Pub. Note: I’m reminded of a standard line from radio shows of old: “But first, a word from our sponsor…” That’s a highly appropriate message, before you read the release and view the video about WCP Solutions’ (WCPS) 90th Anniversary celebration this month.
WCPS (nee West Coast Paper) has been the leading sponsor of MARKETING-related endeavors from Day One in 1986. That includes advertising regularly in MARKETING newspaper and the annual ATLAS and serving as the sole and Presenting Sponsor of the MARKETING Awards, from 2010 to 2017. Today, the company is one of two Gold Sponsors of this website.
Our contact with the far-flung Northwest company is through the Kent facility and its general managers.Those include the recently retired Jim Baumgardt and the current GM, Steve Cole.
Jim is credited with seeing the need, early in the new century, to place greater emphasis on a range of industrial products, in light of lessening of demand for the company’s bedrock print-paper products. The subsequent growth of the industrial business led to the rebranding of the company a decade ago.
Our congratulations to the Abrams family and to all of the WCPS employees on the rare longevity and success of their business, and our thanks to the company for its continuing major support of our endeavors over more than three decades. The informative WCPS story and video follow. —Larry Coffman
WCP Solutions (WCPS) has been serving customers in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and Northern California since 1930. WCPS is a privately held third-generation wholesale distributor, providing products and service solutions by selling paper, packaging, janitorial supplies and equipment through facilities in Washington, Oregon, Northern California, Idaho, Montana and Alaska,
Formerly known as West Coast Paper Company, WCPS was founded by RA (Dick) Abrams on March 1, 1930, selling basic packaging supplies such as brown wrapping paper, tying twine and bags to the merchants in Seattle’s Pike Place and other public markets. He delivered orders out of the back of a Model-A Ford to his customers in the Seattle area. Ninety years later, the company is owned by a third generation of the Abrams family and has grown to 14 locations.
Today, WCP Solutions is led by Teresa Russell, owner and board chairperson and RA Abrams’ granddaughter, and has been family-owned since 1930. Teresa reflected on the company her grandfather started, “My grandfather, I hope, would be very proud of the company. I think he’d be thrilled that we’re taking care of as many families as we are with the people we employ.”
Teresa’s father, Dick Abrams, the second-generation owner, said, “My parents started the company seven years before I was born, so I knew the business from a very young age. For a company to survive to the second generation is somewhat rare, and to survive into a third generation is definitely rare. What makes WCPS stand out in our line of business is the way we treat our people and our customers.”
WCPS has released a commemorative video titled “Proud of our Past, Passionate About our Future” to celebrate its anniversary. The video interviews leaders of the company and reflects on both the past 90 years, as well as looking to what’s ahead for the company.
“Ninety years is certainly a long time for any company to be in business, But for a company to turn 90 and still be privately held under the same family ownership means that what we’re doing is working,” says Tom Groves, CEO of WCPS.
With customers at the forefront of their business model, WCPS President Ed Allen says, “When a WCPS employee interacts with a customer, it’s more than just selling a product. We’re providing a solution and developing a long-lasting relationship.”
Dick Abrams, the second-generation owner of WCPS, promised, “We’ll continue to do business tomorrow the way we did it yesterday and the way we’re proud to do it today. The company was started as a way to make a living to support a family; now it supports many families.”
About WCP Solutions
WCP Solutions is a wholesale provider of paper, envelopes, packaging supplies, janitorial cleaning and facility supplies, foodservice disposables, and equipment solutions. WCP Solutions is dedicated to providing exceptional customer service and product solutions for customers locally in Washington, Oregon, Northern California, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska.
For more information, visit https://www.wcpsolutions.com
P.S. And this important note and graphic from design guru Tim Girvin:
Hi all—interestingly, this is a brand that we renamed—from West Coast Paper, to WCP | SOLUTIONS, as well as provided the repositioning for expanded offerings [Paper | Packaging | JanSan | Equipment], branding, systemic brand guides and vehicular graphics. 90! Congratulations to them! Wow!
