Atlas Container (CONT’D FROM PAGE 20)
mary production hub has remained unchanged. Holston’s familiarity with the floor comes from having worked across the business. He started at Atlas while still in high school, working on the plant floor and assist- ing with design. After graduating, he returned full-time as head designer for five years, spent time in sales, then moved into production, serving as quality control manager for six years before returning to sales, where he has been for the past five. “When you’ve been involved in design, production, and quality, you understand how decisions in one area affect everything else,” Holston says. That perspective runs in the family. Holston’s father, Dale, worked at Atlas his entire career, serving as both plant manager and sales manager. He was among the original employees at the company’s earlier Merchant Drive location and later worked under Paul and Peter Cen- tenari as the business grew into its current footprint. That depth of experience shapes how the Severn plant operates today. The production layout reflects an empha- sis on reliability and adaptability rather than chasing the latest technology, setting the foundation for the equip- ment decisions Atlas has made over time. Flexibility At The Forefront The equipment mix on Atlas Container’s Severn plant floor reflects a clear priority: keep the operation flexible, reliable, and suited to the work coming through the door. CONTINUED ON PAGE 24
Centenaris spent months visiting plants throughout the Northeast, trying to understand the business from the floor up. Eventually, they identified a Baltimore-area operation priced within reach. Financing the acquisition required raising $800,000, which meant presenting the deal to more than a dozen banks. The sellers ultimately carried a note and retained equity, a structure that aligned interests and gave the Centenaris confidence as first-time owners. The transaction closed at four o’clock in the morning, the day before Thanksgiving in 1988. “And that’s how we got into the box business,” Paul Centenari says. Fiercely Independent, Regionally Focused More than three decades after entering the corrugated business, Atlas Container remains fiercely independent, family-owned, and regionally focused. Much of the com- pany’s institutional knowledge resides in employees who have spent most or all of their careers there, including DJ Holston, who bills himself as “sales associate,” and whose experience at Atlas spans most of the operation. During a tour of the Severn plant, Holston explains how the operation works today and how it has evolved over time. Atlas purchased the building in 1996, a facility that had already been used for corrugated manufacturing un- der previous ownership. Since then, the plant has been expanded and updated, but its role as the company’s pri-
22 February 23, 2026
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