{{Short description|American manufacturer of office equipment}} {{Infobox company | name = Fellowes Brands, Inc. | logo = Fellowes Brands Logo Silver Black NEW.jpg | type = Private company | founded = {{Start date and age|1917}}<br />(as Bankers Box Company) | founder = Harry Fellowes | location = Itasca, Illinois, United States | key_people = John Fellowes, CEO | industry = Workspace products | homepage = {{URL|https://www.fellowesbrands.com/}} }} thumb|Photo of office with products produced by Fellowes Brands '''Fellowes Brands, Inc.''' is a privately held manufacturer of office equipment based in Itasca, Illinois. The company was founded as the '''Bankers Box Company''' to manufacture the company's namesake '''Bankers Box''' record storage boxes. Since the 1960s, the company has diversified its portfolio of products, changing its name to Fellowes and becoming a market leader of paper shredders and record storage products in the United States.<ref>{{cite web | last= | first= | date=July 21, 2000 | url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2000/jul/21/office-products-company-opening-lv-distribution-ce/ | title=Office products company opening LV distribution center | work=Las Vegas Sun | publisher= | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413062410/https://lasvegassun.com/news/2000/jul/21/office-products-company-opening-lv-distribution-ce/ | archivedate=April 13, 2023}}</ref>
After its expansion into business machines such as shredding, laminating, and binding, Fellowes Brands has expanded its brand to include various products, including modular walls, furniture, business machines, and paper shredders. commercial air purification, and commercial-grade workspace products.<ref>{{cite web | date=n.d. | url=https://www.opi.net/news/region/001-north-america/fellowes-brands-acquires-office-wellness-vendor/ | title= Fellowes Brands acquires office wellness vendor | publisher=OPI}}</ref>
Fellowes has been owned and operated by members of its namesake family since its foundation in 1917. The company operates 24 regional offices across the world and employs more than 1,000 people.<ref>{{cite web | date=n.d. | url=https://www.linkedin.com/company/fellowes | title=Fellowes Brands | publisher=LinkedIn}}</ref>
==History== thumb|Several stacks of Bankers Boxes The company was founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1917 by Harry Fellowes and Walter Nickel as the Bankers Box Company, producing the Bankers Box line of record storage boxes.{{sfn|Pederson|1999|p=130}}<ref>{{cite web | last=Copeland | first=Alicia | date=February 13, 2020 | url=https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/why-are-they-called-bankers-boxes/ | title=Why do they call them Bankers Boxes? | work=Legal Moments in History | publisher=Thomson Reuters | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200504124912/https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/why-are-they-called-bankers-boxes/ | archivedate=May 4, 2020}}</ref> Sons Folger and John Fellowes joined the business in 1934 and 1938, respectively,{{sfn|Pederson|1999|p=130}}<ref>{{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=December 2001 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/214913231/ | title=The Fellowes Family | work=Office World News | publisher=Imaging Network | volume=29 | issue=12 | page=13 |id={{ProQuest|214913231}}}}</ref> and grandson James Fellowes joined in 1969 and was named president in 1983. The same year the company name was changed from Bankers Box to Fellowes to reflect an expansion into business machines and computer accessory products. James Fellowes would later become CEO in 1997.{{sfn|Pederson|1999|p=131}}<ref>{{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=December 2001 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/214945752/ | title=John Fellowes Celebrates 60th Anniversary with Company | work=Office World News | publisher=Imaging Network | volume=26 | issue=7 | page=6 |id={{ProQuest|214945752}}}}</ref> As the brand portfolio expanded, the company was named Fellowes Brands in 2015. The great-grandson of the founder and the fourth generation of the Fellowes family, John Fellowes, became CEO of Fellowes Brands in 2014. The company's corporate headquarters are in Itasca, Illinois.<ref>{{cite web | last=Zumbach | first=Lauren | date=July 30, 2018 | url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-back-story-john-fellowes-fellowes-brands-0729-story.html | title=Maker of the Bankers Box is preparing for the workplace of the future with sit-stand desks, healthy workplace products | work=Chicago Tribune | publisher=Tribune Publishing | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180730133250/https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-back-story-john-fellowes-fellowes-brands-0729-story.html | archivedate=July 30, 2018}}</ref>
In 2019, the company acquired Trendway Corporation, an office furniture manufacturer based in Holland, Michigan.<ref>{{cite web | last=Sanchez | first=Mark | date=August 14, 2019 | url=https://mibiz.com/sections/manufacturing/holland-based-trendway-corp-acquired-by-illinois-manufacturer | title=Holland-based Trendway Corp. acquired by Illinois manufacturer | work=Crain's Grand Rapids Business | publisher=Crain Communications | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511101839/https://mibiz.com/sections/manufacturing/holland-based-trendway-corp-acquired-by-illinois-manufacturer | archivedate=May 11, 2020}}</ref>
== Citations == {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
== General and cited sources == * {{cite book | last=Pederson | first=Jay P. | date=1999 | url=https://archive.org/details/internationaldir0028unse/ | title=International Directory of Company Histories | publisher=St. James Press | isbn=9781558626690 | via=the Internet Archive}}
Category:1917 establishments in Illinois Category:American companies established in 1917 Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1917 Category:Companies based in DuPage County, Illinois Category:Manufacturing companies based in Illinois Category:Office supply companies of the United States