Steve Roth founded Custom Box Service on 31 July 1985, his fortieth birthday.

Steve had previously founded Harvest Mills, a successful manufacturer of food driers and wheat grinders. After selling Harvest Mills in 1977, he began a career in sales. He sold staplers, industrial supplies, and eventually corrugated packaging.

While selling boxes, Steve noticed a niche in the market that wasn’t being filled. There was a need for a company that could manufacture short runs, that could provide delivery in just a few days. Most packaging companies are designed to produce thousands of boxes at a time, and they require lead times that stretch to several weeks. For many small- and medium-sized businesses, these requirements aren’t practical.

Custom Box Service started small. For the first several years, much of the labor came from Steve’s sons — J.D., Jeff, and Tony — who worked in the shop after school and on weekends. A nephew, Nick, quickly became a key employee. As each boy finished college, he found himself back with Custom Box Service. The family enjoyed several years of apprenticeship under Steve before he died of cancer on 21 July 1995, ten days short of his fiftieth birthday (and the business’ ten-year anniversary).

Since Steve’s death, the sons (and nephew) have continued his legacy. Custom Box Service remains a small family-run business with two primary objectives: producing quality packaging in a timely manner, and providing its employees with a relaxed, supportive work environment. We have a good time, and we do our best to keep our customers satisfied.

Through the years, Custom Box Service has employed as many as ten people, several of whom have been Roths. Sales have continued to grow, and our relationships with our customers have grown stronger with time. Jeff is currently running the day-to-day operations of the business, and Nick handled accounting duties until the spring of 2022, when he lost a hard-fought battle with cancer. (Tony now manages an animal nutrition company in Bend. J.D. has realized his dream of becoming a writer; you can read his stuff at Money Boss.)

We look forward to providing you with the same quality and service that we’ve supplied others since 1985!