Central National Gottesman

What Central National Gottesman does

Central National Gottesman Inc. (CNG) is a privately held, family-owned global sales, marketing, and distribution company founded in 1886 and headquartered in Purchase, New York. CNG sells, markets, and distributes pulp, paper, packaging, tissue, metals, wood products, and office supplies through four operating divisions: Central National Division (global trade across 100+ countries via owned offices in 28 global locations and a network of agents), North American Distribution Division (71 regional locations and 46 retail stores across the U.S. and Canada under the Lindenmeyr Munroe, Kelly Spicers, and Spicers Canada brands), Wholesale Distribution Division (S.P. Richards, with 30 full-stocking distribution centers serving 8,000+ resellers), and Lindenmeyr Publications Group (publication and book publishing papers). The company sells approximately 6.7 million tons of product annually and reports revenue of $9–10 billion.

CNG's business model is B2B distribution with transaction-fee economics and quote-based pricing; the company does not disclose proprietary technology platforms, software products, or AI/ML capabilities. Its technology is operational: supply chain and logistics infrastructure spanning more than 150 offices in 24 countries. The customer base is highly fragmented across commercial printers, packaging manufacturers, publishers, office products dealers, JanSan distributors, and online e-tailers, with no single end-customer concentration disclosed.

Growth has been driven primarily by an aggressive, multi-decade roll-up strategy, with 20+ acquisitions executed since 2012 and major recent additions including S.P. Richards (January 2023), Lewis Paper International (June 2022), Connemara Converting's West Coast operations (November 2022), and TG Graphics (May 2023). The company has also expanded into adjacent product categories (nonwovens and fibers, added 2020) and geographies (Central National Sweden AB opened 2019 to serve sub-Saharan Africa). Five generations of family ownership have maintained continuous control since founding, with Andrew Wallach serving as President and CEO.

Name

Central National Gottesman

Legal name

Central National Gottesman Inc.

Website

https://cng-inc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1886

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Central National Gottesman (CNG) is a privately held, family-owned global distributor of pulp, paper, packaging, tissue, and related products operating through four divisions across 24 countries and 150+ offices, serving printers, publishers, manufacturers, and 8,000+ resellers with approximately $9–10B in annual revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Paper & Forest Products Distribution

NAICS

Metal Service Centers and Other Metal Merchant Wholesalers (423510)

SIC

Papers & Allied Products (2600), Wholesale-Metals Service Centers & Offices (5051)

akta.pro primary industry

Stationery, Writing Instruments & Paper Products Distribution (CRAOALAH)

Keywords

• Paper distribution
• Packaging distribution
• Forest products trade
• Office supplies wholesale
• Tissue and pulp distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Purchase

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Product Distribution and Sales: CNG generates revenue through the sale, marketing, and distribution of paper, pulp, packaging, tissue, metals, wood products, and office supplies. The company operates as a global trade and distribution organization, selling 6.7 million tons annually through its four divisions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Central National Gottesman (CNG) is a global sales, marketing, and distribution organization that supplies paper, pulp, packaging, tissue, wood products, metals, and office supplies to commercial customers worldwide. The company operates four divisions—Central National Division (global trade), North American Distribution Division, Wholesale Distribution Division (S.P. Richards), and Lindenmeyr Publications Group—moving 6.7 million tons of product annually through more than 150 offices in 24 countries with commercial representation in 100+ countries.

Product overview

Central National Gottesman (CNG) is a global sales, marketing, and distribution company with four distinct divisions operating as a multi-brand portfolio. The company distributes pulp, paper, packaging, tissue, wood products, and metals through its Central National Division (global trade), North American Distribution Division (71 locations across U.S./Canada), Wholesale Distribution Division (S.P. Richards with 30 U.S. distribution centers), and Lindenmeyr Publications Group. Key sub-brands include Lindenmeyr Munroe (largest independent paper merchant), Kelly Spicers (West Coast distribution), Spicers Canada, S.P. Richards (business products wholesaler), and Lindenmeyr Central/Book (publication papers). The company operates more than 150 offices in 24 countries and has more than 8,000 reseller customers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Central National: Global trade business with fully owned offices in 28 global locations and commercial representation in more than 100 countries
• Lindenmeyr Munroe
• Lindenmeyr Central
• Lindenmeyr Book Publishing Papers
• Kelly Spicers
• Spicers Canada
• S.P. Richards

Products and services

• Central National Division Global trade business operating locally with fully owned offices in 28 global locations and commercial representation in more than 100 countries, supplying pulp, paper, packaging, tissue, metals, and wood products to manufacturers and distributors worldwide.
• North American Distribution Division CNG division spanning the U.S. and Canada with 71 regional locations and 46 retail stores, providing paper, packaging, and related product distribution through subsidiary brands to commercial printers, packaging customers, and JanSan distributors.
• Wholesale Distribution Division (S.P. Richards) CNG wholesale distribution division headquartered in Atlanta with 30 full-stocking distribution centers across the U.S. supporting 8,000+ resellers including office products dealers, JanSan distributors, and online e-tailers with branded and private label products.
• Lindenmeyr Publications Group CNG division operating in close proximity to North America's publishing capital in New York City with representation in Chicago, on the West Coast, and in Europe; distributes publication papers to book publishers and other publication customers.
• Lindenmeyr Munroe Largest privately held independent paper merchant in the U.S., distributing commercial printing papers, business communications paper, packaging products, and wide-format materials through regional locations.
• Kelly Spicers West-coast-based paper and packaging distribution division of CNG with 11 distribution centers and 27 retail stores serving California, Nevada, and surrounding regions.
• Spicers Canada Canadian distribution division providing paper, packaging, and wide-format products across Canada with multiple retail locations.
• Lindenmeyr Central Part of the Lindenmeyr Publications Group, serving the publishing industry with paper distribution.
• Lindenmeyr Book Publishing Papers Specializes in paper distribution for book publishing, supplying paper products to book publishers.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Veritiv Corporation: North American distributor of print, packaging, facility, and logistics solutions. Direct competitor to CNG's Lindenmeyr Munroe, Kelly Spicers, and S.P. Richards in commercial printing, packaging, and JanSan categories, with a similar mix of distribution and value-added services.
• Imperial Dade: Privately-held North American distributor of foodservice disposables, JanSan, and packaging products. Directly comparable to CNG's S.P. Richards and packaging distribution businesses serving JanSan distributors and packaging customers.
• Brady Industries: Privately-held JanSan and foodservice distribution company serving the western U.S. Closely comparable to S.P. Richards' JanSan distribution business in customer base, products, and distribution-center-driven model.
• Reliance Steel & Aluminum: Largest U.S. metals service center distributor. Comparable to CNG's metals distribution line (delivering metal cans, industrial metals) in operating model as a value-added metals service center with extensive branch network.
• Essendant (now TRUfast/Staples-owned): U.S. wholesale distributor of office products serving resellers. Direct head-to-head peer to S.P. Richards' business products wholesaler with 8,000+ resellers, prior to its acquisition by Staples parent.

Broad incumbents

• Unisource Worldwide (now Veritiv/Bunzl-adjacent): Historically a major privately-held paper and packaging distributor in North America, now part of broader distribution groups. Closely comparable to CNG's core paper distribution model, though it has been absorbed into larger platforms.
• Bunzl plc: Global distribution and outsourcing group supplying a broad range of non-food consumables including paper, packaging, JanSan, and office products. Highly comparable to CNG's Wholesale Distribution Division (S.P. Richards) in the B2B consumables distribution model, though at substantially larger scale and broader geographic scope.
• Smurfit Kappa: Global integrated paper-based packaging manufacturer. Adjacent rather than directly overlapping with CNG, but competes for the same large packaging customers and supply relationships in CNG's growing packaging distribution segment.

Emerging players

• Domtar Corporation (now private): Historically an integrated pulp and paper manufacturer; CNG has historically been a customer/competitor in paper distribution and acquired Domtar's Ariva U.S. distribution operations in 2013, illustrating the overlap between manufacturing and distribution in this industry.
• Ryerson Holding: U.S. value-added metals distributor and processor. Comparable to CNG's metals distribution line in service-center model, with overlapping exposure to industrial and packaging end markets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/central-national-gottesman

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A3 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Central National Gottesman