OUR STORY
1929
The company eventually picked up automated equipment for this process and later a printing press. The company then added spot and band labeled dress prints and cambric bags, and continued to clean and repair used bags.
At the time the company was still small and insignificant in its trade, but then World War II came along. Cotton fabric became scarce, but Milton was able to secure a contract for a substantial amount of yardage through some mills in Texas. Cotton bags were selling at an all-time premium. At the time only the major bag producers supplied the larger companies, but due to the shortage they began to look at others for their needs. Upon hearing that Central Bag had a supply of fabric, Pillsbury contacted Milton who turned it into a long term contract making them the company’s largest customer. Soon after the agreement with Pillsbury, other companies like Arch-Daniels-Mildland, Con Agra, Cargill Grain and General Mills following closely behind.
Alex Silverman worked with his brother Milton for many years and joined the company full time in 1941. He left at the end of that year to serve in the Army Air Corps and returned to the family business in 1945.


1946
1954
The burlap business continued to thrive in the potato, bean and peanut industries, and for export sugar and USDA export flour bags. In 1975, the company purchased one of its competitors, Valley Bag & Supply in East Grand Forks, MN. They were a warehouse and distributor of textile bags, paper bags and boxes to the agricultural industry throughout the Dakotas and Minnesota as well as providing custom prints on finished bags using a hand fed press. At their peak, Central/Valley employed over 200 people. In December 1982, Chris Klimek joined the company after leaving Macy’s Midwest Division to assist the sales departments of Central and Valley with the growing demand for multiwall bags. Over the years that followed, several product lines were added to the company as packaging evolved into plastics, both polyethylene and woven polypropylene.




1988
On June 12, 1998, the final payment was made on the ESOP note, making Central Bag Company and Valley Bag & Supply fully owned by the employees. By the end of the year, the last note was paid off making the company 100% debt free. Tom Simone retired in December 2000 after 50 years’ service with the company. Chris Klimek was elected president in January 2001.
2001

2010
In 2021, Chris Klimek retired as President of Central Bag Company. The founding family and past presidents are out of the business, the company still operates like a family business. The company’s founding principal, “A DEPENDABLE SOURCE OF BAG SUPPLIES”, has become a part of the core of the company’s new motto…
“We build partnerships utilizing proven expertise that you can trust.”


