Vendor Spotlight
Fabri-Kal was incorporated in 1950 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, when seven shareholders purchased the Kalamazoo Paper Box Company’s plastic segment and set up shop in 5,000 square feet of a former A&P grocery store.
The first products Fabri-Kal produced were paint cups for the paint-by-number industry. The company soon expanded into manufacturing oriented polystyrene meat trays and pizza lids and then diversified into proprietary stock packaging products, including plastic cups, lids and acrylic chair mats.
In 1961 the company built a 25,000 square foot manufacturing facility on East Cork Street in Kalamazoo and by 1967, a second Fabri-Kal manufacturing plant began operation in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. In 1969, as its employee roster neared 400, the Fabri-Kal Foundation was established to support cultural diversity and provide higher-education tuition assistance to young-adult children of Fabri-Kal employees.
In 1981, Fabri-Kal built its third plastic packaging plant in Piedmont, South Carolina, and opened its new headquarters building in Kalamazoo. By the late 1990’s Fabri-Kal had worked with some of the biggest brands in the food industry, establishing their position as a preferred manufacturer in the Custom Packaging Goods market.
In 2004 we added a new material to our portfolio, Polylactic Acid (PLA). We became one of the first to market with a PLA cup when we launched Greenware Drink Cups. In 2008, Fabri-Kal purchased a 400,000-square-foot vacant plant in Kalamazoo and began a two-year renovation with environmental responsibility in mind. The new state-of-the-art design and manufacturing facility was awarded LEED® Silver certification in 2010.
In 2015 Fabri-Kal opened a plant in Burley, Idaho, to focus on manufacturing a new line of products, made from plant fiber. With nearly 70 years of leadership and continued growth, Fabri-Kal remains family owned and home to more than 1,000 employees.
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