

In 2005, the Papers business unit—including both Mead and Westvaco paper mills—was sold to the investment firm Cerberus Capital Management for about $2.3 billion. The new company was called NewPage Corporation.

In 2008, MeadWestvaco sold its Charleston, SC kraft paper mill to Kapstone Paper and Packaging.[https://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2008/04/07/afx4862038.html Forbes.com]{{dead link|date=January 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Also in 2008, MeadWestvaco began using the "MWV" brand.{{cite web|date=24 March 2008|title=MWV : MeadWestvaco Becomes MWV in Global Rebranding Initiative|url=http://www.meadwestvaco.com/NewsEvents/PressReleases/ReleasesReplacableContent/MWV004032|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209144610/http://www.meadwestvaco.com/NewsEvents/PressReleases/ReleasesReplacableContent/MWV004032|archive-date=9 February 2012|access-date=4 May 2012|work=MWV: Press Releases|publisher=MWV}}

In February 2011, MeadWestvaco sold its Envelope Products Business, including the Columbian Brand Envelope, to Cenveo Corporation's Quality Park Envelope Products Group.

In 2012, ACCO Brands acquired Mead.

In January 2015, MeadWestvaco and Rock-Tenn Co agreed to a merger.{{Cite web|last=Blackwell|first=John|title=Mead Westvaco merger creates $16 billion packaging giant|url=https://richmond.com/mead-westvaco-merger-creates-16-billion-packaging-giant/article_f91191d9-c30b-5dd1-9a9b-cb976f89c508.html|access-date=2021-08-09|website=Richmond Times-Dispatch|date=27 January 2015 |language=en}}

In 2002, researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have identified MeadWestvaco as the 57th-largest corporate producer of air pollution in the United States, with roughly 35,000 pounds of toxic chemicals released annually into the air.{{cite web|url=http://www.peri.umass.edu/toxic100_2004/ |title=PERI: Toxic 100 Air Polluters Table |publisher=Political Economy Research Institute |access-date=4 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507130101/http://www.peri.umass.edu/toxic100_2004/ |archive-date=7 May 2013 }} Major pollutants indicated by the study include sulfuric acid, chlorine dioxide, chlorine, and methyl iodide.[http://www.rtknet.org/new/tox100/toxic100.php?company1=15450&chemfac=chem&advbasic=bas Toxics Release Inventory courtesy rtknet.org]{{Dead link|date=May 2012}}

MeadWestvaco took steps to improve its environmental impact by upholding both mandated and voluntary performance standards. It was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, a system that tracks the financial performance of leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide. MWV met the carbon reduction targets of the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), the world's first and North America's only legally binding rules-based greenhouse gas emissions allowance trading system. It held leadership positions in and actively supports Sustainable Packaging Coalition, Cerflor, CCX, World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Abundant Forests Alliance, Duke University Climate Change Policy Partnership and Sustainable Forestry Initiative.[http://www.meadwestvaco.com/mwv/groups/content/documents/document/mwv004092.pdf MWV Sustainability Overview 2007] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209144458/http://www.meadwestvaco.com/mwv/groups/content/documents/document/mwv004092.pdf |date=2012-02-09 }} retrieved 12 June 2008

In 2002, MeadWestvaco established the MeadWestvaco Foundation as a vehicle to appropriately give back to the communities in which its employees live and work. The Foundation works closely with local MWV business unit managers to determine the goals, priorities, and strategies best for each location.

The Foundation’s 2007 contributions totaled roughly $3.7million. Funds were allocated to the following categories: United Way, education, environment, health & human services, culture & art, and civic organizations. MWV employees, families, and friends also contributed over 46,000 volunteer hours to schools, charitable organizations, and public institutions.[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5306/is_200707/ai_n21293746/pg_1?tag=artBody;col1 MeadWestvaco Gives Back to Community]{{Dead link|date=May 2012}} retrieved November 16, 2008

• Mount Arvon

• [http://www.meadwestvaco.com/ Company website]
• [http://biz.yahoo.com/p/m/mwv.html Yahoo.com company profile]
• [http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~alleghanyhighlands/westvaco.html History of Westvaco]
• [https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/findingaids/mc00496 Guide to the MeadWestvaco Research Reports 1945-2006]
• [https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/findingaids/mc00649 Guide to the John Thurmes Collection of MeadWestvaco Research Reports 1960-2005]
• [https://foresthistory.org/research-explore/archives-library/fhs-archival-collections/inventory-of-the-westvaco-corporation-records/ Inventory of the Westvaco Corporation Records, 1902 - 2010] in the Forest History Society Library and Archives, Durham, NC
• [https://foresthistory.org/research-explore/archives-library/fhs-archival-collections/inventory-oxford-paper-company-records-1915-1983/ Inventory of the Oxford Paper Company Records, 1915 - 1983] in the Forest History Society Library and Archives, Durham, NC
• [https://foresthistory.org/research-explore/archives-library/fhs-archival-collections/inventory-douglas-crutchfield-papers-1972-1992/ Papers, 1972 - 1992] in the Forest History Society Library and Archives, Durham, NC
• [http://www.hilroy.ca Hilroy.ca]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20151018003354/http://www.lib.jmu.edu/special/manuscripts/WestVAPulp.aspx/ West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company Logging Photographs, 1927-1931] at James Madison University's Special Collections.

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Category:Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange

Category:Companies based in Richmond, Virginia

Category:Mineral County, West Virginia

Category:Manufacturing companies based in Virginia

Category:Manufacturing companies established in 2002

Category:Defunct pulp and paper companies

Category:2002 establishments in Virginia

Category:Pulp and paper companies of the United States

Category:Packaging companies of the United States