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History

Blackhawk Molding Co, Inc. was founded in 1949. We are a third-generation family owned and operated corporation; headquartered in Addison, Illinois. The company operates three manufacturing plants in the USA; located in Addison, Illinois; Mayflower, Arkansas; and Sparks, Nevada. We also have partners in Puerto Rico and Europe. Blackhawk Molding Co, Inc. specializes in inventing and manufacturing proprietary products. Blackhawk is a pioneer in supplying plastic injection molded products to the dairy, bottled water, beverage and other industries.
Our Swinger Handle™ put Blackhawk on the map in the dairy industry early in the 1960s. This handle along with the equipment to assemble it to fiber-board cartons was sold in the hundreds of millions to the dairy industry. When blow molded bottles came into use, Blackhawk was one of the first suppliers of injection molded caps. Many companies have come and gone in this industry with Blackhawk surviving as one of the major suppliers for over 75 years. Through the years the company has developed a wide range of closures and accessories for a variety of industries.

BLACKHAWK MOLDING CO., INC.

1949
  • Custom Molding company was founded by Walter Hidding in Niles, Illinois.

    Primary product lines included an array of toys, scoops, household and personal care, as well as medical products.
1950s
  • .
  • Capabilities expanded to include custom blow molding, injection molding and proprietary design.

    Blackhawk moved to Addison, Illinois.
1960s
  • Introduced the Grip-It Handle and Swinger Handle to the dairy industry.

    Designed and produced IV bag Bail Arrangement for the medical industry.
1970s
  • HDPE single thread caps were added to the product line.

    55mm traditional caps were introduced in the bottled water industry.

    Custom flip top lids for spice containers were developed and released.
1980s
  • The valve-actuated system was introduced to the bottled water industry.
  • Our second manufacturing facility opened in Mayflower, AR.

1990s
  • The patented Super Quad™ and STS capping system was invented.
  • Introduced the patented SafeGard™ cap with Kleen Peel™ label and expanded manufacture to the United Kingdom.
2000s
  • Our third manufacturing facility opened in Sparks, NV.
  • SafeGard™ cap manufacture began in Poland.

    Manufacturing expands to Puerto Rico.
2010s
  • Resin additive CaCO3 introduced to product lines.
  • The Top Seal™, Universal™, and Beverage™ caps were introduced.
  • LT caps developed with intent to reduce overall cap weight.
2020s
  • The lower gram Beverage Cap shows flexibility across the market.

    The 3-38 was introduced as a universally accepted 3-thread design.

    Manufacturing expanded to Valencia, Spain.

Blackhawk entered the bottled water industry by developing, manufacturing and selling its Traditional cap. This set the stage for the development of the patented SafeGard™ line of no-spill caps. Part of this innovation was the introduction of the Kleen PeelTM  no-stick label. This product has been a true success story in the bottled water industry.  

Over the past 75 years, Blackhawk’s markets have expanded to include water, dairy, juice and “belly-wash” industries utilizing specialty foam liners for sealing. The company also makes capping and de-capping equipment, as well as bottle handling tools.