Handy Wacks Corporation is truly an Entrepreneurial
Family Business
Handy Wacks Corporation was organized on
the 8th day of July, 1929, and operated out of a facility on the Northwest side of Grand
Rapids, Michigan. Daniel W. Atkinson was one of the original stockholders, and Mr.
Atkinson proceeded to acquire sole owner ship of the assets of the company in September of
1932 and directed company operations until his death in 1934.
Lou A. Keller, the daughter of Daniel Atkinson, joined the
company as Office Manager, and assumed ownership of the company, along with her siblings,
Pearl (Atkinson) Burtch and Walter Atkinson, upon Daniel's death.
Incorporation papers were filed within the State of Michigan in
1935 to reflect the new ownership. Handy Wacks physically moved to Sparta Michigan in
1936.
Mrs. Keller's daughter, Irene Anderson, joined the company in
1944, and brought with her considerable skills as a bookkeeper and administrator. Upon the
retirement of Mrs. Keller in 1945, Irene Anderson and her husband, Clarence, continued the
general operation of the company. Clarence and Irene Anderson commenced buying stock in
Handy Wacks from Walter Atkinson & Pearl Burtch.
Irene did all of the office & bookkeeping work in the
mornings, packaged the product in the afternoons, and after leaving his job as Assistant
Postmaster in Sparta, Clarence, or "Andy" as he preferred to be called, went
down evenings and ran the machines to make product for the next days shipping.
The primary product at this time was a 12" x 13 1/2"
wall carton dispenser of waxed paper that was designed to hang from a cupboard door. At
that time, only approximately one third of the Handy Wacks product distribution was
achieved through wholesale jobbers, with the majority of the product destined for the
consumer market, often through mail order or selling to fundraising groups such as the
church and the PTA.
A newspaper article of 1942 points out the fact that at that
particular time in the history of the company ten out of the eleven employees were women.
Four of the employees worked in the office to service the mail order business. The
Corporation was shipping to virtually every State and advertising nationally.
Handy Wacks moved to its present location in the Village of
Sparta in 1952, and this coincided with the purchase of the company's first machine to
interfold waxed paper so that the sheets "popped up" out of the box for ease of
dispensing. This began the company's foray into the Commercial and Institutional
Foodservice Industry with disposable food wrap products. Volume began to increase as the
company began utilizing more wholesale distributors, and contracted with brokers to assist
in selling the product.
Key employees, Henry H. Koopman as National Sales Manager and
Vernon Lamb as Plant Manager began with the company in the early 1950's. Lou A. Keller
resigned as President of the Corporation in 1971, and passed away shortly afterwards.
Clarence Anderson succeeded Mrs. Keller as President of Handy Wacks. The daughter of Mr.
& Mrs. Anderson, Marcia, joined Handy Wacks in 1962 and soon became involved in all
aspects of operation and administration; being elected to the Board of Directors in 1972
and acquiring majority ownership of the company in 1976 from her parents.
Mr. Koopman, after steering the sales function admirably for many
years, retired in 1975. Three years later the position of Director of Sales was assumed by
Henry B. (Hank) Fairchild III, who subsequently married Marcia in 1979. A substantial
period of growth was realized in the early 1980's, facilitated to a great extent by the
expertise of a fine network of Brokers and Manufacturers Representatives.
In 1983, Mr. Fairchild was offered the position of President of
Handy Wacks with Clarence Anderson assuming the responsibilities of Chairman. Upon the
untimely deaths of Clarence Anderson in 1984, and Irene Anderson in 1985, the reins of the
company have fallen into the hands of Hank and Marcia Fairchild, as President and
Chairperson, with Marcia's two sons, Steven and Timothy May, fifth generation, all
fulfilling integral roles within the company. Steven and Timothy both became Directors of
the Company in 1984 and 1987 respectively.
Expansions of the current facility over the last twenty years
have resulted in a total of approximately 80,000 square feet. The consistent growth of the
company has required a workforce of three shifts of workers a day since 1979.
Handy Wacks now assumes the role of being an International
marketing entity, with shipping containers going to Europe, and numerous shipments to
neighboring countries.
The range of products to service the Foodservice Industry has
evolved to date into hundreds of sizes and items required by Foodservice operators, and
even home makers through purchases at warehouse clubs and cash-and-carry outlets.
As of 1999, Handy Wacks Corporation is still a minority company,
with a woman, Marcia Fairchild being the majority stockholder. This will change in time
with two sons progressing forward and two grandsons, to date, in the wings.
