Recently my colleague, Sarah Buhlig, Naper Settlement Registrar and I were given a tour of the world headquarters of Phoenix Closures, Inc. We were also presented with artifacts for the collection.
Tucked away in an industrial court off of Route 59 is a company with a 125 year-old history. The company was founded in 1890 by John S. Giles as the Safe Glass Company. Initially the company produced glass jars and cork stoppers. A tighter, more secure method was needed however, and the metal band, screw-top method was improved and developed.
In 1905 the Safe Glass Company merged with a metal cap manufacturer in California. The new company was called the Hermetic Closure Company. Glass bottle making was discontinued and the company focused on metal caps.
Six years later in 1911 the company merged again with the Phoenix Cap Company of New York becoming the Phoenix-Hermetic Company. Between 1939 and 1959 the company began to experiment with plastics. The first injection mold was purchased in 1939 and by 1965 the demand for thermoplastic caps was so great the company moved its plastics division out of Chicago and into Naperville.
In 1966 the company was re-named Phoenix Closures, Inc. By 1986 a fifth addition to the Naperville plant was added to supply the world demand for plastic lids.
Today, Phoenix Closures supply nearly 20 countries on six continents with their products! More than 35 patents have been issued to the Naperville-based company in product design and production. I’ll bet you can find at least two or three products in your home right now with Phoenix Closures lids!
Just open up a bottle and look under the lid. Do you see the phoenix bird rising from the fire? That’s a Phoenix Closure lid.
Congratulations to Phoenix Closures for 50 years in Naperville!
