History

The Volk Packaging Story

3 Generations of Family Leadership

Benjamin and Kenneth Volk broke ground on their new corrugated box plant in 1967 as the first tenant in the Biddeford Industrial Park. They chose Maine over other New England locations because of the strong textile industry that thrived in the state at the time. Box production began in 1968 with five employees, two of whom remained for 30 years.

Douglas Volk joined his brother and father in 1974, moving to Maine from Massachusetts. Two years later the factory was expanded from the original 20,000 square feet to 33,000 square feet and employed around 25 people.

In 1986, Volk Packaging founder Ben Volk retired, and Ken became President with Douglas as Vice President. That same year production square footage was doubled to 65,000 square feet and employment had doubled in 10 years.

Faced with increasing competition from integrated companies, Volk Packaging launched Newcorr in 1991. This move was critical for ensuring that VPC would always have access to quality board. 1991 was also the year that Derek Volk joined the company full time, becoming Vice President of Sales five years later.

After acquiring property across the street in the industrial park in 1997, VPC expanded the building to what is now 141,000 square feet of state-of-the-art corrugated packaging production with consistently upgraded machinery and technology, including a new scrap recycling system, heat recapture, and, in 2021, 80,000 square feet of rooftop solar for increased sustainability and planet stewardship.

Founder Ken Volk retired in 2007 but remains the company patriarch, staying in touch with many customers year after year. Douglas Volk, who became CEO in 2007, retired in 2019 and continues to pursue a career as an author. Today, Derek Volk is President and a very hands-on owner-operator of Volk Packaging, a well-respected third-generation family business that now employs nearly 100 people, many of whom have worked at VPC for decades.

Despite a global pandemic, 2020 delivered our 12^th consecutive year of growth. We look forward to a strong future supplying manufacturers and producers all over New England.