Bemis Manufacturing: Bringing value to its customers

BY JOHN MESENBRINK
Editorial Director

Heading up Interstate 43 parallel to the shores of Lake Michigan, we reached the relatively quiet town of Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin. Little did Dave Schulte, publisher of Phc News, and I know it, but we were heading into the heart of enemy territory for Chicago Bears fans. It was the 2011 NFL kickoff in Lambeau Field — an hour’s drive to the north — and the Packers were set to do battle with the New Orleans Saints.

But Dave and I had business on our minds that day; we were set to visit Bemis Manufacturing, the world’s largest manufacturer of toilet seats, and meet with Bob Davis, director of marketing and business development, and Randy Grebel, director sales, Plumbing Wholesale. When we entered Bemis corporate headquarters, we couldn’t help but notice the green-and-gold clad employees, proud of their Super Bowl champion Pack. Being from the Chicago area, we had to lay low and keep our allegiance to the Bears under wraps.

This was an impressive facility and operation. We were overwhelmed with how content the employees seemed in their jobs, smiling and saying a quick “Hello” as we passed. Bob Davis addressed each employee by name; there was a level of communication and comfort that I feel is essential to any successful organization. That “comfort” may, perhaps, come from the fact that Bemis Mfg. has gone through this long recession without laying off a single full-time employee. “Back in 1983, we developed what we refer to today as our casual workforce strategy, and we continue with the strategy today. It has allowed us to weather tough economic times without having to resort to reductions in force. Basically, it provides a means for people who don’t want full-time positions to work on a part-time and as-needed basis,” said Davis.

Local loyalties

One thing that is noticeable about Wisconsinites is that they are loyal and proud of their own, and Bemis continues to manufacture as a “Made in the USA” company. “We do very well selling our brands to our retail trade partners in Wisconsin,” said Davis. “Wisconsin is proud to be home to Bemis Mfg. , and it does offer an additional selling point here. Just as Made in America is important to many people, Made in Wisconsin is value-added in a state that prides itself on quality manufacturing.

“Made in America is a point of great pride for Bemis Manufacturing, both its salaried workers and its union employees. We have always made our toilet seats using domestic materials and labor and will continue to do so. Made in America not only means supporting our families but also ensuring everything from the safety and health of our employees to delivering quality products that meet the high standards set in the U.S.A. Contractors appreciate this: They truly understand the importance of Made in America when it comes to jobs, supporting our national economy and installing a quality product for their customers.”

Innovation reigns

The key to success and progress with Bemis is continued innovation and intellectual protection. “We are always investigating new technologies and processes to enhance our existing product portfolio, while at the same time looking for more innovative ways to bring value to our customers and trade partners,” Davis said. “So building relationships with the trade is key.”

Bemis strives for continued innovation in its products, research/development and its manufacturing processes. “You want to show the marketplace that you are doing something,” noted Grebel. “Not only does that apply in terms of the consumer but to the trades as well. At the end of the day, you want the contractor to remember your product.” Keeping in lockstep with that philosophy, the wholesaler channels are also an invaluable connection to the trades. “You have to be on the shelf,” Grebel added.

Bemis considers its relationships with its distribution base to be one of its most important business variables. “We have worked to keep their trust with quality products, innovative products, reliable supply lead times and efficiency in our billing and administrative tasks. While the business and product part of the relationship is critical, we also have strong interpersonal relationships with our customers that go back several generations. We work to move our relationships from strictly a business transaction to one that involves personal trust and the enjoyment of doing business with someone you know and like,” Davis explained.

Bemis history, products and services

Bemis Manufacturing Co. is a major North American molder and extruder of diverse captive and custom plastic products, using engineering-grade thermoplastics and commodity resins. As a proprietary molder, Bemis is the world’s largest manufacturer of toilet seats. As a custom molder, Bemis is among North America’s top non-automotive producers of contract plastic injection-molded, profile-extruded, and compression-molded components. The company serves a host of Fortune 500 firms in consumer and industrial markets throughout North, Central and South Americas and globally in Europe, Africa and the Far East. Bemis has more than 2,200 employees worldwide.

Founded in 1901 as a maker of furniture and wooden wagons, Bemis has grown to an international enterprise with manufacturing/warehousing facilities globally. The company’s roots are in woodworking, and its founders brought skilled craftsmanship and innovation to early product lines that included toilet seats, wooden novelty furniture, woven fiber furniture, children’s coaster wagons, bowling pins, croquet balls and baseball bats.

Named after Wisconsin businessman Albert Bemis and his descendants, the privately held Bemis brings higher standards to the products it manufactures for markets worldwide. As the world’s largest manufacturer of toilet seats, Bemis serves residential and commercial buildings and OEM industries.

Environmental stewardship

Bemis Mfg. has been a pioneer in environmental stewardship and was green long before the color that it represents was picked. Since 1901, Bemis has had a commitment to the surrounding community. As the company has grown, its commitment to the worldwide community has grown as well, from pioneering industry-revolutionizing manufacturing processes to cultivating partnerships with trade partners and suppliers who share their passion for environmental integrity.
With more than 100 years of manufacturing history, Bemis continues to be committed to ensuring that its products and processes adhere to the highest environmental standards, with an everyday commitment to setting the standard for ecological responsibility, conservation and preservation. By leveraging its technology and experience, Bemis goes beyond what is required by laws and regulations in its effort to be an environmentally friendly neighbor and a responsible global citizen.

In fact, all “green” investments made by Bemis were not even mandated by EPA regulations at the time. Examples of ecology-conscious business practices:

• Environmentally friendly colorants and water-based paints significantly reduce VOC emissions. In 1988, Bemis continued investing in more environmentally friendly manufacturing processes by converting the paint used on molded wood seats from a VOC-solvent-based paint to water-based acrylic paint for its molded wood toilet seats. The result is a cleaner, safer work environment, reduced VOC emissions and less residual long-term emissions from finished products.

• Co-injection molding is a process that uses regrind waste in the cores of its products instead of sending it to landfills. Seats manufactured with the co-injection process allow Bemis to include up to 60 percent pre- and/or post-consumer plastic in the core of the seat. All plastic seats are produced using a combination of natural (virgin) resin and resin reprocessed from other internal and external molding operations. Blending of materials retains the high-gloss finish and Bemis’s quality standards for durability and strength.

Through the use of co-injection manufacturing, coupled with its blended materials strategy, Bemis has removed more than 10 million pounds of plastic from the waste stream, and this number continues to climb.

• More than four million pounds of post-industrial wood shavings a month become recycled wood composite toilet seats. Bemis participates in an Alliance initiative called the SmartWood™ Rediscovered Wood certification program. To qualify, a company must use recycled, reclaimed and/or salvaged wood for its products. Bemis does this. In fact, all of its molded wood toilet seats contain rediscovered wood from 100 percent recycled sources. No trees are cut down to make its wood seats. Reclamation of wood waste minimizes air pollution and depletion of forest-based natural resources;

• All Bemis toilet seats are packaged in recycled and recyclable corrugate.

Using recycled and reclaimed wood, reducing VOC emissions and utilizing specially selected resin in the molding process are all examples of the environmental commitment Bemis takes to market. Bemis has forged this commitment not only within its company but also in the local community. Nearly 50 acres of natural land — including 16 acres of prairie land and seven acres of woodland — are maintained by Bemis on its Sheboygan Falls properties.