Bunzl Distribution: Packaged for Performance

The Bunzl Group of companies began as a small haberdashery in 19th century Europe. In the 1880s the business was based in Vienna, Austria, and over the next half century, it grew to become a significant paper manufacturing and trading group that spanned much of Europe. Company headquarters were relocated to London, England in the years preceding World War II. After the War, the company began focusing on developing a worldwide group of companies in the paper industries.

As one of the first to recognize the growth potential of the paper distribution business in North America, Bunzl plc looked to the United States to expand its business interests internationally. The initial acquisition in 1981 of Jersey Paper, a distributor of disposable and coarse paper products, based in South Brunswick, New Jersey, was the beginning of Bunzl's outsourcing business, which would become Bunzl's largest and most profitable division.

In the early 1990s, Bunzl Distribution relocated its U.S. headquarters to St. Louis, Missouri, and secured its position as the largest nationwide distributor of disposable paper and plastic packaging supplies to the supermarket industry. While Bunzl Distribution USA grew internally, it also pursued a successful strategy of growth by acquisition. Additional acquisitions included several significant U.S. regional competitors, as well as expansion into Canada and Mexico.

In 1998, Bunzl began trading in its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:BNL) under a sponsored program based on existing shares.

Bunzl Expands Into Processor Industry

At the beginning of the 21st Century, additional acquisitions and new business opportunities continued to define the company and chart its growth and success in new and existing markets, such as redistribution and food processor supplies industries.

In the food processor and packer industry, Bunzl's position was greatly enhanced with the 2000 acquisition of Koch Supplies, which had been a family-owned business since it was founded in 1883. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, Koch was one of the nation's leading suppliers to the meat and food processing industry, providing everything from packaging materials to work and safety apparel. Additional acquisitions included Packers Engineering & Equipment, a leader in plant operating supplies to the beef and pork processor industries, and Enterprise, Inc., a food processing supplies business.

These acquisitions complemented and expanded Bunzl's existing network in the food processor and packer industry, allowing the company to combine and expand its product offering and become a leader in this growing market segment. As the food and meat processing industry continued to experience intense consolidation, Bunzl's brought a wealth of management, warehousing and market distribution expertise to the processor industry, providing customers with an even higher level of quality and service.

As its Processor Division thrived, Bunzl introduced a private label product line called Prime SourceĻ, featuring an array of high-quality products designed specifically to meet the needs of resellers in the foodservice, janitorial, industrial and healthcare industries.

Today, Bunzl plc is a focused international company providing outsourcing solutions and value-added distribution. With sales over $5 billion, Bunzl provides efficient service to business customers worldwide from 15 countries.

With more than 250,000 different supply items, 84 warehouses serving North America, including Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico, and more than 2,800 employees, Bunzl Distribution Inc., the outsourcing services company, continues to be the largest division of Bunzl plc.