Pushing Paper

Joyce Mintzer runs S. Posner Sons Inc., the family business she inherited from her father, making and distributing paper products for high-end clients

Upper East Side Joyce Mintzer has worked for the past 50 years to keep her family's paper distribution business alive by applying the same business principles her grandfather used 125 years ago to today's fast paced industry: good customer service, quality products, and a constant search for new business.

These seem like simple principles, but Mintzer accredits the continued success of S. Posner Sons Inc. to the personalized customer service her company gives to every single client. "I prefer a phone call or talking face to face over email," she explains. "Although I am aware things have changed, and I am also constantly changing to keep the company relevant."

S. Posner Sons Inc. has remained in her family since its creation in 1889. Her grandfather Samuel Posner immigrated to New York from Russia, starting his own paper distribution company out of Yorkville. At that time there were no grocery stores, so Posner began a successful career selling paper bags to dozens of vendors.

The men in her family ran the company until she took control on January 1, 2011 when her brother Sam and cousin Joel retired. In 1960 Mintzer was living with her husband Phil and two daughters in Brooklyn when she started working in their sales department. "I was happy to get to work, I was never really a stay at home kind of woman," she said.

Since Mintzer control in 2011, the company has developed high-end shopping bags with a list of impressive clients including The Plaza Hotel, Viktor and Rolf Flowerbomb perfume, the Wynn Las Vegas hotel, Frye boots, F.A.O. Schwartz, and Manolo Blahnik.

The offices of S. Posner Sons Inc. maintain an old-school New York vibe, especially considering that we were greeted with cookies and tea by Mintzer's husband Phil, while waiting for her to respond to a few phone calls. But there's nothing retro about the way Mintzer and her employees do business.

"As the industry has changed, I've had to evolve with it," she explained. "If I didn't then we would be left behind." One of their latest clients is the shoe brand British Knights, and Minzter was excited to show the sample of their extremely contemporary black velvet shoe boxes.

They are also in the process of updating their website which will feature all of their most notable clients. Mintzer wanted to find a web designer who could produce a more modern website with high quality photography. They have a photo shoot scheduled for the end of the month, and she expects the new site to be up by early summer.