History
In 1938, Norman and Rae Weiss opened the doors of Weiss Bros. Paper in Hagerstown, MD. A distributor from the beginning, Weiss Bros. was actually a branch of a family-owned business in Norristown, PA. The distributor specialized in paper products, novelties, leather and shoe accessories that were sold to small corner stores and shoemakers.
During World War II, Norman left the business to Rae as he served in the US Army. It was during these years that the Weiss Bros. family expanded with its first two salesmen. Norman returned from war in 1946, and hired his nephew, Bernard Weiss, to call directly on new businesses.
Norman’s son, Richard Weiss, joined the family business in the early 1970’s. An educated man from American University, he worked from the bottom up learning all of the roles at Weiss Bros. It was nine years later that Norman retired because of health issues leaving the business in the hands of his nephew, Bernard and son, Richard.
With Bernard and Richard at the wheel, they moved Weiss Bros. to a larger facility, hired its first sales manager, Ralph Perri, and opened a party decorations store named Paper Plus in its warehouse. Weiss Bros. had moved from selling to shoemakers and corner stores to delivering to hospitals, schools, manufacturing plants and office buildings. Rae continued an active role with the business by overseeing Paper Plus.
The 90’s brought new growth and change to Weiss Bros. In 1992, Bernard retired as president after 44 years in the business. The company moved its wholesale business to a larger facility off Oak Ridge Dr. while opening Paper Plus in a retail shopping center off the Dual Hwy.
Rae Weiss continued to work at the party store until her death in 2001. She had spent over 60 years in the industry. Moreover, Paper Plus was sold to a new owner the same year.
In 2008, Richard’s son, Michael Weiss joined the company as the third generation of the Weiss family to operate the business. Michael and Richard work side-by-side developing and implementing new strategies to better serve the Quad State area.
Today, after more than 70 years, Weiss Bros. Paper is the largest locally owned and independently operated distributor of janitorial supplies, safety supplies, food service disposables, industrial packaging and maintenance equipment. The Weiss Bros. family looks forward to another 70 years of providing the Quad State area with Quality Products and Excellent Service.
