Uline

Uline is a private company offering shipping and business supplies throughout North America. Founded in 1980 by Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, the company has more than 9,000 employees and is headquartered in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.

History

Uline was founded in 1980 by Elizabeth "Liz" and Richard "Dick" Uihlein. Richard Uihlein is a descendant of the brewers of Schlitz beer. With start-up funds from his father, Edgar Uihlein, Richard and Elizabeth founded the company from their basement after recognizing a local need for a shipping supply distributor. The company's first product was the H-101 carton sizer. Its success enabled the Uihleins to move into a new headquarters in Waukegan, Illinois.

Over the 1980s and 1990s, operations began in Minnesota, California and New Jersey. In the 2000s, Uline began operations in Mexico and Canada and opened distribution centers in Illinois, Texas, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. The Uline catalog grew to 450 pages, offering over 17,000 products.

In 2008, Uline announced it was constructing a new headquarters in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. The move was partially motivated by the Uihleins' ties to Wisconsin; Richard Uihlein's family had lived in Milwaukee and founded the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company, and the couple owns a home and restaurant in Manitowish Waters. Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle expected 1,000 jobs would move to Southeastern Wisconsin, and pledged $6 million to support the move. The 200-acre headquarters opened in the summer of 2010, featuring offices for Uline staff and a 1-million square foot warehouse which supplies products to distribution centers. Due to increasing growth, an expansion consisting of a second office building and warehouse was announced in 2014. Construction began in early 2016 and was completed in 2017. The expansion brought about 800 additional jobs to Pleasant Prairie.

In 2019, Uline began considering a second major expansion with two more distribution centers with a combined area of over 1.7 million square feet. The distribution centers would complement two existing Uline distribution centers in Pleasant Prairie.

Company overview

The company is owned by the Uihlein family and set up as a passthrough corporation. ''ProPublica'' stated that as of August 2021, Richard and Elizabeth own a majority of the company. Elizabeth Uihlein serves as president and chief executive officer, her husband Richard Uihlein is chairman of the board of directors. All three of their children are company executives; Duke Uihlein is the Minnesota branch manager, Freddy Goldenberg is the corporate planning manager, and Brian Uihlein is the vice president of merchandising. Richard Uihlein's brother Steve also serves as a vice president.

The Uline headquarters is located on in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. The headquarters consists of two buildings: a facility, and a newer (2017) building of about the same size. Plans to begin work on a third building for its corporate campus that would be 325,00 square feet in size where announced in January of 2024.

The company was previously headquartered in Waukegan, Illinois, but moved to Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, in 2010, in return for up to $18.6 million in state incentives.

The company regularly holds career fairs at its warehouses. The company uses workers on H1B and temporary work visas.

Uline performs follicle drug testing on its employees. The company has a conservative dress code, with ties mandatory for men, pantyhose and skirts for women between November and April, and tattoos discouraged.

Operations and marketing

Elizabeth Uihlein frequently includes her writings in the catalog, many of which reflect her political views. Past column topics have included "the danger of Chinese competition, the negative health effects of marijuana use and the detriments of the Federal Reserve's low interest rate policy."

In 2015, Uline began using hydrogen powered forklifts in its Pleasant Prairie facility and between then and 2024, their use expanded to five other facilities. In 2024, it was announced that they would begin using them in four more facilities.

In December 2024, ''The Guardian'' reported that Uline was bringing in workers from its Mexico warehouses on tourist and occupational training visas to illegally work shifts in the United States in a program known by senior executives including Elizabeth Uihlein. Further reporting by the Guardian alleges seeing pay stubs for a Mexican worker who was paid roughly $38 per day, a weekly bonus of about $225, and a daily food allowance.

Reporting by the Guardian alleges that in its warehouses, temporary workers, who are majority Hispanic, have uniforms that are limited to fleece vests as winter attire and are prohibited from wearing hats, gloves, or jackets regardless of temperature, while permanent workers where allowed hats and a fleece jacket.

Elizabeth believes that cannabis "stays in your system for at least 5 days" and that its lingering effects during this period could adversely effect Uline warehouse employees "who go up 30 feet in the air to pick products off the shelves." Uline performs follicle drug testing on its employees.

An important marketing tool for Uline is its product catalog, which has been produced since its founding. Mailed twice a year, the catalog is 800 pages long and advertises over 37,500 products. Uline also relies on extensive online advertising. The company is not believed to have a communications department, and maintains a low profile on social media.

COVID-19 pandemic

On August 25, 2020, Elizabeth Uihlein and two other Uline executives flew to Toronto on the company's jet to visit a Uline warehouse. At that point in time, border crossings necessitated a two week quarantine period, unless travelers were issued exemptions for engaging in "non-discretionary travel", a designation usually given to truckers and flight crews -- Elizabeth and her colleagues where granted such exemptions. During their two day visit, it was noted that there where calls to local police over group meetings held by "three Americans" at the company where no one was wearing masks. Bill Blair, Public Safety Minister, called the classification of their travel as nondiscretionary a mistake on the part of border agents acting on information given to them at the border.

In February 2021, ''The Guardian'' reported the company had experienced a Covid infection rate of 14% compared to an overall rate of 8.7% in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, where the company is headquartered; multiple employees filed workplace safety complaints with the federal government claiming that the company was exposing them to unnecessary risk.

Financial information

In 2014, the company was estimated to have $2 billion in revenue. ''ProPublica'' estimates the company made nearly a billion dollars in profit in 2018. the company reported having over 6,700 employees and over $5.8 billion in revenue.

Corporate philanthropy

The company donated $3 million to the city of Kenosha, Wisconsin, to help it build housing in 2023. The company operates a scholarship fund for the children of employees pursuing post-secondary education and a scholarship open to the general public.

Political activities

Elizabeth and Richard Uihlein are major donors to conservative and Republican causes. The company and its employees have also extensively donated to conservative and Republican-affiliated political action committees; they were among the largest contributors to political campaigns during the 2020 election cycle, contributing over $31 million before June 2020.

Prior to the 2024 presidential election, the company sent out a survey to its employees asking who they planned to vote for in the election. Elizabeth Uihlein said that the survey was optional and anonymous.

The company has been known to invite conservative politicians to company facilities to speak with employees.

Elizabeth Uihlein frequently includes her writings in the company catalog, some of which reflect her political views. Past columns have had topics ranging from "the danger of Chinese competition, the negative health effects of marijuana use and the detriments of the Federal Reserve's low interest rate policy." In March 2025, Elizabeth wrote and published a column in the Uline catalog lamenting the company's higher than desired turnover rate with young employees, whom she refers to as "The Nomads". She identified the cause of this turnover as the Affordable Care Act allowing people to stay on their parent's insurance until the age of 26, Covid stimulus checks, a work-from-home "norm", and parents not teaching children personal responsibility.

Following the news that the Uihleins were a major financial backer for the rally that preceded the January 6 attack on the Capitol, Northwestern University reviewed their contract with Uline at the behest of a university donor. Upon conclusion of the review, the university elected to continue their contract with the company.

There has been movement in creative industries to attempt to find alternative suppliers of supplies.

References

External links

*

{{Authority control

1980 establishments in Illinois
American companies established in 1980
Companies based in Wisconsin
Industrial supply companies
Kenosha County, Wisconsin
Packaging companies of the United States
Uihlein family