On June 8 Clearfield Wholesale Paper will celebrate its 100th anniversary — and the company continues to expand and grow its business far beyond Clearfield County.
“The future is bright,” company president and owner Joel Peterson said. “And we want to stay in Clearfield.”
In the past 10 years, CWP purchased two companies that had operations similar to itself — Clark and Anderson of Bradford and Stevens Co. of Altoona — and moved those operations to Clearfield.
CWP offers a wide range of products and keeps 4,000 different items in stock in its warehouse in Clearfield. It also has 40,000 products that they can get within a day or two, Joel Peterson said. The company also sells cleaning equipment and services the equipment in its Clearfield repair shop.
CWP was founded inn 1922 in Grassflat by Andrew J. Peterson, and it continues to be family-owned. CWP is currently owned by great-grandson Joel Peterson and his wife Cindy.
Andrew Peterson had worked in the coal mine industry and in construction before he started the company at age 43. He saw there was a need in the area for a wholesaler to supply company stores owned by mining companies as well as local grocery stores, Joel Peterson said.
Andrew Peterson’s parents were immigrants from Sweden and when he started the company, most of the stockholders in the new company were Swedish families who lived in the area.
The company sold a little bit of everything including ammunition, nails, tooth paste, batteries, miners caps as well as paper products, Joel Peterson said.
The first few years were difficult, but Joel Peterson said his great-grandfather focused on customer service and was able to grow the business.
Soon it outgrew its original location and the business was moved to Clearfield in the early 1930s because many of the company’s customers were in the Clearfield area. Because the company also supplied grocery stories in the Penfield and Houtzdale areas, it was logical to move to Clearfield which was was more centrally located.
The company moved to its current location on S. 4th Street in 1984 and the company continues to grow, Joel Peterson said. He said most of their customers are in Central Pennsylvania between Bellefonte and Blairsville and Bradford to Bedford. But as the company has grown, CWP now supplies customers as far east as Philadelphia, Baltimore and the Washington D.C. area and as far west as Pittsburgh.
He said the company didn’t seek to expand this far out, but the company’s existing customers expanded their operations into these areas and they wanted CWP to continue to supply them — so they accommodated them.
“It was something we had to do because our customers wanted us to do it,” Peterson said.
CWP’s products include paper products, cleaning supplies and equipment, rock salt, signs, and more. Most of their customers are commercial businesses and institutions such school districts and universities, but walk-in retail customers are welcomed at its store in Clearfield. CWP also features online sales to individuals.
Starting in 2016, the company invested heavily in updating its technology. It now has a state-of-the-art website where customers can order products online, and see not only the price of the product, but how many units of the product are in stock at the warehouse. Approximately 30 percent of its sales are made online, Joel Peterson said.
The company continues to have a professional sales staff to assist customers one on one as well. Peterson said both methods have their advantages and many customers use both to purchase products. Meeting face to face still has the advantage of allowing its sales staff to get a better understanding of their customers operations and needs, so they can keep an eye out if a new product comes out that would save their customers time and money, Joel Peterson said.
With the tight labor market and high inflation, Joel Peterson said they are always looking out for ways it can save their customers some money.
Last year, CWP upgraded its warehouse installing new racks and a state of the art computer tracking system, making it the most efficient warehouse in its industry, Peterson said.
The new racks made accessing products easier and faster for employees. They are also taller, which allowed the company to increase its warehouse space without having to expand the size of the building.
When the pandemic hit, it posed unique challenges to the company. The pandemic brought a crush of orders for masks, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, disinfectant, toilet paper, bathroom supplies etc. The company was in the middle of upgrading its racking system when the pandemic occurred, making it even harder to fulfill the orders.
“It was crazy,” Peterson said.
Fortunately, they were able to get through it and they were even able to keep toilet paper in stock when most places were running out.
Although the pandemic caused sales of items to decrease, it caused sales in other areas to increase, Joel Peterson said.
For example, before the pandemic, CWP kept a supply of hydrostatic sprayers in stock that are used to disinfect surfaces. He said they would sell some of the sprayers but they were not in high demand before the pandemic. But once the pandemic hit, Peterson said CWP couldn’t keep them in stock.
Supply chain issues means it takes longer for orders to come in than they used to. Peterson added it is now harder to find new employees, especially truck drivers.
The company has a staff of 24 full-time employees and one part-time employee including six sales representatives. Some of their employees have worked at the company for more than 40 years.
Joel Peterson credited loyalty, the focus on customer service and CWP’s employees as the reasons for the company’s success.
“And we plan to continue to grow and service the needs of our customers,” Joel Peterson said.
