Donald and Dolores Ross, on May 21, 1979, began a journey of a lifetime together.  Pooling their energies, resources, and courage, Don started his own distribution business (staples, nails, etc.) with another partner/investor – at an age when most others are thinking of retirement!

Don saw a unique opportunity develop when a prior employer of his was faced with closing down their Chicago branch.  He immediately purchased the remaining assets left by the departing employer.  This gave Don the springboard he needed to pursue the Chicago market for himself!  A market he knew very well.  By the end of the first year, Don was in a favorable position to buy out his partner, and finally realize the 100% family-owned business he had dreamed about with Dolores.

The company was established as Central Staple & Shipping Supplies, Inc., stemming from Don's background in the stapling and nailing arena.  In the heart of Chicago’s bustling Elk Grove Village industrial community, Don steadily grew the business for six consecutive years.

The company began to expand its employee base from two to three in 1982.  Don’s son, Sean, joined the family venture full time.  Prior to ’82, Sean had helped his Dad with deliveries and warehouse/office duties, between his student responsibilities and part-time work at United Parcel Service.  Don and Dolores retired just three years later, in the fall of 1985, the same year Sean, as the new president, hired his first full-time employee and outside salesperson, Jim Randazzo.

In 1987 the company modified the company name, dropping “Staple &”.  The focus of the business was swiftly moving away from traditional stapling and nailing into systems, machinery and various packaging supplies.  As such, the company experienced rapid growth from 1985 through 1990, and Sean was pressed to address the growing complexity and demands of the business.  Accounting and Human Resources functions demanded greater skill and attention if the business were to continue at its breakneck pace.  As a result, Scott Ross, Sean’s older brother, was lured away from his own successful accounting career, to join the company as the Controller.

The company sought to expand its territorial coverage, and opened a Wisconsin branch in 1990.  Logistically, the Wisconsin market was well suited for the company’s continued growth objectives for the 90’s and soon thereafter, full warehousing capabilities were added to meet the growing demands of the marketplace. 

By 1992, reeling from the effects of annual business growth of greater than 50% for the past seven years, Central Shipping Supplies boldly invested in a new distribution facility southwest of Elk Grove Village in Carol Stream.  Capacity had now doubled!

Central Shipping Supplies continued to increase market share over the next nine years, growing at 18+% annually.  Additional warehouse space was leased in 2002, again doubling capacity to handle the rapid growth of venturing into the corrugated market.  Still, the company faced growing pressures for space.  Embarking on its second new construction project, the business broke ground in Batavia in the spring of 2002, their current location.  The new facility contains six times the warehouse space of their Carol Stream building.  The office also has doubled in size, accommodating most of PackSmart’s 25 employees.

PackSmart offers products nationwide via internet sales available through orders@packsmart.com.  The company’s outside sales representation coverage from it’s Illinois base reaches east to South Bend, IN; south to Kankakee; west over to Rockford; and north to the Illinois/Wisconsin border. From the Wisconsin facility, accounts have sales representation north to Green Bay, west (past Madison) to Boscobel, and south to the state border. 

Coinciding with the move to its larger facility, the company changed its name to PackSmart, Inc. in October of 2002.  The name, PackSmart, is not only trendy with 60% less characters than Central Shipping Supplies, but, mainly, it also conveys the story of the company’s evolution. PackSmart has taken the systems orientation approach, beginning in the mid- to late-90’s, bringing valued packaging design and application concepts to the marketplace. The name PackSmart says it best!