Case Study – International Paper Company
I. Company Profile and Analyses of Industry
International Paper Company (IP) is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of paper and paper products. Their products include a wide variety of paper products, consumer packaging materials, industrial packaging materials, and pulp products. In addition, IP collects and recycles recovered paper.
History
IP began in 1898 as a merger of 17 pulp and paper mills from Massachusetts to New York. IP led the newsprint industry until 1913, when trade regulations revised to promote Canadian imports and later, in 1921, labor conflicts within IP contributed to a decline in IP’s market share. However, IP rallied by creating a Canadian subsidiary, expanding into the South by acquiring and building new mills, consolidating its northern operations, and diversifying its product line from primarily newsprint, to book and bond products, and later, corrugated containers. This diversification aided IP in surviving the Great Depression, and continued through the 1930’s. IP continued to reap profits and expand the company through the 50’s and 60’s, into North American and overseas, eventually expanding into places such as French West Indies, Mexico, and France.
The 1970’s found IP divesting itself of several plants and mills, and in 1976, J. Stanford Smith, facilitated a major company reorganization revised the geographic area divisions into business units dedicated to a specific function or product. Over the next twenty years, IP proceeded to make significant capital changes and embark upon even more aggressive expansion stateside and overseas (Forest History Today 1998).
Today, with their global headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee, they have other operational offices and plants distributed throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. Specifically, IP’s