Homegrown company celebrates 50 years in Antioch

Anyone who has eaten out in the U.S. likely has handled an item produced by Fischer Paper Products in Antioch.

"Last year we made nearly two billion bags," said William C. Fischer, director of business development for the homegrown company celebrating its 50th year of making products for the food service industry.

"If you've eaten out, you've used our bags and just didn't know it," added Fischer. His grandfather William A. Fischer incorporated the company in Antioch on Feb. 9, 1972.

Over the last half century, Fischer Paper Products has evolved from a local bag-making operation with three employees to a specialty packaging supplier with 130 employees and 20 production lines cranking out a variety of products for many familiar brands, including Panda Express and Culver's.

Fischer said his grandfather started the business with two machines purchased from a bankrupt company.

"They actually had the plates still on the cylinders for french fry bags and doggy bags," explained Fischer, who is the third generation in the family business. Those were the early stock products for clients in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas. In the years that followed, operations were refined and expanded to include myriad products, but food packaging remains 90% of the business. Fischer serves food manufacturers, convenience stores, limited service restaurants, and food service distributors.

Products include high-quality, food-safe pinch-bottom bags, handle carryout bags, food wraps, liners, napkin rings and other items.

Branding and customization is the company's specialty, with features like compostable bags that showcase the food inside with transparent window panels.

As the pandemic emerged in 2020, Fischer, like other companies, reviewed operations, and streamlined and revamped its catalog to showcase its specialty focus. Operations never shut down but moved in stages that fall into a new, 175,000-square-foot facility in the Antioch Corporate Center.

A grand opening was planned in early 2021 but kept getting delayed by the pandemic. It also boosted the market for the company's products, Fischer said.

A sharp increase in pickups and deliveries coupled with a move away from plastic packaging was a boon for the company. Sales and inquiries increased.

"Things that were going to happen in the industry 20 or 30 years from now happened in two years," Fischer said. "We had a record year" in 2021, he added.

Within a few weeks a new production line to make paper handle bags will be up and running. Two more machines are coming, Fischer said, and other investments are planned.

All operations have been consolidated at the new facility, which includes land for future expansion. Needing a bigger space, the business that was founded and began operating in Antioch in 1972 nearly moved to Wisconsin.

Working with Lake County Partners, the county's development arm, the village in 2019, structured a not-to-exceed property tax rebate of $3.5 million over 10 years to keep Fischer in town.

"We're proud that when Fischer Paper looked for a new home, after exploring many options, including out of state, they chose to relocate to a new and bigger facility at the Antioch Corporate Center," Village Administrator Jim Keim said.

The center on Route 173 on the east side of town was established in 2008 and was designated by the village as a special financing district, allowing for development incentives. Other tenants are Handi Foil and GFX International.

"We're dedicated to making the next 50 years even better and to continue growing so we can help our employees, community and our customers even further," said William's cousin, Josh Fischer, president and owner.

Several more anniversary events for customers and former employees are planned, William Fischer said.