DeWITT  —  Buckeye Corrugated, Inc. (BCI) has packed Empire State Container with new equipment since acquiring the DeWitt box manufacturer in July. 

“They got right to work as soon as they got in here,” says Empire State Container Division President James Trombino, who had been the company’s CEO and co-owner before BCI purchased it. “They’ve really kept their word on improving the business. The quality and capability of what we can do now is just terrific.”

BCI, which is based in Akron, Ohio, has invested in just over $3 million worth of equipment at Empire State Container’s 60,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at 151 Midler Park Drive, Trombino says. Those investments include purchasing two new machines to replace older equipment.

One of the machines, a die cutter, operates twice as quickly as Empire State Container’s old die cutter, according to Trombino. One person can run the new machine, while the old one required four workers.

The other new machine, a folder-gluer, can be set up in five minutes and can produce 20,000 to 25,000 boxes in an hour, Trombino says. It replaces equipment that required 15 minutes to 20 minutes to set up and could create 5,000 to 10,000 boxes every hour.

The setup time is important because, as a custom box shop, Empire State Container sets up the equipment as many as 30 to 60 times every day, according to Trombino.

In addition to the new machines, BCI installed roller conveyors throughout Empire State Container’s facility. The building previously had a limited conveyor system, and workers primarily used pallet jacks and factory trucks to move materials, Trombino says.

BCI also signed off on leasing a fleet of five new tractor-trailer trucks to replace five older trucks, according to Trombino. The new trucks, leased from Ryder, use less fuel.

“They’re 25 percent more fuel efficient,” Trombino says. “That’s a big number.”

Purchase history

The capital investments started about three months after BCI acquired Empire State Container, according to Trombino. Installation of the new equipment took another four months, and work finally wrapped up in March, he says.

 BCI, which has locations in eight states, purchased Empire State Container from Trombino and his co-owner, Sydney Tenenbaum, in July in an all-cash deal. The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the acquisition. 

Tenenbaum remains with Empire State Container as its vice president. Tenenbaum plans to retire, but will likely not be acting on those plans for another few years, Trombino says. 

Trombino plans to stay with the company for at least five years before retiring. BCI typically keeps a company’s leadership after acquisitions, he adds.

“That’s basically how they structure their business,” Trombino says. “They keep the management in place and keep the same name.”

One other change that unfolded after BCI acquired Empire State Container was the consolidation of Empire State Container and its subsidiary, T&T Packaging — which BCI also acquired. T&T had operated in 26,000 square feet of space at 121 Dwight Park Circle in Geddes until December, when BCI moved its operations to the facility at Midler Park Drive.

T&T had handled labor-intensive work like erecting boxes on pallets or packing boxes for clients, according to Trombino. Its lease had expired in Geddes, he says.

“It was perfect timing,” he says. “Our lease was up. We merged it into this plant.”

Empire State Container has more than 700 customers, Trombino says. About 80 percent of its business is with clients in New York State, but it also works with clients in Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Canada, he says.

Empire State Container currently employs 75 workers at 151 Midler Park Drive, down from a combined 85 employees at Empire State Container and T&T at the time of BCI’s purchase. The staff reductions are a result of increased efficiency thanks to the new equipment, Trombino says. Empire State Container had been running three shifts but is now down to two, with room to increase production, he says.

Trombino declined to share Empire State Container’s annual revenue, but says the company projects 10 percent revenue growth in 2012.

Future plans

Empire State Container is at the beginning of a three-year lease on the facility at 151 Midler Park Drive, a building Trombino owns. However, BCI officials would like to move the DeWitt company to a larger home with 100,000 square feet to 150,000 square feet of space, Trombino says.

“They’ve really maxed out this building,” he says.

Any move is contingent on BCI finding a suitable facility for Empire State Container, according to Trombino. The company is looking for a building within a 50-mile radius of its current facility, and Onondaga County is helping it search for a new location close to home, he says. 

Company officials are considering a two-year time frame for the move, although no timeline has been firmly set, according to Trombino. If a move does take place, operations would be transferred gradually from the Midler Park Drive facility to the new location, he says.