Southeast Corrugated Manufacturer: Growth Through Consolidation

Originally published in Board Converting News March 29, 2021 edition by Len Prazych

Any boxmaker who has undertaken a plant consolidation project knows the level of communication, complexity and logistical precision that needs to happen for a successful outcome. Greg Rusk, owner of Cullman, Alabama based Rusken Packaging, an independent company founded in 1974 by Greg’s father, Bobby, knows the process well.

Having grown the Rusken brand to 14 facilities in seven southeastern states by a combination of deft acquisition and consolidation, it is the largest independent in the southeast, aside from Pratt Industries in Conyers, Georgia, where not coincidentally, Rusken’s latest consolidation project came to fruition in the midst of a pandemic, no less.

Cameron Bailey, Rusken Packaging’s Project Engineer, assumed the monumental task of facilitating the move of the machinery and assets of Conyers, Georgia based E. Smith Box, which Rusken acquired in 2018, and Canton, Georgia based Mullen & Company, which Rusken acquired in 2019, to a 550,000-square-foot facility at 1475 Highway 138 NE occupied by its partner, Corrugated Supplies Company (CSC), which operates a pair of 110-inch BHS corrugators that provide all the containerboard a new sheet plant could possibly convert. (This model of having a sheet plant located conveniently next to a CSC corrugator operation is one Rusken has incorporated in its Cullman, Alabama, and Harrisburg, Arkansas, locations.)

Read the article in its entirety here.

About Rusken: Rusken is a dynamic, modern integrated packaging company with locations throughout the Southeast United States. With fourteen (14) facilities in seven (7) states, Rusken is a forward-looking regional organization. Headquartered in Cullman, Alabama, Rusken has experienced exponential growth over the last decade. This success is driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, focus on family-based values and a commitment to a truly remarkable customer experience. From standard corrugated boxes to highly customized packaging solutions that require robust design-work, colorful printing and hand finishing, the good people behind the Rusken name are passionate about quality, delivery and customer smiles.