Founder Sam Shaw & Glen Galloway
Bema was the first company to make bags for such businesses as Mars Candy, Jewel-Osco and Burny Brothers Bakery. The company was located on the South Side of Chicago at 1601 S. Laflin Ave.
The company continued to grow rapidly and by 1959, just two years after it was founded, Bema had three bottom-seal bag machines, three side-weld bag machines and one four-color press. The continued rapid expansion of the company’s operation created the need for a larger, more modern facility. In 1969, Bema moved to its current facility in Elmhurst, Illinois.
The next major expansion at the Elmhurst location for Bema came in the form of blown film extrusion. In 1974, Bema incorporated five blown film extrusion lines into the operation. Extrusion allowed for printing and converting operations all under one roof; there was really nothing Bema couldn’t do as it pertained to processing polyethylene film. Having this new and exciting capability spawned a host of research and development projects that sparked interests from various large corporations. One company, ITW Corporation, was very interested in the stretch film technology Bema was working on. In fact, ITW was so interested, they acquired the company in 1981.
After a five-year run with ITW, Sam saw an opportunity to buy the company back and took it. Shortly after, the company moved its focus from research and development to the form of an “advanced job shop” production facility. A six-color press was added and Bema continued to expand its polyethylene processing capabilities. Throughout the next 13 years, Bema’s resume of customers extended to include many of a America’s top brands including Cloverleaf Bakery, Sherwin Williams, Hartz Mountain and Brock Company.
Sam elected to put the company up for sale and it was sold in August of 1999 to Glen Galloway. Soon after, the company’s name was changed to Bema Incorporated. The main focus of the revitalized company was to grow through improved customer service and to continually refine its fully integrated manufacturing philosophy. The company has further expanded its capabilities to include:
- Two high-speed flexographic printing presses (one ten and one eight color)
- Four pouch machines (two with bottom and side gusset capability, one with bottom gusset and one for liquid packaging)
- Six bag making machines
- High-speed solvent-less lamination
- Three slitters
To improve quality and customer response time, the state-of-the-art Bema Technical Center was created. The Tech Center incorporates digital pre-press and plate making from start to finish. With this added capability, expert resources and a focus on customer service, the modernized company’s sales have grown tenfold. Although the company has seen unprecedented growth, Bema still remains focused on superior customer service through vertical integration, flexibility in manufacturing and a commitment to adapt to our customer’s needs.
