Dart Container

This article is about the container manufacturer. For the shipping company, see Dart Container Line.

Dart Container Corporation is an American manufacturer of disposable food containers. Based in Mason, Michigan, Dart is the world's largest manufacturer of foam cups and containers, producing about as many as all competitors combined. Dart Container is privately held by the Dart family.

Dart Container Corporation

Company type	Private
Industry	Single-use food service packaging
Founded	1960
Founder	William A. Dart
Headquarters	Mason, Michigan
Number of locations	45 production, distribution, and office facilities
Key people	Robert C. Dart, CEO
Products	Foam food service products Plastic cups & containers Paper cups
Revenue	$3 Billion (2019)[1]
Number of employees	15,000
Website	dartcontainer.com

In May 2012, Dart acquired Illinois-based Solo Cup Company and now has approximately 15,000 employees and more than 45 production, distribution center, and office locations in eight countries.

Company history

Dart Manufacturing Company was founded in 1937 by William F. Dart, a son of the founder of Dart National Bank.^[2] As a machine shop, it manufactured key rings, steel tape measures, and dog tags for the Department of Defense.^[3] It also created popular toy for kids, called Marble Race.^[4]

His son, William A. Dart, graduated from University of Michigan with three degrees (metallurgy, mathematics, and engineering) and joined joined the family business in the late 1950s. They experimented with and perfected an expandable polystyrene (EPS) molding process, and shipped their first insulated foam cups in April 1960.^[2][3] They first developed a 6 oz. cup before expanding to 8, 10, and 12 ounces. Dart Container Corporation was incorporated in 1963.^[4]

During the 1960s and '70s, Dart expanded to Pennsylvania, Illinois, California, and Texas. It also started making plastic dinnerware snd cutlery.^[4] In 1981, the company filed a patent for a more user-friendly lid. It was a plastic disc with a press-down tab that allowed customers to drink while the lid was still on.^[5]

Kenneth Dart became president in 1986.^[2][6] In the 1990s, Dart began investing in Salomon Brothers investment firm. By 1992, the company had invested $192 million and was the firm's second biggest owner.^[7]

In 2007, Dart opened its 20th facility in Tijuana, Mexico. At the time, the company had 7,500 employees and 16 million square feet of plant space worldwide.^[4]

In March 2012, Dart expanded it's operations to Brazil when it acquired a facility in Pindamonhangaba.^[8] Dart Container purchased Solo Cup Company in May 2012 in a deal valued at approximately $1 billion.^[9][10] The iconic Solo red cup was slated to remain under the Solo name.^[11]

By 2013, Dart had manufacturing facilities in 12 U.S. states, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Argentina, and Australia.^[3] The company closed its Augusta, Georgia paper cup factory in 2019, citing a lack in demand. Production was then moved to Toronto.^[12][13]

The company's Urbana, Illinois facility was shut down at the end of 2023, affecting 135 jobs.^[14] In September 2024, Dart eliminated 250 corporate jobs at its Mason, Michigan headquarters.^[15] The company closed two plants and eliminated 175 jobs in California the following month.^[16]

Operations

Dart Container Corporation is vertically integrated, which, according to the company, makes it "virtually self-sufficient".^[3]

In 2006, Family Business ranked Dart Container 37th in its listing of family companies, with an estimated $1.1 billion in sales, and 4,950 employees.^[17]

Controversies

The company is owned by brothers Kenneth B. Dart and Robert C. Dart, who renounced their U.S. citizenship in 1994.^[18] Kenneth Dart then established a relationship with the nation of Belize, which promptly sought U.S. permission to open a consulate in Sarasota with Dart as its consul.^[19] The request was rejected by the State Department, and the brothers eventually moved to the Cayman Islands.^[20] They have several business concerns on the islands, including Dart Enterprises which is a holding company involved in several projects,^[21] including the Camana Bay town development.^[22]

In 2001, the US Internal Revenue Service said the Dart brothers improperly billed $11.6 million of personal security costs to Dart Container. In U.S. Tax Court, Dart Container argued the money was a valid business expense due to "specific threats and other facts and circumstances". Half the money went for corporate aircraft. The IRS asked for $4 million more for 1996 and 1997 taxes. In 2003, the Internal Revenue Service took the brothers to court, saying they owed an additional $19 million in 1998 and 1999 taxes.^[18] In 2002, the Dart brothers and their companies paid $26 million in back taxes.^[18]

In May 2013, fifty agents of the Argentine tax authority raided the local Dart Container subsidiary Dart Sudamericana SRL on alleged tax evasion charges. The tax authority claimed that the firm imported polystrene beads at inflated prices, thus avoiding taxable gains through the unfair transfer pricing scheme.^{[citation needed]}