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100 Years ‘In the Bag’

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Grandfather who came to U.S. in 1912
began Industrial Bag and Specialties Inc.

Martin Michalek | Special to the Jewish News

Brett Mountain

I

t was 1912 when Kenny Borin’s
grandfather, Louis Siderman, left
Russia and moved to Windsor —
not quite a Detroiter yet.
In Windsor, Siderman worked in
the sewing industry until 1916, at
which time he had saved up enough
money to open his own sewing plant
in Detroit.
One hundred years later, Borin con-
tinues to run his grandfather’s busi-
ness, Industrial Bag and Specialties
Inc., which celebrates its centennial
this year in Southfield.
“We don’t know where he got the
money or how long he’d been saving,
but it was 1916 when he started the
plant — we know that much,” Borin
says. “My mother is still alive, and it
was her father who started the plant.
She’s 93 and lives in Tucson. She’s so
excited that the business is still going.”
Borin saved up his money for 13
years and bought the business from his
parents back in the mid-1980s.
The original plant stood at the cor-
ner of Lafayette and Brush streets by
what is now Greektown Casino. In the
1950s, Industrial Bag and Specialties
moved its plant to the former Ferry-
Morse Seed headquarters at 400
Monroe St., which today is the restau-
rant Fishbones.
Now, Borin’s company is based out
of Southfield. Though the location has
shifted, its laundry bags, tote bags and
military bags have always been made
in the United States.
“Our customers like to see
American-made products,” he says,
noting that in the ’70s and ’80s a lot
of other companies went to China and
eventually went out of business.
A thread of patriotism runs through
the business. In 1945, as World War
II ended, the U.S. government sent a
check to Borin’s grandfather to thank
him for using his plants to make
military bags. Upon seeing the check,
Siderman promptly refused the funds.
Says Borin: “My grandfather said,
‘No way. I’m not going make money off
this wonderful country,’ and he sent a
check back.”
His grandfather had fled the Czar-led
Russian empire, Borin adds. “He loved
this country very much.”
Having a business that celebrates its

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Kenny Borin and his companion Chava

centennial, Borin declares, “doesn’t just
happen.” He believes running his busi-
ness on faith has brought it longevity.
“I returned to my Judaism 25 years
ago and became an Orthodox Jew,”
says Borin, who attends the Bais
Chabad Torah Center of West
Bloomfield. “I believe that God watches
over my company, and I’ve based this
company on charity.”
At age 65, Borin says business is bet-
ter than it’s ever been. “The company’s
growth has tripled in the past four
years.”
Faithful to the end, Borin intends
for his inheritance to go to Rabbi
Silberberg of Bais Chabad, who is his
“adviser and spiritual counsel.” The two
are also close friends. “Every year for
the last 20 years, I take the rabbi and
his family out to dinner.”
With money made from Industrial
Bag sales, Borin gathers together Rabbi
Silberberg’s family (who are spread out
across the country) and rents out the
Birchwood Inn in Harbor Springs for a
family reunion.
“I rent out close to 25 rooms and it’s
beautiful. We have special memories
there. They call me Uncle Akiva,” he
says, which is his Hebrew name.
When asked how he’ll celebrate the
company’s centennial, he says simply,
“with a good dinner and good friends.”
For more information on Industrial
Bag and Specialties, visit www.
industrialbag.com.

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March 3 • 2016

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