Uline

Uline is a privately held American company which offers shipping and other business supplies. Uline was founded in 1980 by Elizabeth and Richard Uihlein. It has approximately 6,700 employees and is headquartered in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. Uline has distribution centers throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

For other uses, see Uline (disambiguation).

Uline Inc
TypePrivate, family-owned
IndustryIndustrial supplies wholesaling
Founded1980 (1980) in Lake Forest, Illinois
FounderLiz and Dick Uihlein
HeadquartersPleasant Prairie, Wisconsin
Products
RevenueUS$5.8 billion (2020)
Number of employees
6,700 (2020)
Websitewww.uline.com

History

Uline was founded in 1980 by Liz and Richard "Dick" Uihlein after inheriting money from the Schlitz beer fortune.[1] After recognizing a local need for a shipping supply distributor, the Uihleins started Uline from their basement. The company's first product was the H-101 carton sizer.[2] Its success enabled the Uihleins to move into a new headquarters in Waukegan, Illinois.[2][3]

Over the 1980s and 1990s, Uline greatly expanded. Operations began in Minnesota, California and New Jersey. Uline sold over 4,000 products, all detailed in its product catalog.[2]

In the 2000s, Uline began operations in Mexico and Canada and opened distribution centers in Illinois, Texas, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. The Uline catalog grew to 450 pages, giving customers a look at over 17,000 products.[2]

In 2008, Uline announced it was constructing a brand-new headquarters in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. The move was partially motivated by the Uihleins' ties to Wisconsin; Dick's family had lived in Milwaukee and worked at the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company, and the couple owns a home and restaurant in Manitowish Waters.[3] Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle expected 1,000 jobs would move to Southeastern Wisconsin, and pledged $6 million to support the move.[3] The 200-acre headquarters opened in the summer of 2010, featuring offices for Uline staff and a 1-million square foot warehouse which supplies products to distribution centers.[4] Due to increasing growth, an expansion consisting of a second office building and warehouse was announced in 2014.[5] Construction began in early 2016[6] and was completed in 2017.[4] The expansion brought about 800 additional jobs to Pleasant Prairie.[6]

In 2019, Uline began considering a second major expansion: two more distribution centers with a combined area of over 1.7 million square feet.[7] The distribution centers would complement two existing Uline distribution centers in Pleasant Prairie.[8]

Operations

In 2014, the company was estimated to have $2 billion in revenue[9] and more than 6,000 employees.[1] As of February 2020, the company reported having over 6,700 employees and over $5.8 billion in revenue.[10] Uline is a family operation: Liz Uihlein serves as president and chief executive officer, her husband Dick is chairman of the board of directors,[10] their children are company executives,[1][9] and Dick's brother Steve serves as a vice president,[10] The company has a conservative dress code, with ties mandatory for men and tattoos discouraged.[1]

Marketing

An important marketing tool for Uline is its product catalog,[10] which has been produced since its founding.[2] Mailed twice a year, the catalog is 800 pages long and advertises over 37,500 products.[2] Uline also relies on extensive online advertising. The company is not believed to have a communications department, and maintains a low profile on social media.[1]

Locations
Uline workers at a warehouse in Pleasant Prairie listen to US Vice President Mike Pence speak on the USMCA free trade agreement in 2019

Headquarters

The Uline headquarters is located on 200 acres (81 ha) in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.[1] The headquarters consists of two buildings: a 279,000 square feet (25,900 m2) facility,[1] and a newer (2017) building of about the same size.[6]

Distribution centers

As of May 2020, Uline has US distribution centers in Allentown, Pennsylvania; Braselton, Georgia; Coppell, Texas; Hudson, Wisconsin; Kenosha, Wisconsin; Lacey, Washington; Ontario, California; and the Wisconsin headquarters warehouses in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. It also has Canadian distribution centers in Milton, Ontario and Edmonton, Alberta and Mexican distribution centers in Mexicali and Apodaca.[11]

Politics

Liz and Richard Uihlein are megadonors to conservative and Republican causes.[12] The company and its employees also have extensively donated to conservative and Republican-affiliated political action committees; they were among the largest contributors to political campaigns during the 2020 election cycle, contributing over $31 million before June 2020.[13] Liz frequently writes missives for the catalog, some of which reflect her political views.[1]

COVID-19 pandemic

On March 13, 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Liz Uhlein said that the media was exaggerating the coronavirus, saying "At what point do we go back to our normal lives? This has been a huge disruption."[13] On April 21, Liz sent an email to all employees, urging them to support a petition to recall Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers over public health measures taken the month prior.[13] The same week, Uhlein, who rarely gives interviews, participated in one with The Guardian. In the interview, she criticized media for having "overhyped" COVID-19. The Guardian speculated Uhlein was indirectly lobbying Wisconsin Republicans by funding protests against Evers' restrictions.[14] In July, a complaint was filed with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration—Uline had been holding large, unmasked "lunch and learns" in spaces that did not permit social distancing, would not permit employees to work from home, and had allowed symptomatic employees to work without face coverings.[15]

On August 25, Liz Uihlein and two other managers visited a Uline facility in Milton, Ontario.[16] The visit sparked controversy in Canada because the group had been specially exempted from the 2-week quarantine mandatory for everyone entering the country. The five public officials who could have granted the exemption, Minister of Foreign Affairs François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair, Minister of Health Patty Hajdu, Minister of Immigration Marco Mendicino, and Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam, were heavily scrutinized.[16] Uihlein maintained she had received permission, but personnel for the officials could not confirm any of them had signed the exemption. Uihlein, in turn, would not say who approved the company's applications.[16] During the visit, police were called to the Uline office after a report that large, unmasked gatherings had been held; no action was taken.[16]

On November 12, Liz Uihlein sent out a company-wide email in which she admitted she and Dick had contracted COVID-19. The email came after multiple people had tested positive after attending an Election Night party hosted by President Donald Trump.[17][18] Through a spokesman, the Uihleins denied having attended the party; Uline employees "incorrectly have said" that they had.[18] A spokeswoman declined to answer questions about why the Uihleins' private jet traveled from Waukegan airport, near their home in Illinois, to Dulles airport near Washington, D.C. on the afternoon of the party, returning early the following morning.[19]

References
  1. Saul, Stephanie; Hakim, Danny (June 7, 2018). "The Most Powerful Conservative Couple You've Never Heard Of". The New York Times. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  2. "Our History". Uline Careers. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  3. Burke, Michael (January 3, 2008). "Uline to move corporate headquarters to new Pleasant Prairie campus". The Journal Times. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  4. "About Uline - Corporate Headquarters Warehouse". www.uline.ca. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  5. Cole, David (June 3, 2014). "Uline Announces Plan To Expand Facilities And Workforce". Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  6. Daykin, Tom (January 26, 2016). "Uline to begin building offices after getting final local approval". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  7. Flores, Terry (March 29, 2020). "Uline expanding its footprint in Kenosha County". Kenosha News. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  8. Romell, Rick (June 3, 2019). "Uline Inc. plans yet another big warehouse in Kenosha near Amazon fulfillment center". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  9. Savchuk, Katia (November 4, 2014). "The Little Known CEO Spending Millions To Elect Far-Right Republicans". Forbes. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  10. Thomas, Arthur (February 17, 2020). "'I love product': Liz Uihlein…on running a $5.8 billion family business". BizTimes - Milwaukee Business News. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  11. "About Uline - Locations". www.uline.com. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  12. Severns, Maggie (March 19, 2018). "The biggest Republican megadonor you've never heard of". POLITICO. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  13. "Trump Mega-Donor, a Shipping Magnate, Pushes to End a Shutdown". www.bloomberg.com. 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  14. Conklin, Melanie. "GOP Donor Uihlein Calls COVID-19 "Overhyped"". Urban Milwaukee. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  15. "Billionaire Trump donors Elizabeth and Richard Uihlein have COVID". Crain's Chicago Business. November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  16. Gatehouse, Jonathan; McNair, Madeline; Leung, Albert (September 16, 2020). "Billionaire critic of COVID-19 restrictions says Ottawa let her skip 14-day quarantine". CBC.ca. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  17. Meadows, Jonah (November 12, 2020). "Trump Megadonors Contract Coronavirus, Joining Fellow Billionaire". Lake Forest-Lake Bluff, IL Patch. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  18. Beck, Mary Spicuzza, Daniel Bice and Molly (November 12, 2020). "Uline founders Liz and Dick Uihlein test positive for COVID-19. She has criticized coronavirus restrictions". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  19. Gatehouse, Jonathan; Leung, Albert (November 13, 2020). ""Billionaire Trump backer who got August quarantine exemption in Canada tests positive for COVID-19"". CBC.ca. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
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