American Excelsior Celebrates 125th Anniversary

American Excelsior Company is entering their 125th year of business success, which is a milestone for any company. While there may be other companies out there that have 125 years of history, not many that can say that they are still making one of the same products they did 125 years ago. In the case of American Excelsior Company, that product is “excelsior.”

Many people may not know what excelsior is, but there is a good chance they have seen it. Excelsior is long, stranded wood fibers and is often referred to as “wood wool.” Excelsior has many uses around the globe, but it is most known for its uses in packaging as a protective cushioning, erosion control blankets to help protect soil, display uses such as fruit baskets, evaporative cooling as a cooling pad, ceiling or wall boards and many uses in filtration and other specialty applications.

Back in the early days of excelsior, the product was also used as a cushioning material inside furniture and even mattresses. However, when flexible foams came into being in the 1950’s, the new plastic material started replacing excelsior in furniture and mattresses. Seeing the opportunity this new product presented, American Excelsior became one of the first fabricators in the country of flexible foams, and today American Excelsior is not only the largest producer of excelsior in the country, they are also one of the largest flexible foam fabricators/molders in the country.

American Excelsior Company is also an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) company making them an employee owned company, which is something that the company proudly represents to their associates and to their customers.

The Company has a number of activities planned throughout the year to celebrate their 125th anniversary, and they started off by giving each and every associate an embroidered jacket bearing a special logo created for the occasion.

Terry Sadowski, President and CEO, said, “I am proud to be associated with American Excelsior Company and all of the associates that make this great company what it is today. When you look back over the many years of successful history the company has enjoyed, the success was driven by people and their dedication to the company they worked for and owned. We are known in the industry as a company that is ethical, honest, and one that values their associate owners, who are our greatest resource. I couldn’t agree more, I am proud of our entire team and I am honored to hold the position of President and CEO at this very special time in the company’s history.”