Tavens Packaging (CONT’D FROM PAGE 1)
“blank slate,” in Bedford Heights, where the company re- mains today. Ames continues to maintain ownership. In what could be considered the “modern era of the company,” Ames rebranded the company in 2010 to be-
boxes before getting into corrugated and he thrived on being a small company that served the local community. He was intent on providing jobs for people in the commu- nity Tavens served and no job was too small. He bought second rolls from brokers and very often his boxes – much like Tavens’ corrugator – were held together with Scotch tape and bailing wire. Frank and Al Tavens persevered and enjoyed the fruits of their labor. A Focus On Growth By the early 1970s, Tavens Packaging was growing, prompting the move to a former Union Camp building, where growth fueled more expansion. By 1984, Tavens was producing both corrugated and folding cartons but sold the folding carton side of the business and focused solely on corrugated. In 1997, after 40 years in business and in failing health, Al Tavens sold the business to a lo- cal entrepreneur named Dick Ames, who kept the Tavens family name. Ames’ first task was getting rid of the compa- ny’s corrugator, saying “I don’t want to own a business that has a piece of machinery that you can’t turn off!” His entrepreneurial instinct told Ames that operating Tavens as a sheet plant made the most economic sense. Despite the fact that the market didn’t see Tavens as a high-quality producer of sheets, Ames continued to grow the business without a corrugator and in 2007 moved into an empty Weyerhaueser plant, a 115,000-square-foot
come Tavens Packaging & Display Solutions and added a high-speed Latitude 42-inch Flexo Folder Gluer, which was perfect for small quantity, fast turnaround orders that had become Tavens’ stock in trade. Running as few as 25-50 boxes per order, the set-up-while-run feature of the Lati- tude ensured maximum efficiency and profitability. Scott Perell at the controls of Tavens’ 42-inch Latitude FFG.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 24
22 January 23, 2023
www.boardconvertingnews.com
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker