Intercon Paper is a one-stop paper solutions provider for an impressive number of customers in many industries. Operating in what the company considers to be one of the country’s largest markets, it is perfectly located to serve both Mexico and the United States. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, where it primarily offers conversions for large master paper rolls and distribution.
Realizing the importance of building its capabilities early in its 25-year history, Intercon Paper serves everyone from the printing industry to schools, retail, packaging companies, and more. In reality, there is hardly a sphere of business it does not touch. To this end, the company participates in the manufacturing processes of products as diverse as butcher paper, Jack Daniels labels, Uno cards, mailers, and a breathtaking array of others, performing functions such as die-cutting, printing, various types of folding, and gluing.
Intercon’s historic presence in Mexico, where it first established itself in the 1980s, persists with active facilities in Chihuahua and Querétaro. “Though competition has increased over the past decade, we consider ourselves pioneers, particularly following the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement,” says Rogelio (Roy) Rodriguez, President.
After a quarter of a century in the industry, Intercon’s team of nearly 50 has become part and parcel of its identity as a leader in its field. As a result, this proud operation shines thanks to the fact that it has retained its staff for long enough to maintain and pass on generational equipment knowledge, methods, and skills—something many companies are struggling with across industries. “The machine operators have to have at least six months’ experience to simply begin to be able to run a machine on their own,” Rodriguez adds.
Naturally, as operations like cutting paper are among the more straightforward tasks involved, the longer an operator remains on a specific machine, the more they learn, becoming capable of handling exceedingly complex processes on such equipment. From the caliber and the brightness of different papers to understanding their sizes and more, expert knowledge is paramount to running plants of this type and this size successfully.
With 12 machines running continuously, Intercon’s expert staff are worth their weight in gold. “We’re very blessed to have our staff—not just in the factory but also for other precision tasks,” Rodriguez continues. Considering the size of the paper reels transported around such facilities, it quickly becomes clear just how necessary such niche knowledge and skills are.
As such, grading, color, coatings, thickness, damage, and many other aspects need an expert eye for the company to run as smoothly as it does while offering such a vast selection of substrates. “You have to be diverse to maintain this size of operation,” Rodriguez says.
Following in his father’s footsteps, Rodriguez has the paper industry in his DNA. “My father raised our family on the salary of the printing company,” he says, reflecting on how much cheaper things were back then. Working in the industry for around 20 years, Rodriguez Sr. had lived through every imaginable change that the industry saw during that time and had amassed a cache of invaluable expertise.
Fresh out of college and aware of how much his father knew about paper, Rogelio Rodriguez felt a strong draw toward learning from him. “I thought it was fascinating that he had such a network of clients and contacts in the United States and Mexico,” he says. Taking note of the demand that existed in Mexico at the time, the driven young son of the paper expert wasted no time convincing his father to go into business with him and became his protégé. Intercon Paper was born, and the Rodriguez family never looked back.
Evolving from an outfit mainly serving end users to one primarily serving manufacturers, commercial printers, and distributors, the company has increased its capabilities manyfold. Today, its prime location continues to give the company access to myriad markets. “We’re the only company in Dallas that does the sheeting, rewinding, and unloading of reel cars and has the software, the staff, and know-how. We are—literally—the only ones that can do all that,” Rodriguez says, highlighting that there are companies performing some of these services individually but no others that combine it all in a single service profile.
Providing large-volume customers with tremendous value in this way, Intercon has built itself a reputation for being efficient, fast, and a pleasure to do business with, and Rogelio Rodriguez is a man who values these relationships. As such, building genuine trust with project owners is important to him. “[Whether] on weekends or at night, people know that they can call me. And they do,” he adds with a smile.
And, while a single swallow does not herald a summer, Rodriguez shares a special mention, highlighting the outstanding contributions Tony Ramirez, Vice President of Operations, has made to Intercon Paper’s well-being over the past decade and a half. “His dedication and talent have been instrumental in our achievements. And his ‘can-do’ mentality continues to inspire our team,” he says.
This can-do mentality has become an undeniable part of the company’s business culture. Continuously reaching for the stars, the team is currently in the process of securing Safe Quality Food certification along with becoming recognized as a minority-owned business. These certifications will enable Intercon to collaborate with international giants like Amazon and other big names.
When touching on sustainability, Rodriguez is sublimely pragmatic, making it clear that he does not support manipulating information to make his company look good. Instead, he tackles the issue at its core—by going out of his way to achieve the sustainability badge by doing things right rather than rigging a mock campaign in its name. “There is a lot of information out there that’s not right, but sounds great,” he says, pointing out that people’s hearts are often in the right place, but that they lack trustworthy data.
“It makes me sad when I’m driving down the road and I just see plastic everywhere—pollution, things that are not going to decompose,” he adds. While he sees genuine sustainability as an issue that requires much more work and time, this industry leader sees sustainably harvested paper as a solution to many environmental issues caused by plastics getting into the natural environment. To him, responsibly cultivated and harvested paper is good for more than just the environment but also for business, as quality, availability, and recycling efforts can be better maintained in this way as well.
In full support of returning manufacturing to North America, Intercon Paper sees providing jobs to people here as an important contribution to the continent’s ongoing prosperity and well-being. The company also supports local churches and schools with charitable donations, for the same reason. Rodriguez is frank about his views on the matter. By providing locally produced goods to local companies, solid economic growth becomes sustainable while supporting ecological sustainability by reducing the pollution generated by international shipping.
Reshoring manufacturing thus becomes a win-win situation for all stakeholders. “We should look for ways to work together to accomplish that,” Rodriguez says. “I think that would be good for the industry.” Of course, planning for the future never lags, and Intercon Paper is no exception. Moving ahead, the company plans on expanding its stakes in the food industry across a number of disciplines. Its approach to growth remains mindful, however; by maintaining its strategic growth and fiscal stability, this team looks forward to building on its legacy for decades to come.
