Central National-Gottesman

Central National-Gottesman Inc.

Type	Private
Industry	Pulp, Paper and Forest Products
Founded	1886, New York City
Headquarters	Purchase, New York, United States
Key people	Kenneth L. Wallach, Executive Chairman, Andrew Wallach, President and CEO
Revenue	$5.1 billion USD (2015 Estimate)
Number of employees	2,500
Website	www.cng-inc.com

Central National-Gottesman Inc. (CNG) is one of the world's largest distributors of pulp, paper, packaging, tissue, newsprint and plywood. The company employs 2,500 in more than 150 locations in 48 cities across North America and in 26 countries around the world, including 43 warehouses and 53 retail stores.

CNG operates through three divisions: The Central National Division, a global distributor of pulp, paper, newsprint, packaging, tissue and plywood; the North American Distribution Division, comprising four regional paper distributors which supply a range of paper products to large and mid-sized commercial printers and corporate end users; and the North American Publication Division, which supplies paper to the book, magazine, catalogue, retail and direct mail industry.

With 2014 revenues of $4.7 billion, Forbes ranked CNG 87th in its annual list of "The Largest Private Companies",^[1] and Crains New York Business listed CNG as the 11th largest private company in the New York region.^[2]

History

Founded in New York City in 1886 as M. Gottesman & Company, the firm was substantially expanded under his son D.S. Gottesman in the first half of the 20th century.^[3] The company has continued to grow both organically and through acquisition. In 1984 CNG entered the paper distribution business in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of United States through the acquisition of Lindenmeyr Paper Corporation,^[4] followed by D.F. Munroe Company in 1988,^[5] Communication Paper Corporation in 1991, and Perkins & Squier Company in 1998.^[6]

Expansion

CNG's paper distribution business expanded its geographical footprint in the next decade, opening branches in new locations–Richmond, Chicago, Milwaukee and Durham, NC–as well acquiring several paper distributors in existing markets: the Hudson City Division of Frank Parsons, Inc. in 2009;^[7] the Frank Parsons Fine Paper Division in 2010;^[8] Hudson Valley Paper Company in 2011;^[9] and both Domtar Corporation's Ariva paper merchant business ^[10] and Bradner Central's paper distribution business in 2013.^[11] Geographic expansion continued with the purchase of Spicers Paper, Inc. and Kelly Paper on the West Coast in 2012.^[12] In 2015 CNG entered the Canadian paper distribution market with the acquisition of Spicers Canada.^[13]

Other areas of CNG continued to expand as well, including the 2013 acquisition of A.T. Clayton, a leading distributor of paper for the magazine, catalogue and direct mail segment.^[14] CNG entered the plywood trading business in 2014 through the purchase of Hudson Trading and the North American operations of the Danish forest products company DHL.

Leadership

The company was run from 1956 to 1979 by Ira D. Wallach (son-in-law of D.S. Gottesman). His son James G. Wallach, who launched the company’s expansion into the North American paper distribution business, was CEO from 1979 until his death in 1998.^[15] Another son, Kenneth L. Wallach, became CEO in 1998, leading the company through a 17-year period of significant geographic and financial growth.^[16] He assumed the position of Executive Chairman in 2015. Andrew M. Wallach (son of James G. Wallach), a member of the fifth generation of the founding family, was named CEO in January 2015.^[17]

References