Honoring Brian Lawrence and Paul Minasian

In the 1970s, two lifelong friends from Park Ridge, Brian Lawrence and Paul Minasian, began an extraordinary collaboration that would have a lasting impact on sustainability. Together, they combined the expertise of their respective companies—Henkel, a global leader in adhesives, and Graphic Innovators (now Pregis), a machinery and equipment manufacturing company—to tackle the challenge of eliminating the plastic bubble wrap mailer.

Their innovative partnership led to the development and patenting of production lines for curbside recyclable padded mailers. These mailers, now widely used by companies like Amazon, Walmart, and Target in e-commerce, offer an eco-friendly alternative to traditional plastic packaging.
The journey began with a prototype production line that produced a few thousand test samples to prove the concept. This success paved the way for a fully purpose-built customer line, which ultimately expanded into multiple production lines across the country. Today, plants nationwide manufacture these recyclable mailers, and over 1 billion have been sold, preventing thousands of tons of plastic from polluting our environment.

The legacy of Brian and Paul’s innovation continues to grow. They remain committed to developing new paper-based packaging products, further reducing consumer reliance on plastic and contributing to a healthier planet.
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We are proud to honor Brian Lawrence and Paul Minasian for their visionary work and dedication to sustainability, which has made a profound difference in our community and beyond.