Tension Corporation Celebrates 140 Years
March 17, 2026 marks the 140th anniversary of Tension Corporation. Since our founding in 1886 by William J Berkowitz, Tension has adhered to a simple but powerful premise: exceptional customer service, product quality, consistency of process, and respect for people. These are not temporary strategies; they are the enduring requirements for success. These concepts have been refined over time and carried forward by generations. Tension Associates understand that enduring success results from consistency and care.
Tension Corporation began as a novelties business before expanding into envelopes, earning its reputation in industries where precision is non-negotiable and scalability is crucial to success. Throughout our history, this success has been built on the company’s first and most fundamental principle: Associates are our most valuable resource and the bedrock of our continued progress, growth, and sustainability. From that foundation, Tension Packaging & Automation proudly reflects on the legacy that made expansion into automation not only possible, but sustainable and strategic.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Tension leveraged its expertise in mail to provide customers with large-form envelopes for the growing internet retail market. Building on our engineering excellence, we then began designing and building machinery that helped our customers automate their processes for packaging orders for delivery. This evolution laid the groundwork for our Tension Packaging & Automation division.
A major milestone for the company was the sale and installation of the first SP 9000 Cold Seal Packaging System in April 2002. At a time when e-commerce fulfillment was largely manual and automation solutions were virtually nonexistent; the results were transformative. Our solution reduced manual labor dependency significantly, achieving greater throughput, and our customers gained a scalable solution designed for high-growth operations.
That first installation gave life to more than 20 years of automation innovation for our e-commerce and pharmacy customers. Today, our teams continue to design intelligent, modular systems that improve throughput, integrate workflow, reduce operational pressure, and support rapidly expanding fulfillment demands.
As we honor 140 years of Tension, we celebrate not only where we started, but how our heritage continues to inspire innovation within the Packaging & Automation division, as well as the Envelope & Print and International divisions. The values remain the same. The applications continue to expand. Together, they continue to move Tension forward.
Thank you for being part of this journey. Your partnership fuels our progress, and together we will continue building practical, intelligent systems that support your growth for decades to come.