Wisconsin-based American Packaging Corporation (APC) recently announced changes in its leadership structure in what the company says is a rare move in its 121-year history.
APC, which the Schottland family purchased from the Kardon family in 1986, says the following changes will be effective January 1, 2024:
• Peter Schottland, current CEO and co-chairman of the board, will transition to executive chairman of the board.
• Jeff Koch, current president, will become interim CEO until his retirement on December 31, 2024, when he will join the board of directors.
• Ray Graham, current executive vice president and chief operating officer, will become president until the end of 2024; upon Koch’s retirement, Graham will become CEO and president.
• Steve Schottland, current co-chairman of the board, will serve as chairman of the board.
Peter Schottland says the company expanded in the 1960s under the leadership of his father, Stan Schottland, and continued to grow under the direction of his brother, Steve.
“I am enormously proud that my tenure as CEO of American Packaging continued that legacy,” Peter Schottland says in a prepared statement.
As CEO since 1999, Peter Schottland led a significant investment of more than $640 million in state-of-the-art equipment and facilities over the past 10 years, including packaging technology for APC’s RE™ portfolio of stainable packaging solutions, which is recycle-ready, biorenewable, and post-consumer recycled content, according to the company.
He has served on a number of boards, including the Flexible Packaging Association (1996–2019), College of Charleston School of Business (since 2000), and The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp (since 2011). He also was heavily involved in opening the Schottland Family YMCA in Pittsford, New York. He was inducted into the Rochester Business Hall of Fame in 2019.
Since its founding in 1902, the company has been led by only five CEOs. “Succession planning is a continuous process at all levels of APC, and planning for this transition has been underway for many years,” the company says.
APC specializes in flexographic, rotogravure, and digital printing, multi-ply extrusion, and adhesive lamination of film, paper, and foil, as well as pouch and bag fabrication to meet a variety of requirements. It operates six Centers of Excellence in the United States and has nearly 1,300 team members.