Fabri-Kal was incorporated in 1950 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, when seven shareholders
purchased the Kalamazoo Paper Box Company’s plastic segment and set up shop in 5,000
square feet of a former A&P grocery store.
The first products Fabri-Kal produced were paint cups for the paint-by-number industry.
The company soon expanded into manufacturing oriented polystyrene meat trays and
pizza lids and then diversified into proprietary stock packaging products, including plastic
cups, lids and acrylic chair mats.
in Kalamazoo and by 1967, a second Fabri-Kal manufacturing plant began operation in
Hazleton, Pennsylvania. In 1969, as its employee roster neared 400, the Fabri-Kal
Foundation was established to support cultural diversity and provide higher-education
tuition assistance to young-adult children of Fabri-Kal employees.
In 1981, Fabri-Kal built its third plastic packaging plant in Piedmont, South Carolina, and
opened its new headquarters building in Kalamazoo. By the late 1990’s Fabri-Kal had
worked with some of the biggest brands in the food industry, establishing their position
as a preferred manufacturer in the Custom Packaging Goods market.
In 2004 we added a new material to our portfolio, Polylactic Acid (PLA). We became
one of the first to market with a PLA cup when we launched Greenware Drink Cups. I
n 2008, Fabri-Kal purchased a 400,000-square-foot vacant plant in Kalamazoo and
began a two-year renovation with environmental responsibility in mind. The new
state-of-the-art design and manufacturing facility was awarded LEED® Silver
certification in 2010.In 2015 Fabri-Kal opened a plant in Burley, Idaho, to focus on
manufacturing a new line of products, made from plant fiber. With nearly 70 years
of leadership and continued growth, Fabri-Kal remains family owned and home to
more than 1,000 employees.
