History

Subotnick Packaging has been serving Portland in the distribution of supplies since it was founded in 1925 by Joseph S. Subotnick. The company name and product offering has evolved while the focus on providing dependable value to our customers remains the same.

Joseph Subotnick immigrated with his family to Oregon from Russia in the early 1900's. He met his bride, Rose, and settled into what was then called "Old South Portland". The family was known around the neighborhood for its generosity and fair business dealings. Close friendships were formed with many Portland business owners helping to develop a strong customer base. The Company offered dry goods out of a location in the St. Johns neighborhood, but in future years the company moved into the distribution of clothing, scrap metal, general supplies, boxes and packaging out of locations in NW and SW Portland.

One of Joseph and Rose Subotnick's sons, Alfred "Art" Subotnick, joined his father in the business in 1939. Art dedicated long hours to growing the company and could be found at work every workday and most Saturday's by 6:00 AM. His dedication became a trademark of Subotnick Packaging and carried through to other employees; most notably Dave Patterson and Fred "Willie" Boyd who both worked for Subotnick for over 40 years. Joseph and the longtime Subotnick employees helped run the company during Art's absence from 1945-1946 while he was off serving our country in World War II.

Joseph died in 1958. Art's son, Ronald Subotnick joined the company in 1977, his daughter, Cathy (Subotnick) Berlant in 1992 and Cathy's son, David Berlant in 1994. Art died in 1996, and David assumed the main leadership role where he remains today. After 30 years of service for the company, Ronald retired in 2006. Today, the mother and son team remain active third and fourth-generation owner/operators who are proud to carry on the family tradition of delivering dependable value to Subotnick Packaging customers.