About J.R. Cooperage Co. Inc.
J.R. Cooperage Co. Inc. was established in the year 1899 by Jacob Rosenberg. Originally, the company was based on the lower East Side of Manhatten, but moved to Greenpoint Brooklyn, in 1903 with the building of the Williamsburg Bridge, which linked the then City of Brooklyn with the City of New York. The firm is still located on those two acres in Greenpoint.
In those early years, wooden barrels were the mainstay of the business, with emphasis of the fishing industry, particularly mackeral. The fish were packed in these wooden barrels straight from the fishing boat at the pier. Whiskey was also a big industry for barrels before Prohibition. The Volstead Act of 1919, the "noble experiment" as President Herbert Hoover called it, essentially ended that segment of the barrel business. Fish and some grains would be the only outlet for barrels in the New York Metropolitan area for Jacob and business until the 1940's.
In the 40's, Jacob's son Jack was at the helm of J.R. Cooperage. He made the change from wooden barrels to steel drums. World War II was an amazing opportunity for change and Jack grabbed it. From there he built his business to encompass the changing needs of industry.
Jack's son Gus joined the firm around that time and together they worked and watched their business grow. Gus' son Jeff joined the company in the 70's and introduced new ideas to the ever changing business horizon. New drum reconditioning machines were added and new technology was introduced to make a better package; one that can and does compete with new drums but at a tremendous savings.
Today, J.R. Cooperage Co. Inc. is at the forefront of technology with state of the art machinery to ensure a drum, be it steel or plastic, can and does meet the strict standards of today's market place.
J.R. Cooperage Co. Inc. founder Jack Rosenberg
