Northwest Paper Box (CONT’D FROM PAGE 25)
Board Converting NEWS INTERNET DIRECTORY
“Rod is an engineer,” says Brad. “Anytime we do any kind of machinery or moving things around, he gets involved.” The company’s machinery acquisition philosophy is multifaceted, as Rod explains. “There are a number of things we look at when considering capital expenditures,” he says. “First, we want to know if there will be gains in production efficiency, quality, and safety. Then we ask, ‘What sort of ROI can we expect?’ Or perhaps we can fill a niche where there is market demand and we could bet- ter serve that demand. Finally, we look at the availability of replacement parts and ongoing technical support via in-person visit or remote troubleshooting.” With these criteria employed, NWPB has built up a re- spectable arsenal of converting firepower: On the corru- gated sheet plant side, an Apstar 6-color rotary die cutter; a Langston Saturn III 3-color and an EDF Europe Encore 4-color flexo folder-gluer; a Bobst specialty folder-gluer; an Eterna die cutter; and a Universal 74″ printer-slotter. On the setup box side of the business, NWPB has five Emmeci setup box machines, multiple Crathern & Smith HNS setup box-wrapper lines, and ancillary equipment such as shrink wrappers. Growing the setup box business in a static market chal- lenged the company to look for viable acquisition targets in the Pacific Northwest. Brad credits his AICC connec- tions with the guidance they needed at the time for val- uations and structuring the deals. “We had a really good banker we were working with, and then we also had Mitch Klingher of Klingher Nadler LLP to talk to. We were talking about how to structure a deal, and over time, I learned some of these things,” he says. “Now, having bought four companies in the last 40 years, they have been important for our growth.” The chronology of the acquisitions goes like this: In 1995, NWPB bought the setup box assets of Grigsby Pa- per Box. In 1998, NWPB acquired the setup box assets of Pacific Paper Box. Then, in 2016, NWPB acquired the as- sets of Universal Paper Box in Seattle, a move that opened up the larger Seattle-Tacoma market, where Brad says there’s “way more business.” “With these acquisitions, we have basically consolidat- ed the setup box business in the Northwest,” he adds. The growth in volume eventually caught up with NWPB at its longtime location in the Basin industrial area in Port- land. “Eventually, we felt like we had to do something to get more room to manage this volume,” Brad says. “At one time, we had 20 truckloads of material outside for most of the summer because we could not process it fast enough through our plant. We moved our hand-fed die cutters around the building 14 different times to squeeze things in there and add new equipment, but in the end, it just was not an efficient plant. This, combined with our expiring lease and an increasingly unfavorable business climate, property tax structure, and crime near our facility, made us
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July 29, 2024
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