In 1932, Sealright Packing Company established a Fairfax plant to produce paper products, bottle caps, and food packaging. Sealright became a subsidiary of Oswego Falls-Sealright Co. Inc in 1917. In 1921, the company introduced the first milk container made entirely of paper. Trademarked as the Sealright Kone bottle, it was the true precursor of the modern assembly-line-produced paper milk carton.
Did you Know? In 1926, a Saturday Evening post ad changed the ice cream market overnight, with paper cartons being marketed to the home consumer.
As a result the company opened new plants, including the one in Fairfax. When it opened it had one assembly line producing 2.5 million milk bottle caps daily, with 30 employees working a nine-hour shift. Paper containers and cups for ice cream soon followed, providing jobs for approximately 200 employees during the Great Depression.
Ashley Elbl, production manager, joined Sealright in 1946 as chief chemist and built the plant’s quality control program. Elbl was head basketball coach at Wyandotte High School from 1939-1942, winning the AA state basketball championship with his team in 1940-1941. Shortly after being placed in charge of the plant, the KCK city commissioners approved a 25-year lease allowing for the expansion of Sealright operations.