RPM Solutions Group has turned a small package into a big win.
In less than a year, the printing company's small carton packaging division has 50 customers, including out-of-state in California and Kansas.
The economy has taken its toll on the printing industry, Joe Cavey, president of RPM, a 26-year-old commercial printer in Baltimore. Small companies in particular could not afford to use printing services, adds Cavey. So the executive came up with the idea for its Short Run Carton Packaging Division to diversify the business.
RPM prints books, pamphlets, brochures, pocket holders and other material. It also does digital printing with variable personalization and has in-house mailing capabilities.
The carton division makes small-size containers in small numbers or, in the jargon, runs, from 500 on up to 10,000. The biggest container it makes is 12” wide by 12” deep by 6” tall.
Cavey says the small-size containers are used by a variety of companies, including startups, private labels and companies that are rebranding. Cosmetic firms, software firms, pharmaceuticals and confectioners are among its clients.
“They don’t need 20,000 or 30,000 containers," Cavey says of RPM's clients. "They need 1,000 or 5,000 packages to put eyeliner, mascara or soap in,” he says.
Customers can provide
RPM with their logos or the company will create one for them.
Cavey figures he has a handful of competitors on the East Coast. “We have found a niche for the short runs.”
He is operating the carton division with his current 28 employees but says he may hire more staff as it grows.
Source: Joe Cavey,
RPM Solutions Group
Writer: Barbara Pash