Bennett

Bennett is not your average mom-and-pop box shop.

Sales Manager Robert Sweet preaches that message when he meets with his customers—and Bennett’s low customer turnover indicates they are true believers. Bennett stands apart from the rest of the market because of ownership’s willingness to invest in new technology to ensure it can provide the best solutions.

“When I’m talking to clients—whether it is while brainstorming on new retail packaging, discussing product display options, or presenting creative solutions designed by our teams—I take great pride in the fact that we have the cutting-edge technology, and all the resources needed within our in-house teams—design, account management, and customer service—to allow us to facilitate any of our clients’ needs,” says Sweet. “Bennett’s integrity from their 30 years of providing quality and service, and continuous reinvestment in the company, let us be more than just a regular box shop.”

The company was founded in 1987, when Kathy and Doug Bennett took over a Kansas City, Mo., box plant that was going under. The family was already in the box business in St. Louis, a business the Bennett parents continued to run for several years before retiring.

Kathy Bennett is the primary owner, making Bennett one of the few women-owned companies in the industry. Vice President Garrett Bradley says that while some people will seek out women-owned companies to do business with, the ownership isn’t what sets Bennett apart.

“The bottom line is, if you can’t perform, it doesn’t matter if you are owned by a woman or a giraffe, you are going to be outsold,” says Bradley. “Yes, it is unique, but if you can’t be competitive on price and you can’t deliver, it doesn’t matter that you’re a woman owner.”

Bennett works at being competitive by being solutions-oriented and providing its clients with everything they need throughout the entire corrugated process, from the basic box to ancillary stretch wrap. It also makes sure it is leading the pack when it comes to technology and keeping all of its machines up-to-date.

“Reinvestment is probably our most important business practice,” says Bradley. “In this industry, we’ve got a lot of competitors that run 20-year-old machines.

If you come to our plant, you just don’t see that. There isn’t anybody who can make a box cheaper than we can make it, because we have the newest die-cutters, gluers, etc. Anything and everything you can find in a store or warehouse, we can make it. Without that reinvestment, without constantly putting money back into the company, our quality would be lower, and we would have more on the sales side.”

In addition to purchasing new machines, such as a digital press they installed in 2015—which Bradley describes as the most significant event since he started working for Bennett 23 years ago—they have expanded their graphics and design departments to meet the need for new business. They are committed to having as many resources as needed to provide the highest possible quality.

“We are very customer-focused,” says Bradley. “I know a lot of companies would tell you that, but we probably employ more resources than you would traditionally find in a box plant—more customer service reps, more designers, more support staff—so we can give a higher level of satisfaction to our customers.”

He cites their low customer turnover as evidence that their philosophy is working. By staying up-to-date, Bradley points out, Bennett can give its customers access to the equipment it has. This way it is able to bring flexo, digital, or litho to their customers based on what the customer needs and not just on what machines Bennett has.

Sweet says he came from the litho side of the industry when he joined Bennett a year ago and has seen that it has been the vision of the company ownership that has led them to be able to provide all three types of printing to their customers.

“They knew where the technology was going,” Sweet says. “We are on the leading side, and we will continue to be on the leading side because of the vision of the ownership. We are in touch with the marketplace.”

A company that promotes itself as a place where “imagination meets corrugation,” Bennett boasts a nine-member design team that is devoted to thinking up ways to help its customers bring products to market. Its display side is the fastest-growing section of its business, and design is the most critical part of that process. Bradley says you have to design displays that are going to get consumer attention, or you can’t be successful.

The Barberán Jetmaster 1680 allows operators at Bennett to upload art files directly to the press.

“Working with our customers from the very beginning is key. We take what they envision, and determine how we can best make it,” says Bradley. “Our design team has to figure out how to build and produce these ideas out of corrugated—

our primary medium—in the most efficient way.”

Bennett’s headquarters facility is a 450,000-square feet underground, climate-controlled environment. Another 150,000 above-ground facility hosts their contract packaging and distribution.

Sweet says Bennett’s commitment to a solutions-based approach fuels him when he is talking to the sales staff or out meeting with customers. He says the company is successful at providing not only valuable service, but efficient solutions to customers in every area.

“We can still go out and offer phenomenal brown boxes—we’re the experts,” says Sweet. “But with the constant growth and reinvestment in Bennett, we can offer so much more. If someone needs litho, we can provide that. If high-end flexo makes more sense for a project, we do a very good job of that. And now with our digital capabilities, we are leading the industry.

“We’re not saving lives here, but we are providing new options within our industry. There are some cliché things I’m saying, but if you came and looked at our facility, you would see. I emphasize to my sales team—this is what you’ve got to sell, solutions to your customers, and understand that we are not a regular mom-and-pop company.”

Virginia Humphrey is director of membership and marketing at AICC. She can be reached at 703-535-1383 or vhumphrey@aiccbox.org.