Southern Champion Tray (SCT), a Chattanooga, TN-based manufacturer of paperboard packaging for the bakery and foodservice industry, will purchase substantially all the assets of Evergreen Packaging (La Mirada, CA) effective October 3. Founded in 2001, Evergreen is a bakery, deli, food service, and wholesale packaging provider with a predominant market presence in California.

This acquisition will strengthen SCT's ability to further serve its West Coast customers and provide them with an ever-growing portfolio of fiber-based products and innovative packaging solutions. According to SCT's President Brian Hunt, "This acquisition makes a lot of sense for SCT and Evergreen customers. With SCT's expanded product offerings, broader array of packaging options, and a business model that focuses on great packaging and distinctive customer service, we are confident that the transaction will be positive for our customer partners. Similarly, the SCT team sees this as another opportunity to demonstrate that serving is a privilege."

SCT continues to build its position as a leading manufacturer of paperboard packaging with not only the purchase of Evergreen but also the recent purchase of Honeymoon Paper Products, Inc. in 2020. In addition to the acquisition growth, SCT is in the final stages of completing the construction of a 320,000-square-foot additional manufacturing facility to accompany the current expanded presence in Chattanooga, TN. "This new site will be highly automated and employ an additional 156 new SCT team members for which we are actively recruiting," says Hunt.

Since 1927, Southern Champion Tray has manufactured and distributed sustainable bakery, foodservice, and catering paperboard and corrugated packaging. Markets served include bakery, foodservice, frozen foods, supermarket, institutional, medical, pharmaceutical, personal care, cosmetic, retail, electronics, and more. When the transaction closes, Southern Champion Tray will maintain office, manufacturing, and distribution facilities in Chattanooga; Fairfield, OH; and Mansfield, TX.