History

In 1900, John Lewis Clark had a hardware store, and patented an improved flue stopper, the Gem Flue Stopper. He spent $70 for equipment, $45 for dies, and $25 for a secondhand foot-powered punch press. Because he was dissatisfied with the current lithography available at the time, the company began to do its own. After punching out the flue stopper, there was waste material left over, and, also, not enough volume to run the punch press full time. This gave Clark an idea, and so began the Gem ointment boxes, which were small and produced from the leftover metal from the flue stoppers. A wise use of resources.

The J. L. Clark Company has been busy over the years making products for industry. During World War Ii, the company produced gas masks, rifle clips, M-1 rifle magazines, and flashlights.

Over the years, products that many of us may have used include spice tins–think McCormick’s pepper, Johnson & Johnson plastic bandage containers, Hallmark containers, the Duracell alkaline battery shells, and dispensers for double-edged razors. Just think of all the items we may have handled, little knowing that they were made in Rockford!

J.L. Clark Manufacturing Co.

On November 11, 1904, the J.L. Clark Manufacturing Company was officially chartered. The Rockford Daily Register – Gazette noted: “The charter of the J.L. Clark Manufacturing Company was filed for record today. The capital stock is $25,000 and the stock is all in the family.”

Opened Rockford Location in 1911

J.L. Clark has called 923 23rd Ave home since 1911. The Rockford location has two plants, one for metals and one for plastics at 1109 23rd Ave. Our 450,000 sq. ft. campus employs 300 in 2019.

J.L. Clark Tower

This familiar piece of the Rockford skyline was added in 1925 to support more rapid expansion of the business.

Wartime Production

J.L. Clark contracted to produce several items during both world wars. Shown here are some items produced during World War II for the war effort:

Lip Balm and Camouflage Application Tubes
Flashlight Bodies for U.S. Navy
First Aid Tins
Gas Mask Components
Signor Core Battery Jackets
Rifle Magazines
Saddle Soap Tins

Expanded to Lancaster in 1955

Our Lancaster, PA location, acquired in 1955, employs 170 in 275,000 sq. ft. in 2019, and specializes in tobacco lid and spice tin manufacturing.

G. Felsenthal & Sons Inc.
(Plastics)

In 1959 J.L. Clark acquired G. Felsenthal & Sons of Chicago in response to the next big trend in packaging: plastics. Felsenthal soon began producing plastic closures for J.L. Clark spice tins in addition to their existing product lines including automotive, television, and radio components, housewares, and toys. In 1971, everything except the packaging segments of the business were sold and the injection molding operations were relocated to Rockford.

J.L Clark was renamed in 1987

In 1987, J.L Clark was renamed CLARCOR and the J.L Clark name was reorganized to only apply to the packaging segment of the company.

Sold to CC Industries in 2015

In 2015 CLARCOR sold J.L Clark to CC Industries of Chicago.

Where are we now?

In 2024 J.L. Clark will be celebrating 120 years of business! We are constantly thriving to stay up to date with today’s technology and are always making efforts to improve our company.