Arrow Carton (CONT’D FROM PAGE 1)
“I was feeding machines, bundling loads and whatev- er else needed to be done in the plant, never thinking my path would lead me to the corrugated industry,” says Young. “I grew to love boxes and how we’ve evolved as a small company within the industry. I’m amazed at the box making process and the output our machines produce.” Young worked his way through the plant learning one thing, then another, before learning to operate convert- ing machinery. After a while, Mayer asked him if he had any interest in sales. “Sure,” was Young’s answer. “In the morning I would work in the plant and in the afternoon, I would knock on doors and sell,” he says. “Jim wanted me to understand the ‘art of rejection’ and build my skills from there. I did it for eight months before graduating to sales full-time. We bought a design table but at the time, didn’t have a designer, so I learned design, as well. I would cut samples and visit customers, which was the ‘service aspect’ that allowed us to build a lot of business and rela- tionships.” Shad and Cam eventually married and now own Arrow Carton Co. along with Cam’s sister, Katie Gohlke. Shad handles sales, design and a portion of production; Cam is a CPA and is Arrow’s CFO, handling legal matters, Human Resources and all things financial; and Katie manages cus- tomer service and shipping. John and Sue Gohlke are still owners and sit on the company’s board but are not active in the day-to-day operation of the business.
Mayer never had grand plans to grow the company but discovered that when he provided a quality product and excellent service at a fair price – surprise! – his business grew. His daughter and son-in-law, Sue and John Gohlke, joined the business in the 1980s and continued expand- ing Arrow’s niche market of providing a steady stream of one-color brown boxes to a loyal customer base of small manufacturing companies throughout Wisconsin. Mayer’s entrepreneurial spirit gave birth to a second sheet plant, Hartford Container, which he co-owned with his friend and business partner Dave Helbach, who would eventually start Baysek Machines, Inc. The two built Hart- ford Container with Mayer handling sales while Helbach managed production and the “making things work” side of the business. The partners then sold a productive and profitable Hartford Container to Menasha, where Mayer stayed on for a few years to funnel money into Arrow Car- ton and Helbach went on to achieve industry success with Baysek. The Third Generation Arrow Carton’s current president, Shad Young, began his career with the company in 1995, fresh out of college and looking for a job. He was dating Cam Gohlke, whose parents just happened to be looking for help in their fam- ily-owned sheet plant. Young began his job with Arrow as a laborer.
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March 30, 2020
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