Visy Industries
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| Headquarters | Melbourne, Australia |
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| Website | www |
Visy Industries was established in Melbourne, Australia in 1948 and has since grown to become one of the world’s largest privately owned paper, packaging and recycling companies. Today, Visy employs more than 9500 people in Australia and the United States (where it is known as Pratt Industries USA), with total sales exceeding more than $5 billion. Visy was owned by Richard Pratt until his death on 28 April 2009. when his son Anthony Pratt assumed the role of Executive Chairman. He has also presided over a major expansion into the Asian packaging market and moved to position Visy as a key player in food security for the region.
Today, Visy’s operational footprint extends from Sydney to Singapore, from Shanghai to San Francisco, with more than 180 facilities worldwide.
Visy Industries began in 1948 with a 1000-pound loan from Richard Pratt’s aunt, Ida Visbord, for whom the company is named. Originally, there were three partners – Visbord’s husband Max Plotka, Richard Pratt’s father Leon and engineer Les Feldman. From the day Visy opened for business in a Fitzroy, Melbourne factory there were indications this would be a company devoted to recycling and sustainability – the first corrugator it used was made from spare parts and recycled scrap metal.
After Leon Pratt’s death in 1969, his son Richard Pratt took over the reins and oversaw a dramatic expansion. Throughout the 1970s, Visy established new plants in New South Wales and Queensland, and by the end of the decade was making more than 100,000 tonnes of boxes a year. In the late 1970s and early 80s, Visy continued to grow but this time its major expansion was spearheaded by the decision to build 100% recycled paper mills, the first at Warwick Farm, Sydney. This decision not only signaled a shift in Visy’s corporate philosophy but placed the company at the forefront of the recycling movement in Australia, setting the company on the path to record growth and profits. By 1990, Visy’s national market share was over 40% with more than 2000 employees.
Richard and Anthony Pratt then set their sights on the huge American market, with the younger Pratt moving to the U.S. to oversee the start-up and development of Pratt Industries USA. Through a combination of acquisition and greenfielding 100% recycled paper mills and state-of-the-art corrugators, Pratt Industries USA showed remarkable progress in the ensuing two decades, growing from the 46th largest corrugated packaging producer in America to the 5th. Today, Pratt Industries USA employs more than 4000 people, more Americans than any other Australian company. It is the only major paper company in the US that is 100% recycled.
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Wikipedia