Ken Dart

Born in 1955, Kenneth B. Dart, a mechanical engineering graduate of the University of Michigan, entered his family’s manufacturing business Dart Container Corporation in 1976, upon graduation from college. He left in December 2014 after nearly forty years.

While he began his career in the company’s engineering department, he quickly assumed increasing levels of responsibility and was named President of the company in 1986. Under Ken’s leadership, the Company experienced impressive growth and improvement – in product offerings, product quality, service and markets served – and has enhanced its reputation as the “Industry Standard of Excellence.”

Dart is the world’s leading manufacturer of foam cups, and a leading manufacturer of many other plastic foodservice products.

In addition to selling products to institutional distributors like Sysco and U.S. Foodservice, Dart provides products to national accounts such as Chick-Fil-A, Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s, Sonic and Burger King. Dart products, under either the Dart name or private label, can also be purchased in grocery stores and warehouse clubs.

Beginning in the early 1990’s, and by focusing on collection and transportation logistics, and manufacturing processes, Dart has developed a variety of programs that allow for the recycling of foam foodservice products into items like picture frames. Today, many of Dart’s plants serve as collection points for foam products, and Dart operates several reprocessing facilities. In addition, Dart offers several recycling programs specifically designed to help facilitate the collection and recycling of products purchased and used by its customers.

A heavily vertically integrated company – Dart produces its own resins, builds its own production equipment (e.g. cup machines), produces its own packaging film and printing inks, and delivers products on its own truck fleet – Dart is well positioned to grow its business in the coming years and decades.