ppi dialogue with russ gager - inteplast roots of gl&v pulp and paper on page ... michelle horn,...
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DIALOGUE WITH RUSS GAGER
Paper and Packaging International is published quarterly by Phoenix Media Corporation, 79 West Monroe, Suite 400, Chicago, IL, 60603. Periodical PostagePaid in Chicago, IL 60601 and an additional mailing office. POST MASTER: Send address changes to Manufacturing Today, 79 West Monroe, Suite 400, Chicago,IL, 60603. CANADA POST: Publications Mail Agreement No. 41089016. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Phoenix Media Corporation, 7496 BathRoad #2, Mississauga, ON L4T 1L3. Access subscriber services at www.paperpackaginginternational.com
MANAGING EDITOR
This special supplement to ManufacturingToday titled Paper and Packaging Inter-national is aimed at upper-level executiveswho need to stay ahead of the informationcurve. This supplement is designed to followthe paper packaging supply chain, from pulpmills to the packaging machinery that read-ies products for display on retailers’ shelvesand elsewhere.
Among the successful companies profiledin this supplement is Inteplast Group onpage 8, which operates more than 40 plantsfor its three divisions, each of which serves avariety of customers in 15 markets.
Inteplast Group’s AmTopp division manu-factures biaxially-oriented polypropylenefilm, stretch wrap, plastic compounds, andcolor and plastic concentrates that are usedin food packaging, labels and decals, adhe-sive tapes, graphic art over-laminates, car-tons and non-food wrappers.
Located in the heart of football country,every day Green Bay Packaging on page 24competes in the Super Bowl of customiza-tion, innovation and creativity. Founded in1933 by George Kress, the company is stillowned by the Kress family.
Green Bay Packaging has 30 locations inthe United States and Mexico. Its high-quali-
ty products are used in many retail packagingand labeling applications.
The roots of GL&V Pulp and Paper on page20 go back to its parent company, GLVGroup of Montreal, which provides servicesand equipment to large pulp and paper man-ufacturers.
The company serves the largest players inNorth America, and claims that some pieceof equipment in every mill in the world hasGL&V as its OEM.
These are just some of this supplement’scompanies from which you can learn, andhopefully, earn more profit.
ppi
Welcome to Packaging
SUMMER 2013
WWW.PAPERPACKAGINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
John Krukowski
EDITORIAL MANAGER
Brian Salgado
MANAGING EDITOR
Russ Gager
SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR
Chris Petersen
SENIOR EDITORS
Alan Dorich, Russ Gager, Jim Harris,
Marta Jiménez-Lutter, Jamie Morgan
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Lynn L. Bergeson, Marty Jacknis, Gerri Knilans, Dr.
Charles Steilen, Mike Stutman
PRODUCTION COORDINATORS
Nancy Allen, Karina Cervantes,
Michelle Horn, Emily Thinnes
ART DIRECTOR
Erin Hein
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS
Megan Green, Jonathan Lyzun, Vida Soriano
VP OF SALES
Steve Campagna
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT
Walter Sledz
PROJECT COORDINATORS
Jason Smithart, Chris Kelsh
DIRECTOR OF WEB SALES
Dash Blankenship
DIRECTOR OF REPRINT SALES
Graeme Sturgess
PHOENIX MEDIA CORPORATION79 West MonroeSuite 400Chicago, IL 60603
SUMMER 2013 paperpackaginginternational.com 1
Dr. John D. Young knew he wastaking a significant risk when hedecided to digress from the world ofmedicine to found the InteplastGroup in 1991. Young was not onlymaking a career change, but he also
was entering the world of manufac-turing, which by that point was start-ing to see a significant shift away fromthe United States that continues tochallenge the industry.
“Many companies at that point
were already going to China and else-where overseas,” he says. “Our prem-ise was that we wanted to create astructure that would be viable, com-petitive and have a sufficient enoughimpact in the industry to prove the
A METRIC SYSTEMINTEPLAST GROUP PROVES THE STRENGTH OF AMERICAN MANUFACTURING THROUGH
AN EMPHASIS ON METRICS AND POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT. BY JIM HARRIS
PAPER & PACKAGING INTERNATIONAL Inteplast Groupwww.inteplast.com / Revenues: $1.7 billion / HQ: Livingston, N.J. / Employees: More than 4,500 / Specialty: Plastics
Dr. John D. Young, president: “We make everything we touch affordable, and by producing in large quantities, we open new markets.”
inteplast group has invested
heavily in automation to
increase efficiency and promote
excellence.
8 paperpackaginginternational.com SUMMER 2013
SUMMER 2013 paperpackaginginternational.com 9
Inteplast Group «
point that manufacturing in theUnited States could still be viable.”
Young, whose medical careerincluded teaching and cancerresearch, found himself naturallydrawn to plastics because of theirchemical and molecular properties.“To make the transition, I broughtvery talented people on board withme,” he says. “Our team knew that theburden of proof to show that theUnited States could still be competi-tive in manufacturing was on ourshoulders, so we spent a lot of time,effort, money and manpower on dataintegration and trying to automatethe manufacturing process as muchas we could.”
Inteplast’s many investmentsincluded automated warehouses andmaterial delivery systems. The com-pany was among the first manufactur-ers to use robots and automatedcranes in the manufacturing process,and it helped pioneer the use of sen-sors and bar coding to capture data,Young says.
Today, more than 20 years after itsformation, Inteplast Group hasgrown to become the largest manu-facturer of integrated plastics inNorth America, with products avail-able in virtually every supermarket,convenience store and homeimprovement retailer on the conti-nent. Young continues to lead thecompany as its president.
One of the keys to the company'ssuccess is creating new markets forproducts by producing commoditiesin large quantities at affordable prices.
As an example, Young cites the compa-ny's work in corrugated plastic sheets.
“When we entered that market,about 35 million pounds of corrugat-ed plastic sheets were being used inNorth America, now there's morethan 200 million, and you see themeverywhere,” Young says. “That mar-ket grew in part because we madequality material so affordable thatdesigners and others wanted to usecorrugated board versus other sub-strates because of the price and otherproduct attributes.
inteplast group has grown
into the largest manufacturer
of integrated plastic products
in the country.
Environmental
Commitment
Inteplast Group's commitment to elimi-nating waste in all aspects of its opera-tions is strongly reflected in its corpo-rate environmental policy. All of thecompany's products are designed toremain strong at low gauges, minimiz-ing the amount of raw materials used inproduction, the company says.
Products are made from polypropy-lene, polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride,all of which are chemically stable, non-leaching materials that do not createpollution or affect groundwater. Thecompany's production process includesreclaim lines used to recycle internallygenerated scrap. This material is thenintegrated into manufacturing.
Inteplast Group is accredited byEnvironmentally Preferred Rating (EPR).The accreditation recognizes that thecompany's production facilities are envi-ronmentally sound with regard to recy-cling, resin pallet control and the use ofwater-based ink.
“We make everything we touchaffordable, and by producing in largequantities, we open new markets.”
A ‘One-stop Shop'
Inteplast Group consists of threedivisions, each serving a variety ofcustomers in 15 markets including theindustrial and institutional sectors.Inteplast Group’s AmTopp divisionmanufactures biaxially-oriented
polypropylene film, stretch wrap,plastic compounds, color concen-trates and plastic concentrates.AmTopp films are widely used in foodpackaging, labels and decals, adhesivetapes, graphic art over laminates, car-tons and envelope windows and non-food wrappers. AmTopp stretch filmsare engineered for machine wrap andhand wrap applications.
Inteplast Group’s IntegratedBagging Systems division offers acomplete line of plastic bags fordiverse markets, including can liners,poly food bags, reclosable bags, icebags, retail merchandise bags, gar-ment bags, grocery bags and janitorialand industrial supplies.
The company’s third division,World-Pak, manufactures corrugatedplastic sheets, solid and expandedPVC sheets and cross-laminatedheavy-duty plastic film and bags.
Major customers include Walmart,
Home Depot and Kroger supermar-kets as well as wholesalers and mem-bership clubs such as Costco andRestaurant Depot. The majority ofInteplast's products are used by con-verters or marketed as private labelsby their retailers.
“We prefer to let Home Depot andother customers do the marketing,”Young says. “We’ve always shied awayfrom ads or marketing campaigns inorder to stay focused on the manufac-turing end.”
Inteplast Group today operatesmore than 40 plants. It manufacturesproducts in facilities in more than adozen other states besides Texas andit has several facilities in Canada andAsia, giving it a worldwide reach. Thecompany’s diversity of plastic prod-ucts makes it a “one-stop shop” forcustomers, Young notes.
“We are a supplier that can offer abroad variety of product lines, so our
» Inteplast Group
inteplast group serves a
variety of customers in 15markets with three divisions
and more than 40 plants.
10 paperpackaginginternational.com SUMMER 2013
“we are a supplier
that can offer a
broad variety of
product lines, so our
customers can buy a
variety of the
products they need
directly from us.”
-Dr. John D. Young
customers can buy a variety of theproducts they need directly from us,”he says. “We can bundle productstogether better than many of ourcompetitors can, and ship a variety ofproducts out by the truck load.”
Operational Mastery
Inteplast Group's main manufactur-ing plant in Lolita, Texas, is the largestsingle integrated plastics manufactur-ing site in the world, with 3.4 millionsquare feet of facilities capable of pro-ducing more than 1 billion pounds ofplastic substrates annually.
The company's manufacturingprocesses are distinguished both inthe extensive use of automationincluding state-of-the-art roboticsand computer systems. These sys-tems are incorporated into each stageof production from resin delivery towarehousing, the company says.
The company also used integrateddata management systems to track itsprocess. “Early on, we felt it was thecompany's role to seize upon andembrace operational excellence andstay on that message,” Young says.“We have mastered every aspect ofour operations and have extensiveprocesses governing each of them.”
Inteplast Group has hundreds ofproduction and quality metrics estab-lished to monitor quality, volume,profitability and other targets. Thesemetrics are central to Young's manage-ment philosophy of positive reinforce-ment and celebrating successes daily.
“By having the right data, using theright metrics, setting up goals forevery unit and celebrating those goals,you bring energy to the company,” he
says. “With the amount of metrics wehave for each step of the operation,there's always someone doing welland always something to celebrate.”
Quality-related metrics include on-time delivery rates, rejection rates perparts produced and customer com-plaint rates. Young says InteplastGroup operates its own quality con-trol laboratories and checks quality atevery step of production. Inteplast'sfocus on quality has earned it ISO9001:2008 certification.
Young believes in empoweringpersonnel to succeed through theuse of metrics and related bonuses.“All of the metrics we've set up herehave been achieved,” he says. “If onefalls down, we focus on ways to bringit back up, but we don't do that in anegative way.”
The company's culture of recogniz-ing positive progress and celebratingachievement has given the company aloyal employee base. Many ofInteplast Group's employees haveremained with the company through-out its more than 20 years in business.
“I'm most proud of our people andhow far they have come, as well as theircontribution to the Inteplast ideal,”Young says.
“I am proud of what we've accom-plished together,” he adds. ppi
» Inteplast Group
12 paperpackaginginternational.com SUMMER 2013
dr. john d. young founded
inteplast group 1991, and
since then it has become a
major player in plastics.
Community
Contribution
Since its inception, Inteplast Group hasbeen a major contributor to its commu-nity and an active participant in humani-tarian efforts. The company has con-tributed manpower, materials and fundsto schools, hospitals, churches andother organizations near its manufac-turing base in south Texas. The companyfocuses in particular on supportingyouth-related activities such as localscholarships and school programs.
“I've always believed that every per-son or entity should try to do somethingfor the betterment of society,” companyPresident Dr. John D. Young says.
“early on, we felt it
was the company’s
role to seize upon and
embrace operational
excellence and stay
on that message. we
have mastered every
aspect of our opera-
tions.” -Dr. John D. Young