Joe Harris, Founder of Harris Packaging and American Carton Company, Passes Away

Joe Harris, founder of Harris Packaging and American Carton Company, passed away on Saturday September 30. AICC will share an obituary and other information as we receive it. The following information was pulled from the Harris Packaging web site.
 
Joe Harris began his career in corrugated in 1967. After working in the industry successfully for almost a decade, he decided to start Harris Packaging Corporation. It was in 1976 that Joe began as a broker operating out of a 2,350sqft building in Dallas. Within a short amount of time Joe and his wife Joyce made the decision to try their hand in manufacturing. They purchased a small sheet plant in Haltom City and were involved in every aspect of the business, even running the machines on the weekends when needed. With many years of learning, hard work, and dedication the company has grown to over 200 customers, around 150 employees and 290,000sqft of production and warehouse space. Further expansion came in 1992 when Joe chose to open a folding carton facility, American Carton Company. With this addition, it has allowed Harris to diversify the mix of packaging that it can offer to the customer.
 
Joe credits the company growth to Harris Packaging’s ability to provide consistent quality, service, and design, but mostly to the experienced staff. Many of Harris Packaging’s employees have been with the company now for over 20 yrs. There are even some of the longtime employees who have their grown children working alongside them. It was in 2006 that Joe decided to ask his daughters Jenise and Jana to learn the family business in hopes of continuing the Harris legacy into the next generation. Joe’s daughters graciously accepted the challenge and they are leading the company today.