PaperFoamUSA
4220 U.S. 421 N., Suite 100, Wilmington

No. of employees: 30
Year founded: 2007 (PaperFoam USA); 1998 (parent company headquartered in the Netherlands)
Top local official: Malcolm Ford, global chief operations officer
Company description: PaperFoam makes injection-molded packaging from potato starch, paper fibers and cellulose that is biodegradable, compostable and recyclable with other paper products.
Products made locally: Ford: “Our [packaging] products are bespoke to each customer; we don’t have a standard product. Our Wilmington plant currently makes about 30 different packaging products. It’s a cut-and-paste operation: Our tooling, processes and raw materials are all the same. We can ship machines from one location to another as needed.”
Product distribution: Ford: “We ship across the U.S.”
What made the company decide to produce its goods locally? Ford: “In 2007, we had a large contract with Shorewood Packaging near Hampstead, for whom we made inserts for CDs. CDs were held in place by our product for many years. We wanted to be close to our customer. When [in 2020] I came on board to build this new facility, I decided to move it across the river from Leland to Wilmington so we could retain the personnel we had trained.”
Where is your packaging used? Ford: “Much of our packaging is for ‘next-tier-down’ brands of personal care products: men’s shaving brands, many items you’ll find at Walmart. Medical and dental instruments are packed in our trays, as are replacement keys for computer keyboards. Burt’s Bees lip balm and hand cream. HelloFresh uses PaperFoam to protect component parts of a recipe. Gift sets of men’s aftershave and body lotion are often packed in our product.”
What’s next for your company? Ford: “We believe that by the end of next year this factory will be full, with nearly 100 employees and over 100 machines, and we’ll be looking at the next opportunity, adding more machines here or setting up another plant in the U.S., either in Chicago or on the West Coast. That’s where the bulk of our big customers are located. If the sustainability trend continues to grow, we’ll establish another plant somewhere.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: To be considered for the Greater Wilmington Business Journal’s MADE feature, contact [email protected].