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 2008, 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.
