History / Growth

Riding the Crest of Conversion

Graham Packaging grew from a design-engineering firm founded in 1960 in York, Pennsylvania, USA. The company initially positioned itself as a regional domestic plastic bottle maker, using the proprietary Graham Rotational Wheel, a blow-mold manufacturing technology designed for speed.

The company grew as the conversion to plastic grew. By the early 1990s it had nearly 30 plants in North America, along with operations in France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Brazil. In 1998, founder Donald Graham sold a majority interest in the company to an investment firm, the Blackstone Group.

Since then, Graham Packaging has pursued a strategy of aggressive global expansion. It reached a milestone in 2004, when it acquired O-I Plastic, a subsidiary of Owens-Illinois, Inc., a move that effectively doubled the size of the company.

Today, Graham Packaging remains headquartered in York and is a leading global producer of custom high-value-added blow-molded plastic containers, operating 87 facilities with more than 8,700 employees.