The company that Irving Schaffer began just weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor is now a national paper warehousing, converting, and distribution resource of surpassing size, scope, and power.
A Tradition of Excellence
History of Case Paper
In the Beginning...
Irv Schaffer couldn't have known it then, but when he started his career as a paper salesman in 1936, it was to begin a journey that would lead to today's Case Paper Company — a family enterprise even still!
It was five years later in 1941, that Livingston & Southard (a job lot steel exporter), decided to enter the paper exporting business. A search was on to find management to establish the Livingston and Southard Paper Company, and Irving Schaffer was the choice.
Assigned to buy, warehouse, and export paper, Irv convinced the leading paper mills of the validity of the project. The new paper exporting enterprise was launched in November of 1941 — and functioned for three full weeks: On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the German submarine menace was just over the horizon. The paper operation was forced to focus on the domestic market until the threat of war was over.
Livingston & Southard gradually returned its focus to the original steel business, and offered Irv an opportunity to buy the paper company. In partnership with his brothers-in-law David and Oscar Kosh, Irving Schaffer launched Case Paper Company in January of 1943.
The war years were difficult, paper was hard to obtain, and draft notices loomed over the enterprising partners. But good luck, hard work, and good friends in the graphic arts industry combined to bring early success to Case Paper. That success accelerated with great speed, and the company moved to a building on Downing Street in Manhattan, a converted 19th-century stable.
Growth and Expansion
Case Paper quickly outgrew "the stable," so the partners acquired a building at 140 Perry Street. There they hired the first Case Paper employee, and installed the first cutting machine. Then in 1948, one of the nation's largest mills formally agreed to become a major paper supplier to Case. The first shipping manifest from that mill, dated January 31, 1948, could be considered the true birth certificate of today's Case Paper Company — it represented thirty-five tons of paper!
Case Paper's growth accelerated and another building on Perry Street was purchased. Business continued to outpace both locations, and public warehousing was used. Eventually in 1957, property was purchased in Long Island City, and plans were drawn for a new 100,000 square foot, state-of-the-art converting and warehousing facility. The new Case Paper building would house a battery of sheeters, slitters, and guillotine trimmers, establishing Case Paper as one of the largest converters in the industry. Soon after, that facility doubled in size.
In 1960 Case Paper initiated a national expansion via the acquisition of New York and Brooklyn Paper Company. New acquisitions or startups would follow over the next 32 years — Charlotte in 1963, Chicago in 1965, Miami in 1983, Philadelphia in 1988, and Denver in 1992. On the occasion of Case Paper's 50th anniversary in 1993, Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendel presented the company with a signed tribute celebrating Case Paper's continuing commitment to the city of Philadelphia.
The most recent change took place in 2000, when the Long Island City location was consolidated into the Philadelphia facility. To accommodate the merge, Philadelphia was expanded and renovated into an enormous 720,000 square foot state-of-the-art warehousing and converting facility. Today, Case Paper's northeast operations facility in Philadelphia can warehouse well over 60 million pounds of inventory, and ships dozens of truckloads of paper and board every business day.
In the Forefront of the Industry — Now and into the Future
While Case Paper National Headquarters remain in (Harrison) New York, it is more appropriately viewed as one of six autonomous branch operations. Part of a vast, integrated, national paper resource, each branch nevertheless operates independently, reflecting and responding to the unique requirements of the printing industry in the region in which it serves. As a team, the branches enjoy the buying power, the capabilities, and the synergies of the company as a whole.
The company that Irving Schaffer began just weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor is now a national warehousing, converting, and distribution resource of surpassing size, scope and power. Today, Case Paper continues as a family enterprise. It is owned by Irving Schaffer's four sons, and the day to day business is operated by Peter Schaffer (Chairman) and Robin Schaffer (President). As a company, Case is the largest of its kind — it has in excess of 80,000 tons of capacity, an equipment list like no other, and the very best in sales and service personnel in the paper and board industry.
