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Southwest Paper Company, Inc. was
founded in 1938, by Eric G. Tangeman, Cash Miller, Monty McCormick,
and Harold Yarnell. Eric Tangeman was elected president due to his
experience in the paper business. Eric had worked for Graham Paper
for many years and set up several locations for them, including
Wichita. By the mid 1940’s, Southwest Paper Company, Inc. had reached
one million dollars in sales.
When Eric G. Tangeman passed away in 1950, his plans to add warehouse
locations throughout the Southwest United States passed away with
him. Monty McCormick was elected president and held that position
until 1956. Cash Miller was elected president when Monty McCormick
left Southwest Paper and bought Wichita Paper Company.
In 1957, after completing his B.S. in Business Administration at
K-State, John Tangeman, son of Eric G., began working for Southwest
Paper. Cash Miller continued as president until 1976. The company
grew into the largest paper distributor in Kansas, representing
most major manufacturers, like Weyerhaeuser, International Paper,
Champion, Boise Cascade, Kimberly-Clark, and Fort Howard.
In 1976, John Tangeman purchased virtually all outstanding stock
and became president. He had worked 20 years as a sales representative.
John guided the company to record sales in 1990. Southwest Paper
acquired the Wichita Division of Jim Walter Paper (formerly Graham
Paper), in 1987, which had been started by Eric G. Tangeman over
50 years before.
Southwest Paper outgrew its location at 150 N. Mosley, which had
been its home for over 40 years and consisted of five warehouses.
Construction of a new 80,000 square feet concrete distribution center,
at 3930 N Bridgeport Circle, was completed and occupied by late
1992. The facility has overhead and in-rack sprinkler systems, 10
dock doors, and can easily be expanded to 120,000 square feet.
Services contained in the building include a support staff of approximately
50 people, 16 sales representatives, a 3,000 square foot showroom,
janitorial equipment service center with factory trained technicians,
custom paper cutting, drilling, and padding, as well as a slitter
for foam, bubble, and singlefaced corrugated packaging material
to provide quick turnaround for special widths. This custom built
distribution facility will help Southwest Paper Company, Inc. remain
an industry leader in the future.
Eric D. Tangeman, son of John E. Tangeman, was elected President
in 1995, after working in various areas of the company since 1983.
Southwest Paper Company's 1996 purchase of Miller-Norris Company,
Inc. in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, provided a wide range of additional
paper products for Miller Norris Co., while creating a strong distribution
channel for paper and allied products in both Kansas and Oklahoma.
Together the companies have over 135 years of distribution experience.
The Miller-Norris name was changed to Southwest Paper in 1999 to
provide customers one unified company in both Kansas and Oklahoma.
The joining of these two companies is consistent with Southwest
Paper's plans to grow geographically into the surrounding states.
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