The American Writing Paper Company was selling off some of its factory division buildings in the mid-20th century and found a willing buyer in the Holyoke Water Power Company (HWPCo). HWPCo purchased the former Parson’s Paper Co. division on Gatehouse Road in 1949 and planned to lease the space out to start-ups or small existing manufacturing concerns.
Laminated Papers Inc. was a new company that leased 15,000 square feet of floor space in the former Parson’s plant in 1953. Chesley H. Bell of Worcester was the company president, and Donald L. Gibbs of Newton was the treasurer. The company produced asphalt-based wrapping paper and anticipated initially hiring 15 workers.
By 1953, HWPCo had acquired 7 different mills and introduced 20 businesses into the plant spaces. Over 1,000 workers were gainfully employed as a result.
By 1956, Laminated Papers Inc. was growing and had leased additional factory space. A year later, the company leased 10,000 additional square feet of space. Also, in 1957, the 15 company’s employees voted to join the United Papermakers and Paperworkers Union, AFL-CIO.
Laminated Papers contributed to a portion of the construction of the new Mt. Tom Power Plant. The company produced the asphalt-laminated aluminum for “metalon”, used to cover and insulate pipes and resist corrosion. The product would be shipped for final production by Johns Manville in 36-inch-wide and 1,000-pound rolls.
The 1960s and beyond featured a period of rapid expansion and property acquisitions by the corporation. In 1962 and 1963, Laminated Plastics secured a combined $185,000 in U. S. Small Business Administration loans to facilitate expansion and further hiring.
In 1965, under the direction of Bernard Adams, the new company president, a warehouse building was purchased at the southeast corner of Appleton and Winter Streets. The company moved from Gatehouse Road to 50 Appleton Street in mid-1966.
In 1969, Bathelt Construction Company of 12 Samosett Street was awarded the contract to add an addition to the main plant at Appleton and Winter Street. The 125-foot-by-122-foot building would provide additional storage and manufacturing space. Oswald Vachon of Dillon Avenue was the architect. The company also purchased property on Winter Street in 1969.
10 years later, the company added 3,772 square feet to the plant at 50 Appleton Street, and shortly thereafter, in 1981, a $1.6 million, 24,000-square-foot addition was constructed at 54 Winter Street.
In 1989, the company’s primary product was making wrappers for industrial-sized rolls of paper. The plant employed 85 workers at the time.
In 1993, the company sought approval to redevelop the former Autron Inc. property at 24-38 Winter Street. The plan was to add 35,000 square feet of space in a $7.2 million project, resulting in 12 additional hires.
In 2003, Wassau-Mosinee Paper Company acquired Laminated Papers Inc. and moved the plant operations to Wisconsin and Mississippi, ending 50 years of growth of this Holyoke roll-wrap operation.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, Massachusetts; publication dates and pages are shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Price & Lee Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
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