150 Year Old Company Has Office In Lynnfield

Since the early 1990s, Wayne A. Magoon has been President of the Henry W. Peabody & Company, Inc., a nearly 150-year-old company with a presence in Lynnfield.

Lynnfield Patch recently interviewed Magoon from his Broadway office, which serves as the company’s administrative supply point for buying and selling goods that will be distributed throughout North America. 

Magoon describes the company as a small, family-oriented business, which averages $22 million in revenue a year.  Including Magoon, the company has five employees.  Magoon, a resident of Exeter, New Hampshire, spent twenty years in the U.S. Air Force and later worked for Wang Laboratories.  In 1991, he became President of Henry W. Peabody & Co.

Magoon described the Peabody Company’s longstanding role as import/export merchants for the agricultural and packaging industries.  “Our commodities are basically natural fiber packaging materials, primarily burlap… it’s been around for about three or four thousand years,” Magoon said.   

The company was originally established in 1867 as an international trading organization.  Peabody & Co., Inc. is named after Henry Wayland Peabody. Mr. Peabody started an “Australian Line” business that traded in commodities shipping.  Magoon explained that although no one from the Peabody family is still affiliated with the current business, the company namesake has remained. During the company’s earlier years, it once maintained 48 offices around the world.  The company gradually developed a strong reputation for trust and reliability. 

“We just basically bring in textile products, finished goods, mostly now for use here in the United States and Canada for agricultural purposes,” Magoon says.     

The company has remained a trusted and well-respected brand since its founding in the 19th century.  Peabody was the first Boston-based company to guarantee shipping dates for goods out of Boston.  The company has been headquartered in Lynnfield since the mid-1990s.  The Boston Business Journal has recognized Peabody & Co. as the second largest import company in the greater Boston area. 

“We used to deal with cotton, wool, sisal, Manila hemp, as well as jute.  But basically, in the last few years, all of these things have given way to plastic - because they are cheaper,” Magoon says.

Magoon also spoke about how the company has evolved from its early years as a clipper ship trade business.

Today, Peabody & Co., Inc. is a direct import merchant of high-quality burlap, jute, and synthetic products from Bangladesh, China, India, and Indonesia.  These various products are used in the agricultural and packaging industries.  More specifically, Peabody & Co. provides its customers with products that are used as carpeting, nursery socks and liners, potato or onion bags, sand bags, and other agricultural and packaging materials.

During the interview, Magoon also noted an historical fact about the company.  “We had noteworthy in our history, the fact that we did have some straw goods that went down on the Titanic.”

“When asked about the longevity of the Peabody Company, Magoon said: “Our relationships with our suppliers and customers over the last 100 years.  We’re very small, but we’re very well known in that part of the world to the point where we know these people personally and their families.”

Looking forward, Magoon would like to see Peabody & Co. continue to prosper in its niche environment. 

For more information about the Henry W. Peabody & Co., Inc. visit: www.hwpeabody.com.