Container Corporation of America

Container Corporation of America (CCA) was an American packaging manufacturer established in 1926 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Its principal business was the production of corrugated boxes and related container products, placing the company within the expanding industrial packaging sector that supported shipping, storage, retail distribution, and manufacturing. The company later became notable not only for its packaging operations but also for its unusually ambitious engagement with graphic arts, information design, and public-interest communication. Under the leadership of Walter Paepcke, CCA developed a reputation as a corporate patron of modern art and design. The company assembled an art collection and commissioned work from prominent artists and designers. Some of this collection was subsequently transferred to the National Museum of American Art. This cultural activity helped distinguish CCA from a conventional industrial manufacturer and made the company an important example of mid-century American corporate sponsorship of the arts. One of CCA's best-known design projects was the World Geo-Graphic Atlas, commissioned from Herbert Bayer in the late 1940s. CCA distributed the atlas without charge to more than 150 colleges and universities. The publication presented geographic information through a modernist visual system and was widely praised for its design and production quality. It demonstrated how the company used visual communication to express a broader corporate identity beyond its core packaging business. CCA also played a significant role in the history of environmental communication. In the spring of 1970, it sponsored a competition for a symbol promoting the recycling of paper products. The contest received more than 500 submissions and was won by Gary Anderson. His design became the universal recycling symbol, one of the most widely recognized public symbols in the world. The symbol's subsequent use extended far beyond CCA and helped associate the company with the emerging environmental and recycling movement. The company's corporate history was shaped by several changes in ownership and structure. In 1968, CCA merged with Montgomery Ward & Company, Inc. The combined organization was named MARCOR and maintained separate management for the two operating businesses while using a joint board of directors. Mobil Corporation acquired MARCOR in the early 1970s. In 1986, Mobil sold the CCA business to Jefferson Smurfit Corporation. Jefferson Smurfit later combined with Stone Container Corporation in 1998, creating Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation. CCA therefore ceased to exist as an independent corporate entity, although its packaging operations and design legacy continued through successor organizations.

Container Corporation of America was founded in 1926 in the United States and built its business around corrugated boxes and other paper-based container products. Its Chicago headquarters placed it within the industrial and commercial center of the American packaging sector. The company supplied packaging used for the movement and protection of goods, although the available historical account does not specify a complete product catalog, plant network, or customer list. CCA became particularly distinctive under Walter Paepcke, who encouraged the company to support modern art and graphic design. Rather than treating design solely as a packaging function, CCA used artistic commissions and publications to develop a broader corporate culture. The company accumulated an art collection that later found its way to the National Museum of American Art. This activity connected an ordinary industrial product category with the modernist design movement and contributed to CCA's lasting cultural profile. In the late 1940s, CCA commissioned Herbert Bayer to produce the World Geo-Graphic Atlas. The atlas used a highly designed visual language to present geographic information and was distributed free to more than 150 colleges and universities. Its reception illustrated the extent to which CCA's design program had moved beyond advertising and packaging into major informational publishing. The company's most enduring public contribution came in 1970. CCA sponsored a contest for a symbol that could promote the recycling of paper products. More than 500 entries were submitted, and Gary Anderson won with the design now recognized as the universal recycling symbol. Although the symbol subsequently became a general sign for recycling rather than a proprietary expression of CCA, the contest gave the company a lasting place in design and environmental-communication history. CCA's corporate structure changed substantially in the late twentieth century. In 1968, it merged with Montgomery Ward & Company, Inc., forming MARCOR. The two operating businesses retained separate management, while a joint board governed the combined organization. Mobil Corporation acquired MARCOR in the early 1970s. Mobil later sold the CCA business to Jefferson Smurfit Corporation in 1986. In 1998, Jefferson Smurfit merged with Stone Container Corporation to form Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation. These transactions ended CCA's life as an independent company, while transferring its packaging activities into successor corporate groups. Its principal historical legacies are therefore both industrial and cultural: the production of corrugated packaging and the sponsorship of influential modernist design, including the recycling symbol.

• 1998

  Formation of Smurfit-Stone Container

  [1]Container Corporation of Americaen.wikipedia.org

  Jefferson Smurfit merged with Stone Container Corporation, incorporating the former CCA business into Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation.

• 1986

  Sale to Jefferson Smurfit

  [1]Container Corporation of Americaen.wikipedia.org

  Mobil sold the CCA business to Jefferson Smurfit Corporation.

• 1970

  Recycling symbol contest

  [1]Container Corporation of Americaen.wikipedia.org

  CCA sponsored the contest won by Gary Anderson's design for what became the universal recycling symbol.

• 1968

  Merger with Montgomery Ward

  [1]Container Corporation of Americaen.wikipedia.org

  CCA merged with Montgomery Ward & Company, Inc., creating MARCOR while retaining separate operating management.

• 1940

  Herbert Bayer atlas commissioned

  [1]Container Corporation of Americaen.wikipedia.org

  In the late 1940s, CCA commissioned Herbert Bayer to create the World Geo-Graphic Atlas.

• 1926

  Company founded

  [1]Container Corporation of Americaen.wikipedia.org

  Container Corporation of America was established as a United States manufacturer of corrugated boxes.

An industrial packaging company whose historical identity was strengthened by corporate patronage of modern art, graphic design, information design, and recycling communication.

• Paper packaging · 1926

  Corrugated boxes

  Corrugated boxes were CCA's core industrial product. They provided lightweight, stackable protection for goods during shipping, storage, and distribution. The available historical material identifies corrugated-box manufacturing as the company's principal business, but does not provide a detailed breakdown of grades, formats, customers, or manufacturing sites.

• Information design publication · 1940

  World Geo-Graphic Atlas

  Commissioned from Herbert Bayer in the late 1940s, the World Geo-Graphic Atlas used modernist graphic design to organize and communicate geographic information. CCA distributed it free to more than 150 colleges and universities, making the publication a prominent example of corporate-sponsored information design.

• 1970Recycling symbol design contest

  United States

  CCA invited designers to submit a symbol promoting the recycling of paper products. The contest attracted more than 500 submissions and was won by Gary Anderson.

  Outcome. The winning design became the universal recycling symbol and outlasted the company as a globally recognized environmental sign.

  Source

• 1986

  Sale of CCA to Jefferson SmurfitM&A

  Background

  After Mobil's ownership of MARCOR, the CCA business was divested as part of Mobil's corporate portfolio changes.

  Action taken

  Mobil sold the CCA company to Jefferson Smurfit Corporation.

  Aftermath

  The business later became part of Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation after Jefferson Smurfit merged with Stone Container in 1998.

  Source

• 1968

  Merge with Montgomery Ward to form MARCORM&A

  Background

  CCA combined with Montgomery Ward & Company, Inc. as part of a broader corporate structure that grouped the two businesses under MARCOR.

  Action taken

  The companies created MARCOR, retaining separate management for their operations and establishing a joint board of directors.

  Aftermath

  MARCOR was later acquired by Mobil Corporation in the early 1970s.

  Source

1. 1Container Corporation of Americaen.wikipedia.org
2. 21995 Superfund penaltyjustice.gov