William-Allen Company

What William-Allen Company does

William-Allen Company, LLC is a privately held flexible packaging manufacturer and distributor headquartered in North Canton, Ohio, founded in 1973 and operating from a four-acre campus that includes a 33,000 sq. ft. food-grade warehouse/distribution center. The company specializes in side-seal wicketed polyethylene bags for high-speed bakery operations, alongside laminations, HDPE bulk bun film (gauges 0.38–1.0 mil), and plain or printed polypropylene films supporting up to a 67-inch print width, 1–10 color process/line printing, and options for zipper bags, vents, perforations, header bags, and stand-up pouches. Complementary offerings include thermal transfer ribbons (drop-in replacements for Datamax/Zebra printers) and blank or printed labels. Services span design, production, quality control, in-house inventory management (with production-order visibility), warehousing with racked storage, and distribution via an owned truck fleet plus full truckload, LTL, and overnight air options. Primary end markets are bakeries (breads, buns, rolls, English muffins, bagels, pita), frozen food manufacturers (appetizers, chicken, beef, vegetables, seafood, meals, pizza, pasta), and snack producers (candies, nuts, seeds, pretzels, trail mix, rice, breadcrumbs, spices). GTM is sales-led via an experienced direct sales team offering customized quotations, with industry-association memberships (American Bakers Association, AIB International, Grain Foods Foundation, ASBE) supporting channel presence. In January 2023, William-Allen was acquired by Polymer Packaging Inc. (founded 1986 by Larry Lanham, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2021), which operates three divisions in Ohio and Michigan and three affiliate plants in Cincinnati and Charlotte; Larry Lanham serves as CEO and Dan Wish as President of the combined enterprise. Pricing is quote-based, F.O.B. shipping point, with multi-year contracts and a 1% monthly service charge on overdue balances. No revenue, funding, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed.

Name

William-Allen Company

Legal name

William-Allen Company, LLC

Website

https://www.william-allen.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

William-Allen Company, LLC is a North Canton, Ohio flexible packaging manufacturer (founded 1973) producing side-seal polyethylene bags, laminations, bulk bun film, and polypropylene films for the bakery, frozen food, and snack industries, complemented by warehousing, distribution, and inventory management services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Flexible Packaging

NAICS

Plastics Bag and Pouch Manufacturing (326111), Plastics Packaging Film and Sheet (including Laminated) Manufacturing (326112)

SIC

Plastics, Foil & Coated Paper Bags (2673), Unsupported Plastics Film & Sheet (3081)

akta.pro primary industry

Flexible Plastic Packaging (Bags, Pouches, Sachets) Manufacturing (IMANAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Plastic Films & Laminated Packaging Structures Manufacturing (IMANAEAD), Industrial Sacks & Bags (Paper/Plastic/Woven) (IMALAGAD)

Keywords

• Flexible packaging
• Polyethylene bags
• Bakery packaging
• Frozen food packaging
• Thermal transfer ribbons

Headquarters

HQ city

Canton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Flexible Packaging Products: Sale of flexible packaging products including polyethylene bags, laminations, bulk bun film, and polypropylene films. Products are customized with various printing options, colors, and specifications.
2. Warehousing and Distribution Services: Warehouse storage and distribution services for customers' packaging needs, including racked storage, national and international shipping, and inventory management.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

William-Allen Company manufactures and distributes engineered flexible packaging products — including side-seal wicketed polyethylene bags, laminations, HDPE bulk bun film, and plain or printed polypropylene films — for the bakery, frozen food, and snacking industries. The company complements these physical products with in-house design, quality control, inventory management, warehousing (a 33,000 sq. ft. food-grade facility), and distribution services delivered via its own truck fleet and third-party logistics.

Product overview

William-Allen Company is a flexible packaging solutions provider serving the bakery, frozen food, and snacking industries since 1973. The company operates as a single integrated offering rather than a platform architecture, combining engineered flexible packaging products with complementary services. The core product portfolio consists of polyethylene bags (side-seal, wicketed bags for high-speed bakery operations), laminations, bulk bun film (HDPE), plain and printed polypropylene, bakery-specific packaging (side seal gusseted bags, frozen food packaging, zipper bags, stand-up pouches), thermal transfer ribbons, and blank/printed labels. These packaging products are supported by warehousing and distribution services (racked storage, 30,000 sq. ft. warehouse, national/international shipping), customer service center, inventory management, and quality control services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Polyethylene Bags Side-seal, wicketed polyethylene bags designed for high-speed bakery operations; available in 1 to 10 colors with process and line print, web up to 67 inches, gauges from 1.00 to 3.00 mil, with options for header bags, zipper bags, vents, perforations, perforated lips, cast or blown film, and tinted films.
• Laminations Flexible packaging laminations with short-run capabilities, used for stand-up pouches and other packaging applications requiring multi-layer film structures; available in 1 to 10 colors with process and line print.
• Bulk Bun Film HDPE bulk bun film with gauges ranging from 0.38 to 1.0 mil, designed for packaging buns and similar bakery products in bulk quantities.
• Plain and Printed Polypropylene Polypropylene films available in plain or printed formats with surface or reverse print capabilities, supporting up to 67-inch print width for flexible packaging applications.
• Side Seal Gusseted Bags Side seal gusseted bags for bakery products including breads (white, wheat, multigrain, ciabatta, Italian, rye, sourdough), buns (hot dog, hamburger, sandwich, sausage), rolls, English muffins, bagels, and pita.
• Frozen Food Packaging Flexible packaging solutions for frozen food products including appetizers, chicken, beef, pierogis, vegetables, fruit, seafood, pre-packaged meals, cakes, cookies, pastries, pizza crust, and pasta.
• Zipper Bags Zipper bags for packaging tortillas, pie crusts, and breads, providing resealable closure for consumer convenience.
• Stand Up Pouches Stand-up pouches for packaging candies, nuts, seeds, pretzels, trail mix, rice, breadcrumbs, flour, and spices, offering shelf visibility and convenient dispensing.
• Thermal Transfer Ribbons Thermal transfer ribbons for barcoding, labeling, and detailed graphics applications, compatible with most thermal printers including Datamax and Zebra, with print quality meeting or exceeding OEM specifications and lower operating temperatures extending printhead life.
• Blank and Printed Labels Labels for showcasing package contents, branding, and communicating key information for shipping or purchasing, available in blank or custom printed formats.
• Warehousing & Distribution Services Comprehensive warehousing and distribution services including racked storage with top-of-the-line equipment for stacking and layering pallets, a 33,000 sq. ft. food-grade plastic packaging warehouse, and national and international shipping via full truckload, LTL, and overnight air.
• Customer Service Center Customer service operations providing rapid response time, accurate solutions, and quality service with attention to detail.
• Inventory Management In-house inventory management software providing visibility to production orders and supporting customer replenishment and troubleshooting of inventory variances.
• Quality Control Quality control team that individually analyzes each issue and assesses options to resolve customer concerns and make situations right.

Quantifiable outcome

• Rapid response time to customer needs

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Polymer Packaging Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWilliam-Allen Company was acquired by Polymer Packaging Inc. in 2023. Larry Lanham is CEO of both companies. The acquisition brought Dan Wish (President) and Drew Anderson (Purchasing/Sourcing Manager) into the William-Allen team. Polymer Packaging operates as a state-of-the-art manufacturing organization providing engineered flexible packaging solutions with three divisions in Ohio and Michigan and three affiliate-owned plants in Cincinnati and Charlotte.
• American Bakers AssociationminorOthersIndustry association membership providing networking and industry advocacy for the baking industry.
• AIB InternationalminorOthersIndustry association membership providing food safety and quality resources for the baking and food industry.
• Grain Foods FoundationminorOthersIndustry association focused on promoting grain-based foods and providing nutritional information.
• American Society of Baking Engineers (ASBE)minorOthersProfessional society for baking engineers providing technical resources and professional development.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Sealed Air: Multinational packaging company with food packaging solutions including films and bags. Incumbent in frozen food and food packaging spaces but operates at much broader scale and product portfolio.
• Novolex: Major North American packaging manufacturer with extensive flexible packaging, bags, and films operations. Broad incumbent serving many of the same food and consumer goods end markets as William-Allen.
• Berry Global (now Berry Films / Amcor merger): Large global packaging manufacturer with significant flexible films and bags business. Overlaps in PE bags and food packaging, but operates across a much wider product portfolio and at vastly greater scale.
• Coveris: European-based flexible packaging manufacturer with North American operations serving food and consumer goods. Competitor in flexible films and pouches for food industry, though at larger scale.

Direct peers

• Glenroy: Family-owned flexible packaging converter specializing in high-barrier films, laminations, and pouches. Comparable in size, ownership structure, and focus on flexible packaging for food and consumer products.
• Bryce Corporation: Privately held manufacturer of flexible packaging films, laminations, and pouches serving food and industrial markets. Direct competitor in custom-engineered flexible packaging for bakery and frozen food categories.
• Printpack: Privately held flexible packaging manufacturer specializing in films, laminations, and pouches for food and consumer goods. Highly comparable to William-Allen in product mix (PE/PP films, laminations) and food-industry customer base, though at significantly larger scale.
• Plastic Packaging Technologies: Specialty manufacturer of polyethylene bags, films, and flexible packaging for food and industrial customers. Closely comparable niche flexible packaging manufacturer with similar product focus on PE bags and bakery/food applications.
• Polymer Packaging Inc. Parent company of William-Allen since 2023; engineered flexible packaging manufacturer with three divisions in Ohio/Michigan and three affiliate plants. Direct comparable in flexible packaging manufacturing and product portfolio.
• ProAmpac (formerly Ampac): Flexible packaging and specialty films manufacturer serving food, beverage, and consumer products. Directly comparable in flexible packaging, laminations, and stand-up pouches for bakery/snack/frozen food customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-william-allen-company-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 William-Allen Company