Peacock was founded in 1942 by Harold Peacock as a Chicago area processor and packager of military replacement parts and vehicles during WWII. Peacock has since evolved into a strategic co-manufacturing and contract packaging partner serving America’s leading food companies.

Key Milestones

1942:	Peacock is founded by Harold Peacock.
1972:	Peacock is purchased by new owners with government and industrial focus.
1980’s:	Peacock transitions into consumer packaging for health and household products.
1990’s:	Peacock branches out into secondary food packaging.
2000:	Peacock concentrates efforts on packaging consumer food products, including secondary refrigerated applications.
2002:	Peacock acquires Production Packaging Inc.
2004:	Peacock starts primary USDA refrigerated packaging solutions.
2006:	Peacock expands into its fourth facility in Carol Stream, focused on refrigerated projects.
2007:	Behrman Capital acquires Peacock, providing additional financial resources for growth. Peacock expands into new Bolingbrook facility.

Full History

Harold Peacock founded Peacock in Chicago in 1942 as a processor and packager for military replacement parts and vehicles. Success with the military resulted in a continuation of these services throughout the 1940’s, 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s. Realizing that military packaging would not remain a viable prospect for the future, the company diversified into industrial packaging. The company’s business expanded over the next several years, but was adversely affected by the recession of the early 1980’s. Peacock adjusted to the changing marketplace, repositioning itself as a consumer product packager, bringing in TV Magic as its first consumer products client.

For the next 18 years, the consumer business continued to grow successfully. Named as president in 1997, Mike Bilder began to orchestrate the restructuring and expansion of Peacock’s resources and capabilities to accommodate large primary fill and secondary packaging contracts with top tier consumer product food companies. By 2000, Peacock abandoned the military/industrial market to concentrate all resources on consumer packaging. Since then, Peacock has expanded its operations while focusing its strategies on creating partnerships/alliances with major food manufacturers in order to provide them with specialized packaging solutions and meet their customized needs.

Major food industry consolidations and restructuring, coupled with Peacock’s successful transition from a mid-market provider of contract packaging services to a strategic food processing and contract packaging partner, have made outsourcing of primary fill and secondary packaging a cost-effective and viable solution for food manufacturers wanting to keep pace with market demands.

Over the past few years, Peacock has invested tens of millions of dollars in equipment and facility upgrades. The acquisition of Production Packaging (Geneva, Illinois) in 2002 further facilitated the company’s growth in primary packaging. In 2004, Peacock expanded its primary packaging capabilities at its Itasca (Meacham Rd) facility, focusing on primary USDA refrigerated and frozen products. Expanding into Carol Stream in 2006 and Bolingbrook in 2007 accelerated Peacock’s growth. In 2007, Behrman Capital acquired Peacock Engineering, providing additional financial resources to grow with its customers.