For Morrisette Packaging, the Browns Summit, North Carolina, based manufacturer that has been providing design services and packaging-related products to a growing customer base for 63 years, the journey—to next-generation, best-in class, state-of-the-art, bleeding edge, and whatever other superlative one can use to describe the assemblage of machinery that signals a new day in high-graphics corrugated converting—is complete.
The last act of this six-decade performance began in 2020 when the largest segment of the manufacturer’s multi-product offerings was decisively corrugated, and when the massive potential corrugated represented for the future of Morrisette Packaging was acknowledged by Bill Morrisette, Jr., the son and second-generation steward of the company founded by his parents, Bill Morrisette, Sr. and Nancy Morrisette in 1962.
John Morrisette, President of Morrisette Packaging, right, with Kevin Erbe, National Sales Manager for Koenig & Bauer, in front of “The Beast,” the Koenig & Bauer|Celmacch ChromaCUT High Tech 8-color Rotary Die Cutter.
“Given the success we were having with corrugated for the past few years, we asked ourselves if we wanted to invest even more to achieve our goal of vertical integration,” says Morrisette, Jr. “With the first seeds of potential new growth planted and with the support of our board and our management team, the answer was a resounding ‘yes.’”
Thus began the journey from a virtually empty production floor—Morrisette Packaging’s model had been to outsource the majority of its corrugated work to area partners—to a 225,000-square-foot production facility that includes a Xeikon Idera Digital Printer; an Elitron Digital Die Cutter; a Brausse Eterna Flat Bed Die Cutter; a PARA Prefeeder, Bundle Breaker and Eleva Palletizer; and two machines from renowned European manufacturer Koenig & Bauer: an Omega Magnus 230 Folder Gluer and a Koenig & Bauer|Celmacch ChromaCUT High Tech 8-color Rotary Die Cutter, a machine respectfully referred to as “The Beast.”
A Revolutionary Investment
“We bought the machines together and in doing so have created a new production floor that no one else in this industry or on this continent has,” says John Morrisette, the president and third-generation family member overseeing Morrisette Packaging’s all-in, full-blown commitment into the realm of high-graphics corrugated, creating a synergy that will reverberate throughout the industry for years to come. “This is nothing short of revolutionary for us.”
Yes, Morrisette is indeed following in the footsteps of the previous two generations by combining automation and design to create with his team a new masterplan that he insists is “moving the company in the right direction” while acknowledging the foundation laid by his grandparents, Bill and Nancy Morrisette, 64 years ago, when they started Morrisette Paper Co., whose “stock in trade” was brown paper bags, lunch bags, and rejected rolls of toilet paper. Over time, its line expanded into more distribution-based products, buying in bulk then selling smaller quantities of simple brown boxes, tapes, and supplies (which it did for about 50 years), with the mindset of creating value and “selling through consultation,” shorthand for understanding what a customer is looking for, then guiding them through the sale with expertise.
By 1979, the company had grown to become a $7 million operation with about 20 employees. The company stayed profitable through the next decades by investing in yes, automation, which included expanding its product line to include case sealers and stretch wrappers. Fast forward to 2022 and the company’s 60th anniversary, when it celebrated its success of having grown to nearly 300 employees across eight Southeast facilities and nearly $200 million in revenue.
With the guidance of the Morrisette Packaging board of directors, the company’s expert management team, and his son, John Morrisette, second generation steward John Morrisette Jr., above, continues to manage the company into its seventh decade.
“We’ve evolved over six decades to become a full-scale distributor that’s now vertically integrated to become one of the world’s best high-graphic corrugated manufacturers with the equipment that sits here now,” says Morrisette. “I couldn’t be more excited about the fact my grandfather started this business, that my father is still heavily involved, and that I now have the privilege of leading a team of more than 300 into our next exciting chapters.”
“The Beast,” Up-Close And Personal
The capabilities of Morrisette Packaging’s key equipment made by manufacturers around the world, the enormity of its machinery investment, and the seismic competitive waves being created in a small suburb of Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.A., has attracted the attention of the global press. Dan Brunton, Group Publisher of UK based Brunton Publications, traveled to Browns Summit with a film crew to document the story of Morrisette Packaging’s remarkable transformation as told by John Morrisette and his management team and of course, to bear witness to a demonstration of the machine known as “The Beast” upon its commissioning. (See the video of Brunton’s visit online at thepackagingportal.com.)
Dan Brunton, Group Publisher of UK based Brunton Publications, right, traveled to Browns Summit with a film crew to document the story of Morrisette Packaging’s remarkable transformation with John Morrisette.
In the interview with Brunton, John Morrisette described how the Morrisette Packaging team traveled to drupa 2024, the largest print show in the world, and how they were overwhelmed when they saw what incredible machinery existed. “Our eyes were opened and our minds were blown,” says Morrisette. “We saw a plethora of technology that a lot of corrugated box makers in North America had never seen before. What we saw at drupa simply didn’t exist here, mainly because it was first-generation machinery made by European manufacturers, which gave us confidence in knowing it’s well built, it’s well maintained and it’s well run.”
Especially the Koenig & Bauer line, with whom Morrisette was duly impressed, so much so that he “doubled down” and notably, purchased two machines: an Omega Magnus 230 Folder Gluer and a Koenig & Bauer|Celmacch ChromaCUT High Tech 8-color Rotary Die Cutter.
“Both machines have been everything Kevin Erbe (Koenig & Bauer’s National Sales Manager) promised they would be and more,” said Morrisette Packaging’s Plant Manager, Mike Bowman. “From our first meeting at drupa when Kevin introduced himself and his ‘selling through consultation’ philosophy, to the completion a successful start-up and demo in Italy, Koenig & Bauer|Celmacch, its machinery, and its people, have been tremendous.”
The Morrisette Packaging management team: From left, Mike Bowman, Technical Manager; Kevin O’Brien, Director of Manufacturing; John Morrisette, President; Harrison Hood, Executive VP of Sales; Robbie Workman, Executive Director of Marketing Design; and Kris Vermilion, Director of Marketing.
Erbe made a strong case as to the opportunities Koenig & Bauer|Celmacch’s machinery could present to a U.S. corrugated box maker. The ChromaCUT High Tech was engineered and developed according to the highest specifications and European quality standards to achieve maximum productivity and exceptional print quality. Siemens manufactures the machine’s electrical components and drive motors, all mechanical parts are manufactured in Italy, where “the beast” was assembled and demoed in the Koenig & Bauer|Celmacch facility, then disassembled and moved to Morrisette Packaging’s U.S. facility in North Carolina.
The Koenig & Bauer Magnus folder gluer and the Xeikon Idera digital printer were installed in late 2025 and the Koenig & Bauer|Celmacch 8-color rotary die cutter was brought online in mid-2026. The line includes eight printing units equipped with JB Machinery IR dryers and automatic plate washing systems; all eight units have automatic changeover capability. After the final dryer is a Valco Melton automatic register control camera, which detects reference dots on the sheets and makes register adjustments automatically. Inks are provided by J.M. Fry Printing Inks, the U.S. based supplier that has been serving the North American market for nearly 90 years. Kernic Systems supplied the massive array of ductwork that was installed as each new piece of machinery was brought online. The entire plant was considered fully operational in July 2026, thus making Koenig & Bauer gave a “flagship center” for the Germany based company.
“The Beast,” the Koenig & Bauer|Celmacch ChromaCUT High Tech 8-color Rotary Die Cutter has been successfully commissioned at Morrisette Packaging.
“They recognize that bringing customers in here is important, so we’re able to partner with them on both of our Koenig & Bauer machines. I think it’s a win-win for both companies,” said Kevin O’Brien, Morrisette Packaging’s VP of Manufacturing. “Overall, it was an incredibly positive experience. Koenig & Bauer is a great company to work with and they did a great job of letting our other vendors working with the material handling equipment understand what they needed.”
As part of installation masterplan, Morrisette Packaging chose equipment from Italian manufacturer PARA, which specializes in material handling and automation solutions.
A Partnership With PARA
For Morrisette Packaging, building a new high graphics corrugated operation meant thinking beyond the capabilities of any single machine, which meant the equipment around the primary converting machine also had to keep pace and keep material moving. As part of that larger system, Morrisette selected equipment from Italian manufacturer PARA, which specializes in material handling and automation solutions. With PARA already represented and supported by SUN Automation Group®, John Morrisette and his management team had the added confidence of working with a familiar partner that could provide technical knowledge, as well as ongoing support around the equipment. Morrisette selected a PARA Prefeeder, a PARA bundle breaker and a PARA Eleva Palletizer to support their new line.
Kevin O’Brien described the role of PARA’s machinery simply: “The prefeeder is what feeds our beast. It needs to do its job, or we’ve got a large piece of equipment we spent a lot of money on that’s useless otherwise.”
The same thinking extends downstream. O’Brien said Morrisette is already looking at business that will make the bundle breaker increasingly important and is considering additional capability to support more complex multi-out production. The goal is to make sure the supporting equipment can keep pace with the line and help Morrisette Packaging make fuller use of the capacity it has installed.
SUN Automation’s role has become especially important as Morrisette brings equipment from multiple global manufacturers together into one production environment. O’Brien said the physical installation itself was not the biggest challenge. Communication among the primary converting equipment, the PARA systems and the automated conveyor equipment required the most work. SUN Automation has remained engaged as those systems come together, helping connect Morrisette with PARA resources and bringing the corrugated and equipment knowledge needed to work through integration questions.
A Morrisette Packaging operator setting up a series of jobs on the company’s new die cutter.
“Morrisette had a clear vision for what they wanted this operation to become, and they understood that every part of the system had to work together to get there,” said Bryan Fitch, SUN Automation Technical Manager. “The PARA equipment is an important part of that investment, and this project is a great example of how SUN Automation can bring the equipment knowledge, technical support and relationships together to help customers build for where their business is going.”
Maximizing Profitability
All of this dovetails perfectly with most of Morrisette’s customer base, the “sweet spot” of the mid-market, high-end, retail display market and those brands that are trying to command a distinct presence in an increasingly crowded landscape. Those brands represent a diverse spectrum of enterprises, from small startups to major Fortune 100 companies, from the defense industry to major CPG goods manufacturers, and from small packaging to POP displays, all of which makes Koenig & Bauer machinery the perfect, high-performance tools that will allow Morrisette Packaging to offer its customers even more diverse solutions, today and tomorrow.
“We believe we have the best people—and now the best equipment—for the very ambitious goals we’re trying to achieve in this extremely competitive market,” concludes John Morrisette. “It’s an ethos that has existed in this company since my grandfather started it, which is people over profit. We’re a family business, and that’s how we operate. We get to enjoy the luxury of having a long-term approach because after all, we’re not in the business to maximize profits, we’re in the business to maximize being profitable. Koenig & Bauer is an important part of that.”
Visit: koenig-bauer-celmacch.com.
