Our Story
From a modest apartment in London, Ontario to a multi-national packaging leader — Crawford Packaging’s journey is one of relentless innovation, strategic growth, and unwavering commitment to enhancing business performance. Discover how over 60 years of vision, leadership, and transformation have shaped who we are today.
The Beginning
- Founded by Dick Crawford in London, Ontario
- Operated from Crawford’s apartment
- First warehouse at Flannagan’s in east London
Growth & New Leadership
- Expanded to 20,000 sq ft warehouse (1978)
- Sold to Clarence Covey (1981)
- Strong growth in industrial & automotive
New Facility
- Continuous growth and product line expansion
- Moved to state-of-the-art Page Street facility in London
- Acquired L & E Paper (Barrie operation)
- Gained expertise in the food service packaging sector
Flow Wrapper Innovation
- Introduced RGD Mape Flow Wrappers to Canada
- Backed by Italian & Spanish expertise
- Set new market standard for produce
Rapid Expansion
- Acquired Lions Shipping Supplies (2010)
- Acquired Provincial Paper & Packaging
- New Mississauga Distribution Centre
- Re-branded to Crawford Provincial
- Acquired Star Packaging Equipment
- Added in-house Service Technicians for packaging equipment installations and service
Leadership & Infrastructure
- John Ashby named President; Clarence Covey became Executive Chairman
- External Board of Directors established.
- Acquired Indapac which provided increased expertise in core packaging product lines.
- New Brampton GTA Distribution Centre with showroom, service shop, and conference centre
U.S. Market Entry
- Opened Laredo, Texas Distribution Centre to serve Produce Packaging Market customers in southern border states and in Mexico.
- Hired dedicated U.S./Mexican Produce sales professional
- Introduced Sorma equipment line
- Expanded to suppliers in England, Israel, and China
- Equipment Division designed first custom equipment
- Filed first patent for stretch wrapping innovation
Innovation & Acquisition
- Patent innovation beta testing in Fortune 100 company
- Introduced U.K. Packaging Automation (tray sealing technology)
- Acquired Arctic Packaging Waterloo (4th acquisition in 6 years)
Technology Advancement
- Construction began on London office expansion
- Establishes new strapping equipment partnership with Reisopack.
- Launched new company website
- Installed first semi-auto water-activated tape case sealer in Canada (with IPG)
- Upgraded to ISO 9001:2015 certification
Geographic Expansion
- Crawford Waterloo moves to a new office in Cambridge.
- Crawford opens two new warehouses in Mexico and Georgia.
- Crawford launches new Food Processing Pillars.
Strategic Growth
- Crawford begins construction of new facility in Essex, ON.
- Doug Crowe becomes Regional Sales Manager.
- Crawford acquires Summit Paper & Packaging Ltd.
Recognition & Innovation
- Crawford Packaging is a 2021 Winner of Canada’s Best Managed Companies
- Nominated for Balpex’s 2021 Member of the year
- Crawford Packaging launched the latest in top seal technology
International Presence
- Crawford Packaging opened a branch in Queretaro, Mexico
- Crawford Packaging updated our tagline to ‘Enhancing your business performance’
- Crawford Packaging is a 2022 Winner of Canada’s Best Managed Companies
Automation Leadership
- Expanded automation: Global AGV Autonomous Forklifts
- Expanded automation: Ravenwood Linerless Label Applicators
- Grand Opening of Automation Experience Centre in Mississauga
- Announced Partnership with StePacPPC in Mexico
