Gunther Mele Ltd. is a Canadian

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or Production (economics), production of goods with the help of equipment, Work (human activity), labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary se ...

and supplier of

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...

packaging Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of designing, evaluating, and producing packages. Packaging can be described as a coo ...

. The company's headquarters are located in

Brantford Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully indep ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. Gunther Mele is

privately owned A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the company's stock is ...

and has operations in the United States, China and Canada.

History

Gunther Mele was established in 1857 by two

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

immigrant brothers and was originally named the E&A Gunther Company. The company’s mission statement was "Everything for the Jeweler except Jewelry". They supplied jewelry packaging, watch materials, and workshop tools to independent

jeweler A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmithing, goldsmithing, stone setting, engraving, ...

s, jewelry chain stores, and large

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

jewelry departments. In 1962, a great-grandson of the founders was killed in an automobile accident after leaving a trade show. His widow sold the company to Mele Manufacturing Company of

Utica, New York Utica () is the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adiro ...

. In 1987, Douglas M. King, who is the current owner and CEO, purchased Gunther Mele from Mele Manufacturing. Mele Manufacturing was a major jewelry case manufacturer which owned Farrington Packaging, which itself made cases for Cross Pen, Schick Shavers and many consumer product companies. His son, Darrell King, joined the company in 1995 and now serves as the company's president.

Overview

Over the years, the company has evolved into one of the largest suppliers of packaging and packaging-related products in North America. The company employs over 250 people in two facilities including a manufacturing plant in

Brantford, Ontario Brantford (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River (Ontario), Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by County of Brant, Brant County but is politically separate wi ...

, Canada, and an operation in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, United States. The company manufactures

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

-filled paper boxes as well as poly bags,

paper bag A paper bag is a bag made of paper, usually kraft paper. Paper bags can be made either with virgin or recycled fibres to meet customers' demands. Paper bags are commonly used as shopping bag, shopping carrier bags and for packaging of some co ...

s, reusable bags, and a variety of printed ribbon, seals and packaging accessories. Gunther Mele has been an early adopter of environmentally friendly packaging, licensing TDPA oxo-biodegradable technology from epi-global and utilizing FSC approved suppliers of papers for it shopping bags. Reusable non-woven fabric style bags have become a major category for Gunther Mele. In addition to manufacturing capabilities, the company has more than thirty years experience working with manufacturers in Asia and established a "working venture" with several overseas manufacturers. Product volume with these three manufacturing companies in China is substantial and allows the company to control production schedules, quality and delivery. Gunther Mele also owns a Chinese company called KDI Limited, located in Hong Kong, which acts as a sourcing agent, liaises with factories in quality, delivery and production methods and facilitates the company's importing activities.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website

KDI Limited
Companies based in Ontario Brantford