Growing Businesses Can Come In Small Packages
For Framingham's Sourcentra, it's what's on the outside that counts
By Taryn Plumb PLUMB
But companies, big and small, private and public, funnel millions of dollars into packaging their products - making packaging a $400 billion worldwide industry. Still, one of the market's challenges is the numerous sources companies have to work with, from design firms to printing houses, to get their products properly merchandised.
That's where Framingham packaging company Sourcentra has found its niche. The company literally takes over the packaging process for its clients, handling the design, engineering, printing, manufacturing and branding of all packaging. The company's 11 employees engineer and design in-house and facilitate the outsourcing of most other steps.
Due to the demand for its specialized service, Sorucentra has grown it revenues by 663 percent over a three-year period, from $406,120 in 2004 to $3,100,000 last year, securing the No. 1 spot on the WBJ Top Growth private companies list. They've also amassed a network of hundreds of clients, from small and mid-market companies to powerhouses such as Target, Rand McNally and Proctor & Gamble.
Think Big
Still, Sourcentra executives have much loftier goals: they'd like the company to become a leader in the packaging world - even the "portal" of the industry.
Their vision is to build a sizable network of affiliates that will work together, learn from each other and improve the state of the industry, which CEO Daniel Gonyea described as "two dimensional" and antiquated.
"We want to be the YouTube, the MySpace, the Facebook of the packaging industry," said Sourcentra president David Reed. "We want to be that site that everyone wants to come to."
Plans for expanding that network are still very much on the drafting table. The company is focused for the time being on growing, building and acquiring new customers, Reed said.
But things will firm up in the next few years as the company continues to grow. At that point, Sourcentra will begin to promote - or more fittingly, "package" - itself as an industry leader. They'll also make introductions and pitches to competitors and other acquisition targets, and seek out funding mechanisms, said Gonyea. "It's just how quickly we can get there," he noted.
Customer Comment
That path started in 1995, when Gonyea founded Sourcentra as The Merrimack Group. It was later restructured and renamed in 2004 as a solution-based, comprehensive service center. Since then, the company's goal has been to work deeply and intensively with its clients. "It's not a hit it, quit it deal for us," he said.
Robert Mello, president of Iris Sample Processing of Westwood and 10-year Sourcentra customer, affirmed that.
"They really have exceptional customer service," he said. "They anticipate our needs and they're good listeners. They also come up with unique solutions to our packaging needs. They don't just bring down corrugated boxes, bubble wraps and peanuts."
Those unique solutions, he said, include custom-formed packages to fit the variously-shaped medical products his company manufactures.
Another strength, Gonyea said, is consistent promotion of green practices. The company encourages customers to use eco-friendly packaging, such as plastic bags equipped with additives that help them to disintegrate in a few months rather than 10,000 years.
To be conservative, the company also tries to reduce waste by shrinking packages and nipping off unnecessary edges and flaps.
Green Growth
That conscientiousness positions Sourcentra for further growth, Gonyea said, as many more companies today are committing themselves to carbon neutrality and waste reduction.
"That's the hot topic," he said. "It's everywhere. That's where we're really focusing our attention right now."
Taryn Plumb is a freelance writer based in Worcester.
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