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| Robbie Manufacturing Inc.: Package Partner |
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| By Alan Dorich | |||
| Tuesday, 26 February 2008 | |||
 Robbie Manufacturing’s Hot N Handy has become the chosen package for hot and cold deli items.
“We are significantly better than the industry average, in terms of response time to generate new products, new graphics [and] new ideas,” he notes. The company, based in Lenexa, Kan., is a premier packaging and converting company that provides merchandising solutions using 10-color process printing on a wide variety of films, specializing in extensible and laminated structures. In addition, Robbie supplies superior pouch and bag technology with consumer friendly features for a variety of applications. Bernard Robinson and his son, President and CEO Irv Robinson, founded the company in 1970, in a former livery barn in Kansas City, Kan. Today, the company operates in two custom-designed, state-of-the-art facilities totaling 125,596 square feet, with a staff of 160 employees. ‘Essence’ of Innovation Larson says Robbie Manufacturing has the ability to take common products that do not meet the needs of the consumer and turn them into value-added packaging solutions. For instance, the company’s Hot N Handy® Pouch was developed to solve a long time problem in supermarket deli – leaking and hard to handle rigid rotisserie chicken packages. It wasn’t long after its introduction that, Hot N Handy became the chosen package for other hot and cold deli items. In the case of many consumer goods items, the company says it has been able to significantly reduce the total packaging costs of the manufacturer while enhancing the market appeal of the product. All the while, the company has reduced its impact on the environment through the utilization of proprietary light-gauge – process print technologies. These are examples of what has become the “essence of Robbie,” Larson asserts. “We constantly look at unmet needs in our marketplaces and we create what we believe are solutions to those [problems],” he says. “When you bring solutions to the marketplace, there will always be customers.” The company’s business revolves around packaging, but Larson notes its real mission is to provide the client with a joyful experience when partnering with our company. “In that experience, we include everything from our passion and innovation to our service,” he states. “In fact, we work hard to evaluate [ourselves] on an annual basis. The company asks its clients to fill out evaluations, and indicate how strongly they would recommend Robbie Manufacturing to others. “We are delighted to find that a high percentage of our customers would recommend us to others as a packaging partner,” he adds. In addition, Robbie Manufacturing recently received a distinguished supplier award entitled Category Colonel for retail packaging. This award was based on responses from retailers across the country. ‘The Entrepreneurial Spirit’ Larson has four years with Robbie Manufacturing and previously worked in numerous positions for 19 years at Bemis Co. Inc., which supplies packaging and pressure sensitive materials. “What I’ve appreciated most [at Robbie] is their creativeness and entrepreneurial spirit,” he says. He adds that the company endeavors to stay in touch with consumers by continuously researching what they believe is the perfect package. “That’s really the driver of their unmet needs,” Larson continues. Top of Mind Robbie Manufacturing has focused on sustainability, Larson says. “We have assigned a task force within Robbie to evaluate all of our products and all of our operations for sustainability,” he says. “In every new innovation effort, sustainability is top of mind, and that focus crosses all three of our business segments,” he states. The company works to identify cost-effective packaging solutions that add to economic progress, social development and environmental concerns. Larson says the company also has “aggressive growth plans” that will double its size in the next five years. In all three market segments; supermarket/convenience stores, processors and retail display shrink films, the company will continue to create innovative packaging solutions that will accelerate its growth. That coupled with consistent award-winning technology and printing will afford it the opportunity to assist and participate in its customers growth as well. “We believe our success can only be measured by the success of our customers,” Robinson said in a statement. “If we have met that challenge, our customers will be proud to call Robbie their partner.” |
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