Atlantic notion.

• Author: Duckwall, Jane
• Position: NC100: LEADER OF THE FUTURE

Wes Carter

President

ATLANTIC C0RP. Wilmington Packaging and printing

EMPLOYEES: 845

COMPANY FOUNDED: 1946

NOTABLE: CARTER'S GOAL IS TO DOUBLE SALES TO $1 BILLION IN A DECADE

Earning the title of a future leader is an ironic twist for the third-generation member of a 70-year-old family business. Wes Carter, 37, became president in May on Atlantic Corp.'s anniversary. He took the reins from his father, Rusty, who remains CEO.

Atlantic Packaging, as it is usually called, is a $500 million company with roots in the newspaper industry. Carter's grandfather, W. Horace Carter, started The Tabor City Tribune in 1946 after accepting a job as industrial recruiter for the Columbus County town 70 miles east of Wilmington. Six years later, the paper won a Pulitzer Prize, the industry's highest honor, for a campaign against the Ku Klux Klan that culminated in the conviction of more than 100 Klansmen. Horace Carter helped attract industry to the area and expanded beyond publishing into printing, paper converting and distributing office products.

Wilmington-based Atlantic now provides packaging, printing and other services for more than a dozen industries, including textiles, beverages, furniture, agriculture and pharmaceuticals. It employs about 740 workers in 16 U.S. locations and has another 105 employees working at facilities in Honduras and the Dominican Republic.

The company has doubled its sales volume over the last decade, Carter says. New branches in the Northeast and Midwest, combined with more products and services, position Atlantic to become a leading national supplier to major...