The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Wednesday
⏩ The Rotary Club of Branford: meets from 7:15 to 8:30 a.m. at the Parthenon Diner, 374 E. Main St., Branford. Call 203-315-2444, ext. 450.
⏩ The Devon Rotary: meets at 7:30 a.m. at the Bridge House Restaurant, 49 Bridgeport Ave., Milford. Visit www.devonrotary.org.
⏩ The Milford Chamber of Commerce Wednesday Morning Leads Group: meets at 8:30 a.m. at the Chamber, 5 Broad St., Milford. Call 203878-0681.
⏩ The Rotary Club of Guilford: meets at 12:15 p.m. at The Maritime Grille, 2548 Boston Post Road, Guilford. Call 203-453-0774.
⏩ The Greater New Haven Business & Professional Association: meets at 11 a.m. at 192 Dixwell Ave. Call 203-5622193.
⏩ The Rotary Club of Wallingford: meets at 12:10 p.m. at the Library Wine Bar and Bistro, 60 North Main Street. Call 203-235-3816.
⏩ North Branford Rotary: meets at 6 p.m. at Nataz, 2025 Foxon Road. Call 203-4847707.
⏩ The Greater New Haven Breakfast Club: meets at 8 a.m. at Clark’s Pizza & Restaurant, 68 Whitney Ave., New Haven. Email info@rosnerdoherty.com.
⏩ The Rotary Club of West Haven: meets at 12:15 p.m. at App’s Ristorante, 283 Captain Thomas Blvd.
ANSONIA — You can say Better Packages is on a roll these days.
The 101-year-old company that improved upon an invention by Thomas Edison with its worldknown water-activated tape dispensers has had an exceptional year.
Not only has the company, located at 4 Hershey Drive, doubled its workforce, but it recently moved its Tampa, Fla., facility to Ansonia, doubled its workspace by expanding its facility an additional 19,000 square feet, and created a national training center that showcases its entire product line for prospective customers and serves as a training ground for sales and distribution partners.
To cap it off, the company’s revenues have increased more than 30 percent over last year, according to CEO Phil White.
To honor the company’s many recent successes, Mayor David Cassetti last week presented White with a proclamation and a key to the city.
“It’s been a very busy and gratifying time to be in business in Ansonia,” said White. “We are fortunate to have been acquired by our parent company, IPG, that provides us with the resources we need to grow and allows us to expand our base here in Ansonia. We are honored to be able to contribute to the strength of the local economy. We always appreciate the support we get from Ansonia’s leaders … starting with the mayor.”
Cassetti lauded White and Better Packages for their commitment to the Valley.
“You have continued to make Ansonia a better place and we’re so proud you made your home in Ansonia,” Cassetti said.
White said with the expanded operation, the company is in the process of launching yet another exciting product, due out the end of this year or early 2019: It’s a machine that cranks out air-filled bubble pillows that cushion products in their cartons and boxes during the shipping process.
Better Packages was founded in 1917 by brothers Alfred and Theodore Kruger in Brooklyn, N.Y. The duo developed and marketed equipment to make more efficient use of Edison’s then-fiveyear-old invention of water-activated
“It’s been a very busy and gratifying time to be in business in Ansonia.”
— Better Packages CEO Phil White
tape. Edison invented the tape in 1912, prompted by the advent of the cardboard box, and was looking for a better solution than twine to keep the boxes closed.
To be closer to a bustling industry along the Bridgeport-toWaterbury manufacturing corri-