Short History of Corrugated

Corrugated packaging, which we often simply call "cardboard," actually traces its ingenuity back to Victorian fashion rather than heavy industry.

In 1856, two Englishmen named Edward Healey and Edward Allen received a patent for the first corrugated material, but it wasn't for boxes. They were looking for a way to help maintain the shape of tall hats; the pleated paper was used as a sweatband and liner to make the hats more durable and breathable.

The jump to packaging didn't happen until 1871, when an American named Albert Jones patented the use of corrugated paper for wrapping fragile items like glass bottles and kerosene lamp chimneys. Even then, it was just a single layer of fluted paper. It wasn't until several years later that a second layer of flat paper (the liner) was glued to the ridges to create the "sandwich" structure we recognize today. This simple addition created a material that was incredibly lightweight yet possessed a remarkable strength-to-weight ratio because the vertical arches of the flutes could support significant pressure.

Another turning point occurred in the late 1800s with the "Cereal War." Before corrugated boxes became the standard, goods were shipped in heavy, expensive wooden crates. As companies like Kellogg's began mass-producing cereal, they needed a cheaper, lighter way to ship products across the country. The adoption of the corrugated box revolutionized the logistics industry, eventually leading to the demise of the wooden crate and paving the way for the modern global supply chain.