Fellowes Brands Explained

Fellowes Brands, Inc.
Type:	Private company
Founded:	(as Bankers Box Company)
Founder:	Harry Fellowes
Location:	Itasca, Illinois, United States
Key People:	John Fellowes, CEO
Industry:	Workspace products

Fellowes Brands, Inc. is a privately held manufacturer of office equipment based in Itasca, Illinois. The company was founded as the Bankers Box Company to manufacture the company's namesake Bankers Box record storage boxes. Since the 1960s, the company has diversified its portfolio of products, changing its name to Fellowes and becoming a market leader of paper shredders and record storage products in the United States.^[1]

After its expansion into business machines such as shredding, laminating, and binding, Fellowes Brands has expanded its brand to include various products, including modular walls, furniture, business machines, commercial air purification, and commercial-grade workspace products.^[2]

Fellowes has been owned and operated by members of its namesake family since its foundation in 1917. The company operates 24 regional offices across the world and employs more than 1,000 people.^[3]

History

The company was founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1917 by Harry Fellowes and Walter Nickel as the Bankers Box Company, producing the Bankers Box line of record storage boxes.^[4] Sons Folger and John Fellowes joined the business in 1934 and 1938, respectively,^[5] and grandson James Fellowes joined in 1969 and was named president in 1983. The same year the company name was changed from Bankers Box to Fellowes to reflect an expansion into business machines and computer accessory products. James Fellowes would later become CEO in 1997.^[6] As the brand portfolio expanded, the company was named Fellowes Brands in 2015. The great-grandson of the founder and the fourth generation of the Fellowes family, John Fellowes, became CEO of Fellowes Brands in 2014. The company's corporate headquarters are in Itasca, Illinois.^[7]

In 2019, the company acquired Trendway Corporation, an office furniture manufacturer based in Holland, Michigan.^[8]

General and cited sources

• Book: Pederson, Jay P. . 1999 . International Directory of Company Histories . St. James Press . 9781558626690 . the Internet Archive.

Notes and References

1. Web site: July 21, 2000 . Office products company opening LV distribution center . Las Vegas Sun . https://web.archive.org/web/20230413062410/https://lasvegassun.com/news/2000/jul/21/office-products-company-opening-lv-distribution-ce/ . April 13, 2023.
2. Web site: n.d. . Fellowes Brands acquires office wellness vendor . OPI.
3. Web site: n.d. . Fellowes Brands . LinkedIn.
4. Web site: Copeland . Alicia . February 13, 2020 . Why do they call them Bankers Boxes? . Legal Moments in History . Thomson Reuters . https://web.archive.org/web/20200504124912/https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/why-are-they-called-bankers-boxes/ . May 4, 2020.
5. Staff writer . December 2001 . The Fellowes Family . Office World News . Imaging Network . 29 . 12 . 13 . ProQuest.
6. Staff writer . December 2001 . John Fellowes Celebrates 60th Anniversary with Company . Office World News . Imaging Network . 26 . 7 . 6 . ProQuest.
7. Web site: Zumbach . Lauren . July 30, 2018 . Maker of the Bankers Box is preparing for the workplace of the future with sit-stand desks, healthy workplace products . Chicago Tribune . Tribune Publishing . https://web.archive.org/web/20180730133250/https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-back-story-john-fellowes-fellowes-brands-0729-story.html . July 30, 2018.
8. Web site: Sanchez . Mark . August 14, 2019 . Holland-based Trendway Corp. acquired by Illinois manufacturer . Crain's Grand Rapids Business . Crain Communications . https://web.archive.org/web/20200511101839/https://mibiz.com/sections/manufacturing/holland-based-trendway-corp-acquired-by-illinois-manufacturer . May 11, 2020.