Atlantic Packaging’s legacy of daring management started in 1946, when journalist W. Horace Carter based a newspaper in Tabor Metropolis, North Carolina. His Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial campaign in opposition to hate and injustice set an enduring customary for ethical integrity.
“Atlantic was constructed on bravery within the face of evil,” mentioned Robbie Walker, Community Infrastructure Supervisor at Atlantic Packaging. “Whereas the newspaper nonetheless runs, our work has developed—from optimizing stretch movie to fixing e-commerce challenges and repurposing know-how in new methods.”
As we speak, Wes Carter, president and grandson of the founder, channels that founding ethos into a brand new mission: eliminating plastic waste from oceans, lakes and rivers by way of sustainable packaging options and trade innovation.
A high-profile sustainability summit requires pressing community calls for
In early 2025, Atlantic Packaging uncovered a vital infrastructure vulnerability whereas making ready to host a high-profile sustainability summit. With VIPs confirmed and intensive media protection anticipated, the corporate wanted to quickly modernize its legacy community to assist the occasion’s elevated visibility. Excessive-speed connectivity, safe entry and scalable bandwidth have been important to handle unpredictable site visitors and ship a seamless expertise.
“We discovered there have been fairly a couple of VIPs attending this 12 months,” recalled Walker. “As soon as we realized the size had modified, we contacted our carriers to see if we may enhance the pace to be on the secure facet.”
Beforehand, community upgrades concerned prolonged and complex processes. This time, Atlantic Packaging wanted an answer that might be deployed immediately, scale dynamically and adapt to last-minute modifications. The urgency was compounded by the necessity for strong cybersecurity to guard in opposition to potential assaults focusing on such a high-profile, publicly seen occasion.
Lumen® Community-as-a-Service: The ‘simple button’ for enterprise networking
To fulfill pressing community calls for for the summit, Atlantic Packaging turned to Lumen Community-as-a-Service (NaaS)—a versatile, scalable networking answer that delivered pace, safety and reliability on demand. The community was reside the night time earlier than the occasion, delivering connectivity forward of Atlantic Packaging’s personal gear.
Lumen delivered key options that unlocked Atlantic Packaging’s digital potential, together with:
- 3g bandwidth deployed in underneath 48 hours
- On the spot DDoS safety for high-profile safety wants
- Level-and-click simplicity for fast deployment
- Scalable structure for future progress
Utilizing the intuitive NaaS portal, Atlantic immediately configured bandwidth, provisioned networks and activated DDoS safety—all with a single click on.
“Lumen got here to us with Community-as-a-Service (NaaS), walked us by way of it, and it was incredible,” says Walker. “Flexibility is core to our tradition, and NaaS delivered precisely that.”
The power to activate DDoS safety immediately was vital, permitting Atlantic Packaging to safe their community instantly with out delays or additional procurement.
“With one click on, we had immediate connectivity plus DDoS safety, which enabled vital safety measures wanted to guard the high-profile friends on the occasion,” mentioned Walker. “It’s really the ‘simple button’ method to do networking.”
From proof of idea to nationwide rollout
What started as a high-stakes deployment rapidly scaled right into a nationwide digital transformation, reshaping how Atlantic Packaging connects, operates and innovates.
“NaaS has modified the best way we do enterprise and the way we take into consideration our enterprise,” mentioned Walker.
Atlantic Packaging rapidly expanded NaaS to 14 areas, with plans to scale to over 30 websites throughout the U.S. The true ROI got here from time financial savings and operational effectivity. Deployment cycles shrank from weeks to hours, and operational overhead was considerably diminished.
“Time is the one factor you possibly can’t purchase,” Walker defined. “NaaS offers us time again by lowering administration overhead.”
Now a cornerstone of Atlantic Packaging’s technique, Lumen NaaS offers fast scaling, quick response and daring innovation—with out infrastructure bottlenecks.
“NaaS mirrors our strategy to downside fixing: innovation,” Walker mentioned. “It’s a sport changer—and we plan to make use of it in every single place.”
Scaling sustainable packaging with good know-how
Atlantic Packaging is accelerating innovation throughout their community with Lumen NaaS, connecting manufacturing areas in Tabor Metropolis and Dallas to their flagship Packaging Resolution Middle in Charlotte, North Carolina.
On the coronary heart of this transformation, the Packaging Resolution Middle serves as a hub for trade developments in good packaging know-how and consultancy. “Our Charlotte location has change into a world showcase for testing, improvement and innovation,” mentioned Walker.
Atlantic Packaging’s dedication to sustainability is equally forward-thinking. They’re the primary North American packaging agency to set a net-zero science-based goal by way of the Science Primarily based Targets initiative (SBTi) and earn an A rating from the Carbon Disclosure Mission (CDP), reinforcing their dedication to measurable local weather motion.
From its beginnings as a small-town newspaper, Atlantic Packaging has developed into North America’s largest privately held sustainable packaging firm, main efforts to cut back plastic air pollution and reshape the trade.
“Similar to his grandfather, Wes and his father Rusty see an issue and so they’re main the answer,” mentioned Walker.
Powered by Lumen, Atlantic Packaging is popping innovation into influence—advancing a greater future by way of daring management and good know-how.
To be taught extra about Atlantic Packaging’s transformation, learn the complete buyer success story.
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