About Us
Canusa Corporation ("Canusa") traces its roots to 1981 when The Great Bay Group, Inc., trading as Great Bay Paper Company, was established in Baltimore, Maryland. This company began as a three-person secondary fiber trading office. In 1984 the company received an equity investment from Cascades, Inc., which at the time was a medium sized, multi-national manufacturer of recycled paper products. Subsequently, a new company was formed under the name of Cascades USA, which in 1989 changed its name to Canusa Corporation. In 2006, the Company repurchased the remaining shared owned by Cascades and today it is privately held by principals in the organization.
Twenty-five years after its inception, Canusa has operations and investments in three sectors of the paper industry, creating a chain of vertical integration from the collection, processing and trading of recyclable fiber to the sale of finished products to both industrial and retail customers. Canusa increasingly views itself as a holding company for a variety of related entities for which it provides expertise in accounting and information technology as well as financing and management direction. The company pursues investments that are consistent with its philosophy of conserving resourced and promoting sustainability.
The company's major holdings can be categorized as follows:
- Recyclable Commodities -- Paper, plastic, and metal recycling via Canusa Hershman Recycling Company; Newport CH International, LLC; Capitol Fiber, Inc.; and Recycle Holdings, LLC.
- Kraft Paper and Containerboard -- Agency and sales organization in North and South America via Canusa Kraft Group; BSC Corr Value; Bay State Paper Company; and EC Independent.
- Retail Sales -- Fine arts; stationery; and craft papers and related products; packaged and distributed via ANW/Crestwood.
Today, the combined sales turnover of the entities in which Canusa holds a significant interest exceeds $300 million annually. While Canusa has made many significant changes and developments over the years, the cornerstone of its corporate philosophy has remained a commitment to integrity and teamwork.
Management:
Bruce W. Fleming
President and CEO, Canusa Corporation
Bruce W. Fleming has built a career in the pulp and paper industry beginning in 1981 with the formation of a trading company for secondary fiber and pulp, now called Canusa Corporation. Bruce's interest in paper and recycling was first sparked at Princeton University where he resurrected the University's floundering recycling program and completed his senior thesis on an economic history of recycling in the paper industry. After completing three years of work for Garden State Paper Company, the world's first 100% recycled newsprint mill, Bruce established his own paper and fiber brokerage organization. In 2002 Fleming merged Canusa's fiber operations with its most significant competitor, Hershman Recycling, to form Canusa Hershman Recycling Co., LLC, where he currently serves as Co-chairman. Bruce received his Juris Doctorate from George Washington University National Law Center and is currently a member of both the Maryland and District of Columbia Bar Associations.
Larry T. Jackson
General Manager, Canusa Kraft Group
Larry T. Jackson started his career in the paper business in 1991 with Great Northern Recycling in Mechanic Falls, Maine. In 1995, he was named Vice President of Trading for GNR. As VP, Larry managed the procurement and sales for two waste paper processing plants, all outside brokerage activity and mill relationships throughout the Northeast and Eastern Canada. After the sale of GNR in 1999, Larry joined Chicago based National Fiber Supply as their Northeast Manager buying and selling all grades of mill roll stock. Larry then joined Canusa in 2002 as Sales Manager for Bay State Paper Co in Boston. His responsibilities at Bay State included all sales of Containerboard to converters and managing the customer service group. He was also responsible for maintaining mill relationships with a large number of Containerboard and Kraft mills in the US and Canada under BSC Corr Value. Today, Larry leads Canusa' domestic mill, trading and customer relationships from his office in Auburn, Maine.
Michael M. Gajewski, Jr.
Chief Financial Officer - Canusa Corporation
Michael M. Gajewski joined Canusa as its CFO in 1998. Prior to Canusa Michael served as Controller for Hamilton Associates from 1996-1997 and The Becker Group from 1997-1998. Prior to that he was an accountant for Coyne and McClean Chartered. As Canusa's CFO Michael is responsible for overseeing financial reporting and operations of Canusa and its subsidiaries as well as directing the preparation of all financial reports, overseeing the accounting department and analyzing company operations. Michael received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting at the University of Baltimore and is a Certified Public Accountant in Maryland.