GRAND RAPIDS, MI—Bustling and active—there is no better way to describe Advance Packaging Corp.’s plant in Kentwood/Grand Rapids, MI. Here, the focus has long been on rogue innovation, as well as continuous and process improvement. Something is always happening at this independent corrugated board manufacturer and converter, a tenured FTA member. Huge developments are on the horizon. All involved in every single aspect of the operation stand committed to beating the odds. And, they have a track record of doing just that.
On July 28, Advance Packaging cut the ribbon on a 75,000 sq. ft. expansion to its 425,000 sq. ft. plant that was completed just six years earlier, in 2010. Simultaneously, it marked its 50th anniversary. From the beginning of 2016, straight through July, Don Crossley, president, reports, “New sales records have been posted each and every month.” With more than 500 active customers, Crossley says, “Advance Packaging has attracted more new business in the last 18 months than at any other time in its history. The market has never been busier!”
Advance Packaging is strategically responding to demand. With the building now complete, capital expansion plans are being set in motion. In fact, some major initiatives came to fruition as engineers were putting the finishing touches on the structure’s shell. Chief among them? The move into digital with the purchase of an HP Scitex 15500 digital printer and Zund digital cutter, as well as construction of a dedicated room for this new and important sector of the business. Advance Packaging’s new capabilities mean three distinct printing processes are being run side by side in a single facility—flexo (to include direct print corrugated), litho and digital.
Exciting Evolution
“This new digital expansion is the perfect way for Advance to begin its 50th year of operation,” says Scott Wilcox, vice president of sales and marketing. “As a company, we are excited to be offering our clients the best printing quality available. This printer offers a dramatic decrease in turnaround time, which increases our efficiency and gets product into the customers’ production line sooner.”
The press is capable of printing 7,000 sq. ft. per hour. Wilcox maintains the new machine delivers more vibrant and efficient printing for Advance’s clients, which include local breweries, medical and automotive suppliers, and consumer product companies throughout the U.S. The HP Scitex allows Advance to offer digital printing to customers at a lower price point with less initial cost with no tooling and minimal set up time. Since the printer started production, Advance has hired three new, full time employees.
Still to come: acquisition of yet another press and relocation of a second. Advance plans to use its new space to house a new conveyor and sheet line, as well as additional production machines including the Gopfert SRE Maxi. The additional room allows Advance to switch production to a four shift, 24 hour, seven days per week schedule.
Risk With Reward
“The company has had consistent vision and willingness to take risks and make investments when our customer demand warranted,” Crossley notes. “The many sizable, well run, private businesses located in the Midwest are loyal to doing business with local suppliers. We know with the level of commitment by these firms that we can count on the area to continue to grow and prosper for many years to come.”
Advance plans to continue 2016 by carrying out an additional $8 million expenditure plan with the hopes of an additional $8 million spend in 2017. Ambitious hiring plans are also being formulated with expectations to grow staff by 90.
In dedicating the expanded plant, Crossley made a point to honor the past and point to the future. Advance Packaging was founded in 1972 by Dick Strauss and Franklin Gregory. Its original 22,000 sq. ft. facility was located just blocks from the current plant. The firm’s logo, right from the beginning—an egg. The rationale: “We chose nature’s perfect package to represent just what we’re all about—perfect packaging solutions.”
In 1999, ownership transferred to Crossley and Carol Hoyt, its former CEO. Hoyt, who was on hand for the 50th anniversary festivities, retired in 2014. Dignitaries present included Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley, the Michigan Economic Development Corp., and a contingent of Advance Packaging vendors, including PCA Corp., who Crossley says received the very first order cut for paper on Aug. 5, 1977.
From first suppliers to initial customers, Crossley welcomed its early and single largest customer, Amway Corp., to the grounds. The two organizations have partnered for decades, with Amway responsible for more than $250 million in business over the last 50 years. To recognize its importance to Advance, Amway was presented with an electronically lit portrait of the portion of the Grand Rapids Skyline associated with its operations, with the art including an image of an Advance Packaging delivery truck crossing the bridge and heading back to the plant.
Crossley fondly remembers breaking ground on a massive 425,000 sq. ft. manufacturing space and taking an opportunity to create a facility that would shrink its environmental impact even as it allowed its physical, production and geographic footprints to grow. For choosing to go above and beyond in its consideration of the environment and its dedication to sustainably focused business operations, Advance Packaging Corp. was presented with FTA’s 2015 Sustainability Excellence Award.
Advance Packaging’s newly expanded building continues to work in harmony with its environment. The floorplan is designed to minimize human contact with sheets by placing corrugator machines, converting machines and shipping docks in optimal spots. Conveyor lines are designed to reduce energy consumption and a 110-in. BHS corrugator enables Advance Packaging to expand production and use less natural gas while doing it. Above the corrugator, barriers and tubes capture, then distribute the heat generated during production, further reducing energy costs by heating the building in the winter and keeping it cooler in the summer.
With all that history, a newly expanded plant, a strong and loyal customer base and an aggressive capital expenditure program, Advance Packaging is welcoming in a new chapter in its operating history. As always, it’s looking to improve lead time, quality and on time delivery.