OUR STORY

Milton Silverman’s vision was to build trusted partnerships through his new venture. On October 16, 1929, he secured a $250 loan from a local bank to launch the business. When the banker asked about the company’s name, Silverman happened to glance out the window and notice a passing truck with the word “CENTRAL” on it. Inspired by this serendipitous moment, he christened his fledgling enterprise the Central Bag Company. Five years later, on October 16, 1934, the business was officially incorporated.

We Strive For On Time Delivery
We Continually Strive for Product and Process Improvements
We Love Meeting or Exceeding a Customers Expectations

1929

The first plant was located at 3017 Wyoming, just off Southwest Boulevard. At this point, the company shifted its focus from repairing used bags to producing new burlap and cotton bags. Manufacturing was done manually, with workers laying fabric on long tables and cutting by hand. The company’s main product was 100 lb. bags made from unbleached muslin, primarily sold to the flour milling industry.

Eventually, the company acquired automated equipment and a printing press to streamline the bag production process. They then expanded their product line to include spot and band labeled dress prints and cambric bags, while continuing to clean and repair used bags.

Though the company was still relatively small at the time, World War II brought significant changes. With cotton fabric in short supply, Milton was able to secure a substantial yardage contract through Texas mills. This allowed Central Bag to capitalize on the high demand for cotton bags, as the major producers struggled to meet the needs of larger companies. Pillsbury became the company’s largest customer after contacting Milton about their fabric supply, leading to a long-term contract. Other major companies like Arch-Daniels-Mildland, ConAgra, Cargill Grain, and General Mills soon followed suit.

Alex Silverman, who had worked with his brother Milton for many years, joined the company full-time in 1941. He left later that year to serve in the Army Air Corps, but returned to the family business in 1945.

1946

The company’s history in the 1940s and 1950s was marked by significant events. In 1946, they moved to a new location in the West Bottoms of Kansas City, at 1323 West 13th Street. The following year, Tom Simone joined the company after leaving Coca-Cola, but was drafted into military service just 6 months later.

In 1951, the Missouri and Kaw rivers flooded the West Bottoms area, including the company’s offices. Employees had to launch a rowboat from the 12th Street Bridge to retrieve valuable accounting records from the second-floor windows. Tragically, many animal carcasses from the nearby flooded stockyards ended up in the company’s basement.

Despite this disaster, the company was able to recover and continue operations. However, in 1953 they suffered another setback – a substantial fire in the third-floor sewing department. Yet again, the company rebounded quickly and was back in business shortly after.

1954

Tom Simone rejoined the company in the same year after a two-year stint in Korea. In 1954, Milton’s son, Albert Silverman, came on board following his service in the Air Force. Recognizing the industry’s rapid shift from cotton and burlap to paper bags, particularly in Texas and Oklahoma, Albert reached out to St Regis Paper Company and began reselling multiwall paper bags to long-standing customers. This business continued to grow as seed, feed, and flour milling customers migrated to the more cost-effective paper bags.

The burlap business, meanwhile, thrived in the potato, bean, and peanut industries, as well as for export sugar and USDA export flour bags. In 1975, the company acquired one of its competitors, Valley Bag & Supply in East Grand Forks, MN. Valley was a warehouse and distributor of textile bags, paper bags, and boxes to the agricultural industry throughout the Dakotas and Minnesota, and also provided custom printing 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, taking on sales responsibilities at both Central and Valley to meet the growing demand for multiwall bags. Over the ensuing years, the company expanded its product lines as packaging evolved, incorporating plastics such as polyethylene and woven polypropylene.

1988

In January 1988, Milton Silverman, the previous owner, passed away. After his death, the Silverman family received several offers to purchase the company. However, on May 15, 1989, they instead instituted a 100% Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), which was somewhat unusual at the time as most ESOPs only involved partial stock transfer, and a few 100% ESOPs had seen negative results.

After graduating from KU in 1991, Jeff Chalabi was hired to assist with the textile manufacturing operations. Tom Simone was elected president in 1994 when Albert’s contract expired, and Chris Klimek was elected vice president.

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

2001

Faced with declining sales due to an increasing trend toward imports, quickly shifted its focus to becoming a direct importer of several products. They expanded their product lines, adding bulk bags, bulk boxes, geotextile fabrics (weed barrier), and newer laminated paper/poly and BOPP/poly bags. In August 2001, Jeff Chalabi was promoted to vice president of sales and marketing and began developing a new sales force. While textile manufacturing declined to 10% of revenues, the company’s overall sales grew steadily by almost 10% per year.

2010

As the company’s business expanded in the early 2000s, the old brick and timber building could no longer accommodate their needs. Recognizing the growing demand for domestically manufactured laminated woven bags, the company sought out a larger facility that could support this burgeoning product line. On May 28, 2010, the company relocated to a 265,000 square foot building in Leavenworth, Kansas. Within eight months, in January 2011, the company commenced production of their first laminated woven bags from the new, spacious premises.

2021

In 2021, Chris Klimek stepped down as President of Central Bag Company, though the company continues to operate with a family-oriented culture despite the founding family and past presidents no longer being involved in the business. The company’s longstanding commitment to being “A DEPENDABLE SOURCE OF BAG SUPPLIES” remains at the core of its new motto: “We build partnerships utilizing proven expertise that you can trust.”