Great Northern Laminations

What Great Northern Laminations does

Great Northern Laminations is a U.S. manufacturer of laminated paperboard protective packaging, operating as one of five elite brands within privately held Great Northern Corporation. Founded in 1960 and headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin, the company designs and produces edge protectors (the VBoard family), channel protection products (UChannel, VChannel), custom-engineered crates (SURECrate, UCrate), and specialty solutions such as the patented EBoard for e-commerce. Products are built from 80% post-consumer and 20% pre-consumer recycled fibers and are 100% recyclable, with manufacturing carried out across five U.S. plants in California, Oregon, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The company operates in-house ISTA-certified package testing (vibration, incline, free-fall drop, compression).

Commercially, the company serves ten primary vertical segments — appliances and electronics, windows and doors, e-commerce, furniture and shelving, fulfillment, industrial equipment, produce and food, recreational vehicles, steel, and club stores — supplying enterprise customers that include SIW Windows, Lexani (wheel rims for Tesla vehicles), Mayfran International, American Standard, and the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. Distribution is primarily indirect through a network of independent packaging distributors, anchored by strategic relationships with AFFLINK (Packaging Supplier of the Year 2025), Veritiv (Tier 1 designation, the only edge protection provider in that tier), Amazon's Packaging Support and Supplier Network (APASS), and The United Group. Direct engagement is reserved for custom-engineered solutions where pricing is quote-based and application-specific rather than publicly disclosed. Revenue is generated through one-time product sales of catalog edge protection plus higher-touch engineered solutions, with no software, subscription, or recurring revenue component.

Name

Great Northern Laminations

Legal name

Great Northern Corporation

Website

https://laminationsonline.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1960

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Great Northern Laminations manufactures laminated paperboard protective packaging — edge protectors, custom-engineered crates, and specialty solutions — serving industries including appliances, e-commerce, windows/doors, furniture, and industrial equipment via a U.S. distributor network and five manufacturing facilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Protective Packaging Manufacturing

NAICS

Paperboard Container Manufacturing (32221), Paperboard Mills (32213), Other Paperboard Container Manufacturing (322219)

SIC

Paperboard Mills (2631), Paperboard Containers & Boxes (2650), Converted Paper & Paperboard Prods (No Contaners/Boxes) (2670)

akta.pro primary industry

Protective Paper Packaging (Honeycomb, Paper Cushioning, Paper Wrap) (IMALACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Paperboard Cores, Tubes & Edge Protectors (IMALACAE), Paperboard Laminating & Coating (Extrusion/Film/Metallized) (IMAMAFAL)

Keywords

• Edge protection packaging
• Laminated paperboard products
• Protective packaging solutions
• Custom engineered crates
• Industrial shipping supplies

Headquarters

HQ city

Appleton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Protective Packaging Products: Sale of edge and corner protection products, custom engineered crates, and protective packaging solutions. Products are sold through distribution partners and directly to end customers requiring custom solutions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Great Northern Laminations manufactures laminated paperboard protective packaging products, primarily the VBoard® family of edge and corner protectors, alongside custom-engineered crate solutions (SURECrate®, UCrate®, SUREContainer®), channel protection products (UChannel®, VChannel®), and flexible/moisture-resistant variants. Products are made from 80% post-consumer and 20% pre-consumer recycled fibers and are sold to industrial, manufacturing, and e-commerce customers to prevent product damage during shipping and handling.

Product overview

Great Northern Laminations is a manufacturer of laminated paperboard protective packaging products, not a software platform. The product portfolio centers on the VBoard® family of edge protectors as the core offering, supplemented by channel protection products (UChannel®, VChannel®), custom crate solutions (SURECrate®, UCrate®), flexible protection (FlexBoard®, FlexRoll®), and specialized add-on modules including moisture-resistant options (HydroShield®, PolyCoated), cushioning (ClipFoam®), and securing accessories (Polywoven Air Bags, E-Track Straps). Products are crafted from 80% post-consumer and 20% pre-consumer recycled fibers and are 100% recyclable. The company operates as part of Great Northern Corporation alongside four other brands (Rollguard, Instore, Fiber Interior Packaging, and Packaging), serving diverse industries including appliances/electronics, windows/doors, e-commerce, furniture, fulfillment, industrial equipment, produce/food, club stores, recreational vehicles, and steel.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• VBoard: Premium corner and edge protection product family
• VGuard
• EBoard
• SURECrate
• UCrate
• SUREContainer
• UChannel
• VChannel
• FlexBoard
• FlexRoll
• HydroShield
• ScuffShield
• Mega VBoard

Products and services

• VBoard®

Quantifiable outcome

• Products are crafted from 80% post-consumer and 20% pre-consumer recycled fibers and are 100% recyclable
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• AFFLINKcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 15 June 2025AFFLINK is an innovator and leader in the packaging supply chain connecting over 250 manufacturers with over 300 distributors. Great Northern Laminations was honored with the Packaging Supplier of the Year 2025 award at AFFLINK's annual Summit Conference, recognizing outstanding sales achievement with AFFLINK distribution members. The company was also previously awarded Preferred Supplier of the Year in 2023.
• The United GroupsecondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 May 2023The United Group awarded Laminations a Silver Supplier status at their 2023 National Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. Honors are based on most growth and most members served.
• Amazon Packaging Support and Supplier Network (APASS)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 15 January 2019Great Northern Laminations is a member of Amazon's APASS, a select group of companies Amazon officially recognizes as packaging experts who can help e-commerce vendors with their packaging challenges. This membership enables Laminations to assist vendors in meeting Amazon's packaging standards.
• VeritivcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2018Great Northern Laminations earned a Tier 1 designation with Veritiv, a leading North American B2B distributor. Laminations is the only edge protection provider in the Tier 1 supplier category, joining 3M, Sealed Air, Pregis, IPG, Berry Global, and Sigma.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Sonoco Products: Sonoco is a global diversified packaging manufacturer with offerings in paperboard, protective packaging, and industrial solutions. Competes broadly with Laminations through its protective packaging segment serving similar industrial and consumer goods customers.
• Packaging Corporation of America: PCA is a major North American producer of containerboard and corrugated packaging. While focused on larger-scale box manufacturing, it competes with Laminations' corrugated-based edge protectors and shipping protection products in industrial packaging accounts.
• International Paper: International Paper is the world's largest pulp and paper company with significant containerboard and protective packaging operations. It supplies raw materials into the protective packaging supply chain and competes broadly across the same industrial customer base as Great Northern Laminations.
• Smurfit Kappa: Smurfit Kappa is one of the world's largest paper-based packaging manufacturers with a broad portfolio including corrugated, paperboard, and protective packaging. Overlaps with Laminations through its protective packaging division and shared sustainability-driven customer positioning.
• Signode (Crown Holdings subsidiary): Signode is a global leader in industrial packaging including strapping, edge protection, and unitization solutions. Directly overlaps with Laminations' VGuard pallet strap protection and edge protection offerings across manufacturing and logistics customers.

Direct peers

• Sealed Air: Sealed Air is a global protective and food packaging company offering paper-based systems, polywoven air bags, and engineered packaging solutions. Its product portfolio overlaps with Laminations' VGuard, Polywoven Air Bags, and custom crating offerings, and it shares Tier 1 Veritiv supplier designation.
• Pregis: Pregis is a major protective packaging manufacturer offering paper-based cushioning, edge protection, and engineered systems. It shares Tier 1 supplier status with Great Northern Laminations at Veritiv and competes head-to-head across industrial and e-commerce customer accounts.
• Ranpak Holdings: Ranpak is a global leader in paper-based protective packaging including edge protectors, paper cushioning, and honeycomb systems. Directly competes with Great Northern Laminations' VBoard family and other fiber-based protective products in nearly identical end markets including e-commerce, appliances, and industrial goods.
• HexcelPack (Hexcel): HexcelPack specializes in paper-based protective cushioning and wrapping systems marketed as sustainable alternatives to plastic bubble wrap and air pillows. Directly competes with Laminations' fiber-based protective offerings in e-commerce and fulfillment center applications.

Emerging players

• GreenWrap / noissue (paper packaging startups): noissue and similar emerging paper-based packaging companies target e-commerce brands with sustainable protective and void-fill solutions. They compete with Laminations in the small-to-mid-market e-commerce segment but lack the industrial-scale custom engineering and distribution depth of Laminations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/showcase/great-northern-laminations
• Xx.com/GNCLaminations

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Great Northern Laminations