Bulldog Bag Ltd.’s History
1964-65
Originally incorporated in November 1964 as Maclin Bag by business partners, Irving Sirlin and Bob Mackenzie, the first plant was a 3,500 square foot rental facility at Northern Building Supply on East Kent Ave South, in Vancouver British Columbia. The company started by manufacturing paper mattress bags on its first machine, Tuber #1. At the time believed to be the only paper mattress bag supplier west of Winnipeg, Irving and Bob used an old warehouse, which came with cows, to store paper rolls for production.
By April 1965, Charles Diamond replaced Bob Mackenzie as Irving’s partner and the company was renamed Bulldog Bag Ltd. Irving and Charles were looking for a name that denoted strength.
Tuber #1 was gradually shifted to manufacturing multiple paper bags, notably paper bags for plywood exports, and the need for additional machines and dedicated premises became clear.
1966-75
Realizing the untapped market potential for paper bags, Irving and Charles bought the company’s first building, 708 Powell Street, in 1966.
Throughout the late ’60s and early ’70s, the company continued to grow and in 1973 the company’s ambitions caught up with its capacity. Bulldog Bag Ltd. had again moved to a larger space, this time to Richmond, BC, at 265 No. 5 Road, and expanded into the burgeoning flexible polymer packaging segment.
As demand for polymer packaging increased, Bulldog Bag Ltd. installed its first extruder for the production of its own film from resin. For the remainder of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s Bulldog Bag Ltd.'s product lines and flexible film output expanded under the leadership of father and son duo, Irving and Frank Sirlin, who joined the family business in 1985.
1976-94
1995
In 1995 Bulldog Bag moved into a 120,000 square foot facility at 13631 Vulcan way in Richmond, British Columbia. The move to Vulcan Way would mark the start of significant commercial expansion for Bulldog Bag.
1996-2009
Exploring alternative value adding options, Bulldog Bag started to invest into more sophisticated printing and converting equipment, purchasing a Bobst 8 color press and co-extrusion line in 2001.
Having seen the potential in gearing production towards retail end-users, Bulldog Bag further invested into its first adhesive laminator in 2006 and a pouch machine in 2009. While the business model remained focused on business to business sales, the ‘retail-end user’ segment gained more traction, often proving more dynamic than the ‘industrial-end user’ market.
2010-2022
The acquisition of additional equipment, including a 10 color W&H printing press in 2017, further expanded the company’s capacity to deliver high quality paper and plastic packaging.
More than 50 years later, we continue to make quality flexible packaging products for clients old and new.
2023 and onward
Adjusting to emergent trends in packaging, printing, materials science and ordinance on plastic products, Bulldog Bag moved into a new purpose built facility in Langley, British Columbia in mid-2023. The move allows us to expand our printing and converting capabilities to meet growing demand for our product lines, while right fitting the plant for more efficient operation.
Our new facility is located on 274 Street, Langley, BC, V4W 0B8 and is in close proximity to the Trans-Canada Hwy, the Aldergrove-Bellingham Hwy, and only 17 kilometers from the Aldergrove-Lynden Border Post.
In addition to building a new plant, Bulldog Bag is investing ~$9 million in new equipment to increase productive capacity and efficiency. The investment will strengthen our printing, converting and lamination capacity through the addition of a new flexographic press and conversion machines.
To match our new mechanical muscle, Bulldog Bag’s expanded talent acquisition program will bolster our capacity to run multiple shifts, increasing our options to mitigate scheduling risks for tight turnarounds, large orders, and longer production runs.