John W. Kieckhefer

Who was John W. Kieckhefer?

John W. Kieckhefer was an American businessman. He took over Enterprise Box & Lumber Company, which was a family-run business started by his grandfather, Charles Kieckefer and later run by his father William Kieckhefer. When he became the company's president, he changed the name to Kieckhefer Container Company. The company pioneered in the use of fibre shipping containers, including the paper milk carton. Kieckhefer purchased majority control of the Eddy Paper Company of Chicago, Illinois, in 1927. The main offices of Kieckhefer-Eddy were on the 24th floor of the Palmolive Building in Chicago. In 1957, through an exchange of stock, the Kieckhefer holdings were merged with the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company of Tacoma, Washington. The Kieckhefer Container Co. was moved to Camden, New Jersey, in about 1950. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin operations of the Eddy Paper Co. were closed in 1952.

Kieckhefer was one of the wealthiest men in America in 1957, and was worth $75,000,000 to $100,000,000.