Cauthorne Paper, Part II (CONT’D FROM PAGE 18)
gated shipping boxes while in transit. Prepared meal kits are an example of this application. “We have a unique value-add to them, being this close,” Mark said. “They’re 15, 20 minutes away, and they’re growing like a weed. If we can grow alongside them, that’d be a win-win for both. They are leading the charge on sustainable packaging.” And what are other markets and prospects for the com- pany’s continued growth? “We’re growing the business in three ways,” Mark said. “Organically, through new busi- ness; growth with existing customers through addition of new capabilities, and, when Wallace came on, we were able to acquire another small converter operation, and that really boosted our sales.” The Seventh Generation Joins The Company Enter Wallace Williams, Mark’s son, the seventh gener- ation of Cauthorne’s independent legacy. A 2018 graduate of the University of Virginia, Wallace holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s in finance. He spent several years with Congressional Bank (later Forbright), in Washington, DC, and Denver, providing financing for the real-estate and operating-capital needs for the elder-care and behavioral health industries. With COVID-restricted demand in those markets and Mark’s persuasive per- sistence to consider the family business, Wallace joined Cauthorne’s team in July 2023. “I was ready for a change of work,” Wallace recalls, “so I made the decision to move back to Richmond. It’s been a decision I haven’t regretted.”
Cauthorne’s ‘Broad Waterfront’ Cauthorne Paper Company’s product lines span a broad waterfront of applications and industrial and com- mercial uses. Its product mix is over 50 percent thinner caliper paper grades such as offset, kraft and newsprint and 45 percent board grades such as linerboard, chip- board, SBS, and tag board. The rest are non-woven ma- terials, carrying trade names such as Tyvek®, Finon® and Hollytex®. These products serve specialty markets where the characteristics of synthetic fibers are required. One industry segment which Cauthorne has served for several years is the electronics business, specifically, the manufacture of industrial capacitors. This manufactur- ing process utilizes chipboard strips cut to very precise dimensions to ensure a smooth-running capacitor line. If the strips are out of tolerance, Mark explained, their entire line goes down. “Steve Newsome came in and developed a system to die-cut them, bundle, then trim them and pack- age them in cartons for shipment directly to the customer,” Mark said. “We ship them all over the world – to Israel, to Mexico and El Salvador.” It is this segment, Mark said, in which Cauthorne’s business has continued to grow. Another market segment served by Cauthorne is ther- mal packaging, namely, slitting and rewinding rolls of pre- printed kraft paper for a local manufacturer of thermal packaging materials for insulating the contents of corru-
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20 February 16, 2026
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