US boxes and packaging firm celebrates 50th anniversary
Vermont Container Corporation (VCC) celebrates 50 years in the boxes and packaging business this year.
The American firm – who specialise in corrugated boxes, but also manufacture wooden palettes and other packaging items – has had to change with the times throughout its five decades of production.
The recent recession in particular has posed special challenges, but VCC have managed to stay in business without making any redundancies through a combination of not filling vacant positions caused by natural staff wastage and lengthening weekly work hours for the remaining workers.
Mike Davenport, plant manager at VCC, explained how the firm has managed to stay successful through the years: “Our industry isn’t necessarily hurt by imports because boxes don’t really come into the U.S. It’s a local industry.”
Although boxes can be made more cheaply elsewhere, the cost of transporting such low-value items means that importing boxes is not financially viable. The majority of VCC’s customers are located within 200 miles of their facility.
Now that the recession seems to have eased, VCC are now taking on new workers again, and are also lowering employee work hours. The future looks bright for the Vermont Container Corporation, and plans are afoot to make further investments in the company to increase production.
