Our History
Elie W. Labombarde, a French-Canadian engineer, recognized that the painstakingly slow process of hand-folding and gluing paper boxes could be automated. This realization lead him to conceive of and build the first automatic box folding machine. His invention was met with much interest owing to its potential. This prompted him to commercially manufacture and sell the machine under the company that would become IPBM.
1903: A small revolution
In 1903, Ellie W. Labombarde founded The International Paper Box Machine Company. Our first machine, a folder-gluer, was sold to the E.B. Munson Company of New Haven, Connecticut, USA. This machine could process as many Smith Bros cough drop boxes in an hour an entire crew could hand-fold in a ten hour shift at a lower cost, a revolution at its time. it fostered a new industry segment from which many products would eventually come to benefit from the increased speed and efficiency gained from its existence.
1974: Multifold International acquisition
IPBM concluded the acquisition of multifold international, that had been manufacturing material handling equipment since 1953. Multifold's line of semi-automatic and fully automatic pre-feeders and packers stood out to us as by far the best available at the time. This, and their exceptional performance when paired with IPBM sealers informed our decision to acquire the company in August of 1974, maximizing the efficiency and unity of our products.
2003: Our move to Geneva
The Year of IPBM's 100th anniversary saw a significant restructuring of the company. Our headquarters were moved to Geneva (Switzerland) as a result of our acquisition by the Geneva branch of IPBM, now responsible for coordinating world-wide manufacturing and sales, while also delegating specific markets outside of Europe to our partners in China and the United-States. Now known as The International Paper Box Machine SA, the company officially became a Swiss business in October of 2003.
2008: Leary x IPBMCO
To further increase the versatility of our sealers, we partnered up with the well-known W.H. Leary Company of Chicago, specialized in the development of in-line quality control systems. This partnership lead to the development of the LS-916 quality assurance system. It detects, tracks and ejects faulty cartons thanks to an array of precise sensors positioned at key points on the production line, whilst also keeping track of the precise nature of defects and summarizing them on a shift-end report.
1950: Our entry into liquid packaging
We introduced a sealer aimed specifically at the liquid packaging segment, the first of its kind. It utilized a gas-fueled flame to melt and reseal the polyethylene coated edge of Pure-Pak cartons, a gable-topped liquid carton that has become a broadly adopted industry standard. IPBM remains the only manufacturer that offers a full range of equipment tailored to this industry segment.
1980: KF Royal 333
In the summer of 1980, IPBM introduced the Royal line of flame sealers at IPEY with the KF Royal 333. its ease of set-up, low maintenance characteristics, high-speed production capabilities, and inclusion of a third center carrier in the final fold that allowed for the addition of a flame-sealing option for the heat-sealing liquid aseptic packaging, would contribute to its eventual commercial success and its continued relevance till this day. Many examples of the Royal 333 are still in daily operation.
2004: The LF-III 800/1000CH
2004 saw the launch of the LF-III 800/1000, a breakthrough flame sealer that reaches a maximum belt-speed of 1000 m/min. It integrated new innovations such as per section servo drive units, top and bottom belt drives and in-line quality assurance. It also addressed the decades old issue of dust contamination, outperforming its predecessor, the LF-B, in every way. The first LF-III was delivered to its owner in Q4 of 2004 and became operational in Q1 of 2005.
2012: The LF-IV 800CH
We've reengineered and readopted many of the field-proven elements of the LF-III sealer in the new LF-IV 800 sealer. By merging pre-fold and skiving and by merging burner and final fold into individual sections, we obtained a compact two-section sealer. The resulting product delivers more output, allows for additional sleeve format flexibility and guarantees minimal dust contamination, decreased maintenance and lower energy consumption. The LF-IV 800 was launched in Q2 of 2012.
Today: ACE Signature x IPBMCO
As a major event of this year, we are announcing our cooperation with the internationally established builder
ACE Signature, located in Korea. This partnership will enable us to offer the widest range of products possible and unmatched customer support allowing us to provide sealing lines to liquid converters beyond the US and Canada. ACE Signature now represents IPBM in the Asia Pacific area. We are confident that this partnership will bring forth new innovations in both hot air and flame sealing.