John Bacot (CONT’D FROM PAGE 4)
a die cutter stop mid-conversation. Grossbard told him to pause. After about a minute of silence, the machine start- ed again. “Every thump you didn’t hear,” Grossbard told him, “we lost five cents.” The insight wasn’t about speed alone. It was about the cost of lost opportunity. That understanding of indepen- dent operations would later shape Bacot’s leadership at the Association of Independent Corrugated Converters (AICC), where he served as Vice President of Operations beginning in 2007. Working directly with independent con- verters across the country, Bacot focused on the practical realities of plant economics, sales strategy, and long-term planning—helping operators connect investment deci- sions to day-to-day performance. Bacot credits much of his professional growth during this period to mentors who helped shape his thinking and approach. Among them was Steve Young, with whom Ba-
both his father and maternal grandfather were graduates of Johns Hopkins. Back inside plants like PCA Liverpool, Southern Con- tainer, and what is now Smurfit WestRock, Bacot began to understand corrugated as a business. It wasn’t just about machines and materials, but decisions made minute by minute on the plant floor. He learned how downtime trans- lated directly to dollars, long before “OEE” became com- mon language. That understanding crystallized years later in a moment Bacot still recounts vividly. While working with Ward Ma- chinery in the late 1990s, he was interviewing indepen- dent box plant owners to better understand their opera- tions. Sitting across from Marvin Grossbard, Bacot heard
cot shared countless conversations about leadership, integrity, and responsibility in a close-knit industry. That background made Bacot a natural fit when MHIA began looking to expand its presence in the independent market, partic- ularly in the Northeast. The company need- ed someone who understood not just the technology, but the mindset of independent owners. Paul Aliprando recognized that fit and recruited Bacot to MHIA in 2016. Alipran- do understood that selling EVOLs into the independent market required more than product knowledge—it required credibility with owners who lived and breathed their operations. Bacot’s experience at Ward and HyCorr, his time with Sonoco, and his lead- ership at AICC all aligned directly with that mission. At MHIA, Bacot helped secure early in- dependent EVOL installations, including the landmark Rand Whitney project that opened doors across the region. From there, interest spread. “That’s why Paul hired me,” Bacot said. “He knew I understood that market.” As he steps into retirement on March 31, just two days after his 10-year anniver- sary with MHIA, Bacot is looking forward to something simple: “freedom from obli- gation. Unless it’s tee time,” he joked. His license plate reads “GOLF NUT,” and he in- tends to live up to it. Bacot’s guidance to the next generation is straightforward: ask better questions, un- derstand the full picture, and think beyond today’s needs. “My goal has always been simple: make the future happen,” Bacot said. “When decisions are made with that perspective, progress follows.”
6 March 9, 2026
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