For over a quarter-century, Pack Edge Inc. has been a reliable supplier of packaging solutions, serving many U.S. manufacturing sectors with an extensive range of packaging to meet every client need.
From vital medications and immunizations to fresh seafood, confectionery, veterinary, and more, the company utilizes recyclable packaging in the form of corrugated boxes, reusable gel packs, molded foam transport containers, and polypropylene and polyethylene food containers. These products support sustainability by being 100 percent recyclable as well as safe—and unbeatable at protecting perishable items.
How the industry got its edge
Identifying a need in the seafood packing industry, owner Jim Freeman founded the company in 1998 in a 2,000-square-foot location in South Portland, Maine, shipping perishables—whether direct-to-consumer or for distribution or food service—and exporting to Asia and Europe. The company quickly outgrew its original facility and in 2001, expanded into a 5,000-square-foot location, eventually filling an impressive 18,000-square-foot distribution facility in Portland.
In 2009, Pack Edge also leased space from Americold in Portland and set up a gel production operation, producing its first gel pack that same year. “That quickly expanded, and in 2010, we added a second gel machine,” says Andrew Frank, Director of Operations. “We were making gels there and freezing with Americold, so we started making plans to build our own freezer and production facility.”
In 2015, Pack Edge added a 5,000-square-foot shipping addition to the larger Portland facility and constructed a new building in Cumberland, a production site with its own blast freezer and storage freezer, along with adding a third gel machine.
“Now we’re up to three gel machines and we’re in two different buildings in Portland and Cumberland,” says Frank. “In 2018, we had just a small walk-in freezer in Portland that we used to hold and distribute out of. We realized we needed more freezing capability and frozen storage space, so we added a 200-pallet freezer in Portland in 2018.”
Pack Edge also transitioned into an ESOP in 2019, allowing for a retirement and exit strategy for owner Jim Freeman, who is still president of the company.
All for one, one for all
An ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) offers the sponsoring company and its participants numerous tax benefits while also giving workers ownership interest in the company in the form of shares of stock. “This was a way to ensure that the company wouldn’t get dissolved or bought by competition or any of those unpredictable situations,” Frank explains. “It protected us, and it protected the employees.”
Employees are heavily involved in the company’s operations; for instance, a committee called the Ownership Committee, comprising a group of employees from a variety of different departments, works to embody and build that ownership culture.
“All of us are pulling in the same direction,” Frank says. “Every efficiency or safety aspect we incorporate—any aspect where we can make gains really benefits us all, our stock value and everything we’re working toward as a company.”
Back to a better future
As the company continued to grow and thrive, plans were made—once again!—for a larger space, and toward the end of 2024, Pack Edge moved into its new 55,000-square-foot home in Saco, with all operations under one roof for the first time in the company’s history.
“We have capacity, especially in freezing, that we’ve never had before, so we’re geared to grow,” says Frank. “It will let us go for a lot of growth this year and be efficient about it. We’ll be able to do more with less in this facility.”
One of the underestimated benefits of being under one roof, aside from all the new space, storage, and freezer capacity, is the ease and efficiency of communication it brings, he says. “Having all the managers and employees together has really reduced the mistakes that can happen over the telephone or email, and it’s made working together as a group far more effective.”
Another value that’s important to Pack Edge is its commitment to recycling and environmental solutions, especially with the company moving further into the science and pharmaceutical sectors.
“That’s where we realize how important sustainability is for those companies,” says Al Tilbe, Director of Sales. He notes that Pack Edge works with a vendor that provides ClimaCell (a certified, fully curbside recyclable box liner) and corn starch-based solutions. Pack Edge is also looking into sustainable and recyclable gel packs.
Pack Edge’s ClimaCell product has been accepted by the paper recycling sector, which means that customers in any municipality can dispose of the product in their blue bin with no additional steps other than breaking down the box, which is the product’s biggest selling factor for Pack Edge.
“That was huge for us,” says Tilbe. “We’ve seen a lot of companies pushing for a certain product because they feel that it’s sustainable, when it really isn’t. Most of our customers are actually buying online and having products shipped to them at home. Not everybody has facilities available to do industrial composting.”
Customers are highly appreciative, particularly in the life sciences sector, and even though some seafood distributors haven’t made the jump yet, the company is seeing a growing interest among them in treating the environment more kindly.
Staying alive …
Although the past few years have brought huge upheavals around the world to business processes and supply chains, Pack Edge aims not to pass price increases from vendors on to its customers. “It’s always been a challenge in this industry,” says Tilbe, who notes that things grew worse during COVID concerning sourcing issues, market volatility, and the reliability of vendors. Pack Edge, however, managed to weather the storms.
“We’re a company that can pivot fast,” says Frank. “We can build relationships. We have multiple ins with multiple manufacturers. When we get an increase or have trouble getting something, we have multiple sources and avenues to go down to keep our customers happy. We do all the legwork for them, and they get to continue with their day-to-days.”
While sourcing has improved somewhat since the bad days of the pandemic, importing has changed—and permanently, he adds. Nevertheless, Pack Edge pivots successfully and continues to navigate its way through the issues.
And the company is definitely doing a lot right, having celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2023, an impressive milestone. “We’re chasing our best year yet,” says Frank. “We have some pretty lofty sales goals.”
Not a company to rest on its successes, Pack Edge continually works to keep clients satisfied with the value-added services it offers, including providing various kitting options for its customers. “We tailor what they need,” Tilbe says. Life sciences customers, for instance, “have their printed box to put the gels in with their sustainable products, the ClimaCell, and then we’ll ship to them that way. That’s something they really appreciate.”
Along with providing customized sizes and prints, the company is also one of only two in the entire northeast that offers frozen gel packs. “You don’t see a lot of gel producers actually offering them frozen,” says Frank. “It’s a huge added value and it pays off in the long run.”
… and staying ahead
Of course, customer service has always been a priority and will remain so in the company’s drive to remain accountable. “If you ask any of the companies or individuals that we work with, they’ll say we’re a customer-centric company,” Frank says. “They’d agree that we go above and beyond to meet our customers’ needs and fulfill everything that’s requested.”
It’s that attention to interpersonal relationships that helps the company stay ahead, stay dependable, and stay successful.
“That we’re employee-owned is also very different,” Tilbe says. “All our employees, from manufacturing to sales, from top to bottom—everybody wants to be here, and they have a different attitude than in typical companies.”
Providing the best customer service possible and keeping employees engaged in all areas of the business has placed Pack Edge at the leading edge in an industry that is continually changing and growing, particularly on the sustainability side.
“A big mission of ours in building up this environmental, recyclable, drain-safe image is that we want to be not just a perishable-packaging company, but a sustainable packaging company that’s not only shipping better products for their customers but is reducing the carbon footprint of other industries out there,” Frank says. “We try to make a real difference in this industry.”
