Michael Zuckerman, president of beverage packaging provider Zuckerman Honickman (ZH), is preparing to exit the company co-founded by his great grandfather, effective January 1.
Zuckerman confirmed his coming exit to BevNET via email today. He will continue as president through December and will remain with the company as a consultant moving forward.
“I have been totally immersed in the business for virtually my entire adult life, and I am looking forward now to my consulting role with ZH and to spending more time with my family,” he said.
Founded in 1890 by William Zuckerman and Maurice Honickman, the Pennsylvania-based business had been family run since its inception. ZH offers packaging solutions for beverage companies, including printed and unprinted aluminum cans, hot- and cold-fill plastic bottles, and glass.
While Michael Zuckerman’s exit marks a significant change in leadership for the family business, the family will still have a strong presence with the company through his cousin, VP of Operations Jon Zuckerman.
The company has worked with a wide array of beverage brands including Honest Tea, BodyArmor, Bai, Spindrift, Vita Coco and Hint among many others. In 2010, ZH added metal can distribution to its services, opening up a new customer base with craft beer brewers.
In January 2022, ZH was acquired by global packaging distributor TricorBraun, which simultaneously also purchased Canadian aluminum can distributor Vessel Packaging. The deal also included an acquisition of Delta Industries, a subsidiary of ZH which distributes trigger sprayers and bottles for cleaning and industrial products.
At the time of the sale, Zuckerman told BevNET that the company had experienced significant growth in the five years leading up to the sale and that folding into TricorBraun was expected to give the company access to a larger distribution network.
“Michael has continued the 130-year legacy at Zuckerman Honickman—the legacy that has been the driving force behind why Zuckerman Honickman is considered the gold standard of beverage packaging today,” said Brett Binkowski, president, North America, at TricorBraun. “We are immensely grateful for Michael’s leadership, and we look forward to working with him in his new role, focused on customers and suppliers.”
Since its acquisitions of ZH and Vessel last year, TricorBraun has continued to build out its packaging services business through M&A. Since that deal, the company announced last year plans to acquire at least seven other global packaging companies, including flexible packaging distributor PBFY, German glass distributor Gläser & Flaschen and Canadian Merlot Packaging, among others.
Earlier this year, TricorBraun acquired Colorado-based aluminum can provider CanSource, which operates four locations across the U.S.