In 1925, John N. Hazen started Hazen Paper Company in Holyoke as a decorative paper converter and embosser. John developed and trademarked a line he branded as Phantom Box Papers receiving a registered trade mark from the Patent Office in 1928. John’s younger brother, Ted, joined Hazen in 1928 to help manage the growing company. Hazen grew rapidly in the 1930’s and expanded into printing and foil laminating by the 1940’s.

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Ted’s son, Bob, joined the Company in 1957 and John’s son, Tom, signed on in 1960. The second generation brought a lot of passion to Hazen and expanded the company numerous times over the next three decades. Hazen Paper became known worldwide for specializing in foil and film lamination, gravure printing, specialty coating and rotary embossing’s. Hazen products became widely used in luxury packaging, lottery and other security tickets, tags and labels, cards and cover stocks, as well as, for photo and fine art mounting.

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By 1990 John H. Hazen had joined the Company shortly followed by Robert E. Hazen. The third generation continued to grow the Company and expand its capabilities with a special emphasis on coating, metallizing and holographic technology.

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In 2005 Hazen set up its holographic origination lab and design studio in Holyoke. Hazen acquired unique technology for creating holograms and rapidly developed the business and the derivative intellectual property. Hazen developed thousands of unique holographic designs and holds registered copyrights on at least a thousand originations. Hazen also holds several patents on the process it has developed.

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In 2006, Hazen set up its first satellite plant in South East Indiana. This was a brand-new lamination and sheeting operation that ultimately operated 7 days per week, 24 hours per day, with more than 50 full time employees. After a very successful ten plus years Hazen sold this plant to API in 2016. The sale was a strategic move away from commodity type foil laminations to increase focus on growth opportunities in holography and specialty paper products in Holyoke.

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In 2007 Hazen expanded its Holographic lab and set up a brand new holographic embossing and metallizing plant on Main Street in Holyoke. This was a major expansion into a new realm of manufacturing. It represented a huge financial investment on the part of the third generation. It was a very complex and challenging undertaking and the stakes were incredibly high. No sooner did this operation get off the ground than the world was hit with the Great Recession of 2008 – 2009. Hazen persevered through a steep learning curve during very hard economic times and ultimately this new Hazen operation became extremely successful. Hazen Holography is now known worldwide for the cover of the Super Bowl program and many international awards over the last decade.

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Hazen continues to expand in 2023 with major additions to plant and equipment in Holyoke. Still owned and lead by John and Bob Hazen, the company is on a growth track and has big plans for the future.

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