Morrisette Packaging (CONT’D FROM PAGE 44)
Executive Director of Packaging Design, learned about a new piece of print technology: a single-pass, high-graphic digital press. “We’d been working in the digital space for about four or five years at that point, and our design team had or- ganically built a very strong regional supplier partnership base,” says Workman. “The market was contracting, and we were having quality control problems, but we were re- ally intrigued with the new digital technology and wanted to get more into it. And digital was an easier entry point into the corrugated world.”
The Elitron die cutter is already on site and ready to go. The Koenig & Bauer Magnus folder gluer and the Xeikon Idera digital printer are scheduled to arrive in October, and the Koenig & Bauer|Celmacch 8-color rotary die cutter will be commissioned next April. Morrisette Packaging expects the entire corrugated sheet plant to be fully operational by June of 2026. ‘People Over Profit’ Morrisette Packaging has always been family-owned. Now, in its third generation of operation, John Morrisette, grandson of the founder, sits as President of Morrisette Packaging while his dad, Bill Morrisette Jr., remains CEO. John seems intent on maintaining the legacy his father and grandfather have created, and that is evident in the way he speaks about not only the business but also the people who he credits as making the business what it is. “We believe we have the best people—and now the best equipment—for the ambitious goals we’re trying to achieve in this market. It’s an ethos that has existed in this company for as long as I can remember, which is people over profit,” he says. “We’re a family business, and that’s how we operate. We get to enjoy the luxury of having a long-term approach because after all, we’re not in the business to maximize profits, we’re in the business to max- imize being profitable.” Indeed, “People Over Profit” is something everyone at Morrisette Packaging seems to agree on. It’s a mantra passed down over the last three generations, they tell me. And sitting alongside the team, it appears to be true. Creativity Meets Capability “It’s been about eight years since we began the evolu- tion into design, which has allowed us to expand our prod- uct offerings exponentially,” says John Morrisette. He of- ten references his company’s “material neutral” approach, which means it works with all types of packaging, from corrugated to flexible, and the constant goal is to deliver process-specific solutions to their customers. This isn’t the first time the company has vertically in- tegrated its operations. Morrisette Packaging took its first step into manufacturing with the establishment of its foam packaging manufacturing division two years ago. According to Mike Bowman, Morrisette Packaging’s Technical Manager, “We buy tons of foam, then cut it, slit it, die cut it, rout it, cut it on the table, and assemble it, what- ever the customer needs. We’ve dedicated about 20,000 square feet of our facility here in Browns Summit to our foam manufacturing business. A Collaboration Into Corrugated “Over the last three to four years, the demand for high-quality design in the printed corrugated side of our business helped us realize its tremendous potential,” says John Morrisette. “Since it had grown to be our largest seg- ment, we asked ourselves, ‘What would vertical integra- tion look like in this segment?’” In that time, Robbie Workman, Morrisette Packaging’s
That’s where John Morrisette asked the question, ‘If this technology exists, what other technology exists?’ The answer to John’s question was found at Drupa 2024 in Düsseldorf, Germany. The Koenig & Bauer Connection Within 30 days of this realization, the Morrisette Pack- aging team traveled to the largest print show in the world and quickly and overwhelmingly saw what else existed. “Our eyes were opened and our perspectives expand- ed,” says John Morrisette. “We saw a plethora of technol- ogy that a lot of corrugated box makers in North America have never seen before. What we saw at Drupa simply didn’t exist here, mainly because it was first-generation technology.” The real “Ah-ha” moment would come when Mike Bow- man, Morrisette Packaging’s Technical Manager, visited the massive Koenig & Bauer booth. He was transfixed by the expansive graphics of the futuristic Koenig & Bauer flex- ographic press. Koenig & Bauer’s Kevin Erbe introduced himself and began a “selling through consultation” rela- tionship, which the Morrisette Packaging team embraced. Mike Bowman with a sample of Morrisette Packaging’s protec- tive foam packaging.
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