Marvin Grossbard, founder and president of President Container, Middletown, NY, passed away on Wednesday, December 9. Larry Grossbard, his son and current CEO of the company, made the announcement on Thursday, December 10. “’MG,’ as he always liked to be referred to, was the founder of our company and an inspiration and mentor to us and so many people who worked for President Container over the years,” he wrote. “MG had two loves in his life: our mother Beatrice Grossbard and President Container. It gives us great honor as we continue to build upon his legacy. He will be missed.”
MG and his brother George Grossbard founded President Container in 1947 in Brooklyn, New York, first as a brokerage of new and used corrugated boxes. In 1964, the company expanded to a new manufacturing location in Moonachie, New Jersey, where it would remain until 2010 when it relocated to its current “super-plant” a 525,000-square-foot facility in Middletown, NY. Now known as the President Container Group, it is a family of companies that also includes Artisan Display & Packaging, Tech-Pak and President Industrial Products.
Marvin Grossbard was active in industry and community affairs. He was a founding member of the American Organization of Eastern Corrugated Box Manufacturers (AOECBM), a group of independent corrugator plants in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area. He was a founding member of AICC and served on its Board of Directors, first as a Regional Vice President for New York/New Jersey, and later as a Director at Large. He was active on the Association’s Containerboard, Regulations & Sheet Supply Committee as well as its Membership Committee.
He was also active in community affairs, especially supporting Jewish elementary education. He served on the boards of the Solomon Schechter Day School of Bergen County in New Milford, New Jersey, and the Yavneh Academy in Paramus, New Jersey.
“MG was a good and decent man. He was tough but always shared a wink and joke as well,” says Mike D’Angelo, President of AICC. “He cared deeply about Independent converters and their ability to focus on the customer.”
“Marvin Grossbard was part of what I call ‘AICC’s Greatest Generation’ – its founding fathers,” says Steve Young, former president and now the association’s ambassador at large. “He brought his entrepreneurial zeal to AICC in those early years, helping us to become a true voice for the independent in the corrugated industry.”
Recognizing his leadership and his many contributions to the welfare of the corrugated packaging industry, the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation (ICPF) named him to its “Circle of Distinguished Leaders” in 2013. In its list of tributes to Grossbard, the ICPF video introduction summed up his business credo thusly: “MG believed success in the corrugated industry depended on having an ‘always-available attitude,’ supported by a strong sales force; impeccable customer service; reinvestment in equipment and machinery; strong negotiating skills; honesty and integrity; financial acumen and having the best people.”
Funeral services were held Friday, December 11.
