Dart Container
 |
|
| Private | |
| Industry | Single-use food service packaging |
| Founded | 1960 |
| Founder | William A. Dart |
| Headquarters | Mason, Michigan |
|
Number of locations
|
45 Production, Distribution, Office Facilities |
|
Key people
|
Robert C. Dart, CEO Kenneth Dart, Chairman |
| Products |
Foam food service products Plastic cups & containers Paper cups |
|
Number of employees
|
15,000 |
| Website | http://dartcontainer.com |
Dart Container Corporation of Mason, Michigan, United States is the world's largest manufacturer of foam cups and containers, producing about as many as all competitors combined. Dart Container is privately held by the Dart family.
In May 2012, Dart acquired Illinois-based Solo Cup Company and now has approximately 15,000 employees and more than 45 production, distribution center, and office locations in eight countries.
Dart Manufacturing Company was founded in 1937 by William F. Dart as a machine shop, manufacturing key rings, steel tape measures, and dog tags for the Department of Defense. When his son, William A. Dart, came out of the University of Michigan with three degrees (metallurgy, mathematics, and engineering), he worked for DuPont briefly, then joined the family business in the late 1950s. He experimented with and perfected an expandable polystyrene (EPS) molding process, and shipped their first insulated foam cups in April 1960. Dart Container Corporation was incorporated in 1960.
Dart Container Corporation is vertically integrated, which, according to the company, makes it "virtually self-sufficient". "We manufacture our own equipment, produce the raw material for our products, turn the raw materials into finished products and then deliver them throughout the world via trucks we own and operate. There are only a few things, like cartons, that we don’t produce in-house. We even have our own printing capabilities and make our own ink!”
Family Business ranks Dart Container 37th in their listing of family companies, with an estimated $1.1 billion in sales, and 4,950 employees.
Dart Container purchased Solo Cup Company in May 2012 in a deal valued at approximately $1 billion. The iconic Solo red cup was slated to remain under the Solo name.
The company is owned by brothers Kenneth B. Dart and Robert C. Dart, who renounced their U.S. citizenship in 1994. Kenneth Dart then established a relationship with the nation of Belize, which promptly sought U.S. permission to open a consulate in Sarasota with Dart as its consul. The request was rejected by the State Department, and the brothers eventually moved to the Cayman Islands. They have several business concerns on the islands, including Dart Enterprises which is a holding company involved in several projects, including the Camana Bay town development.
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Wikipedia