NJM Celebrates A Century of Packaging: 1915 – 2015
January 2015 begins NJM’s Celebration of 100 Years of growth in packaging: a Century, 100 Years, and our Anniversary in the manufacturing of packaging equipment. There are only a few companies who can tout this milestone. Each month of 2015, NJM will showcase a milestone from our 100 Year history. We will introduce you to some of the people who have directed the company to new heights in the industry — some you may even know; we will show you the development of new equipment that was engineered due to changes in the line of products and laws in North America; and we will provide you with a look at how NJM continues to work with our customers to meet their challenging packaging needs. Keep coming back to this Blog: “Not Just Machines” to follow our timeline through history.
Michel Lapierre launches NJM Packaging’s 100 Year Celebration at Pack Expo in Chicago
Our Company began in 1915 in Hoboken, NJ when three experienced men formed the Gefeys Machine Company: William Grupe, Sigurd Severson and Martin Feybusch. These men, who immigrated from Germany, were aware that certain classes of paper box and gluing machinery could no longer be brought in from Europe because of the World War I Atlantic Ocean shipping blockade. That blockade prompted the first automatic gluer for shoe boxes. As years of business continued, William Grupe & Sigurd Severson moved into other industries leaving Martin Feybusch as the inspired sole owner and President. He reorganized and changed the Company’s name to New Jersey Machine Corporation on August 21, 1918.
Feybusch’s aim was to “automate the packaging industry”. It took more than 30 years before that term became a common business term. His background as an importer and manufacturer of paper box and gluing machinery, his technical training as a mechanical engineer, and the ability to deal with people gave him his successful start. He looked for ways to improve paper items such as paper boxes, canisters, window displays, greeting cards and calendars to do many labeling and packaging projects.
The first New Jersey Machine Corporation manufacturing plant was located on 14th and Clinton Street with the first sales office located in the Guardian-Life Building off Union Square in New York City.
Join us again next month (and every month of 2015) as we bring you the second post in our “100 Year Series”. You can also read more about NJM’s History right now.