Bemis Company

Bemis Company

Bemis Company was founded in 1858 by William Bemis as a bag manufacturer in St. Louis, Missouri. By the 20th century, it had grown into a leader in flexible packaging, supplying printed film and bags to the food, medical, and consumer products industries. The company went public in 1929 on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BMS) and operated as a publicly traded entity rather than a family office structure. The firm's strategy centered on high-volume, low-cost production of multilayer packaging films such as polyethylene and polypropylene. It served major accounts including Kraft Heinz, Nestlé, and Procter & Gamble. Bemis invested in barrier and sustainable materials, introducing compostable films and high-barrier laminates for food shelf-life extension. Geographically, Bemis had manufacturing in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Asia, and Latin America — with 60+ facilities (per company filings, 2018). Before its acquisition, Bemis employed roughly 16,000 people worldwide. The company maintained R&D centers focused on material science and packaging innovation. William F. Austen served as President and CEO from 2005 to 2019, leading the company through a decade of revenue growth and margin expansion. In June 2019, Amcor plc acquired Bemis in a transaction valued at approximately $6.8 billion (per Amcor press release, June 2019), creating the world's largest flexible packaging company. Bemis's structural differentiator was its scale and vertical integration in flexible packaging — controlling resin compounding, film extrusion, printing, and lamination under one roof. That integrated model allowed Bemis to offer end-to-end solutions for large food-and-beverage clients, a capability few competitors matched.