Out of the box thinking
Richard Croce”™s grandfather began the family business in 1882, when horse-drawn wagons made deliveries in lower Manhattan for his fledgling company. One of the few products he made was corrugated partitions for farmers so they could deliver fruits and vegetables to market without mixing.
Eventually, Croce”™s father moved his family from Brooklyn to Ulster county”™s Modena, where they expanded their business. Croce moved to New Paltz in 1973 and started Viking Industries in 1974, turning his attention to the creation of all things corrugated.
Boxes of all shapes and sizes are manufactured at the 80,000-square-foot facility, which is on 35 acres off South Ohioville Road. Croce has turned the daily operation of the plant over to his son, also named Richard, who is actively recruiting new business north of Kingston.
“Our primary market has always been the metro area,” Croce said. “Now, we”™re branching out but going farther north. We”™ve hired some new sales people to go north of Kingston, it”™s a new territory for us. We”™ve focused primary on the New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey markets. Now we”™re ready to expand our reach.”
When the recession hit in 2008, “We stayed relatively stable and were able to keep our employees. We were also able to buy a few pieces of equipment we needed to upgrade.”
The company last year came back to levels it had seen prior to the recession, but it”™s been a different story this year. “The Fiber Box Association, a national trade publication, said May 2011 saw the biggest drop in our business since the recession started.”
But Croce, who has weathered several recessions ”“ although none quite as severe as this one ”“ said financial markets are inherently slow to recover. “Three similar companies closed within the last nine months, so 2011 has not been what the economists predicted. I think many people are watching what they spend and trying to pay down debt. They don”™t know what”™s coming and want to be prepared. All sectors of business are being affected and the housing market has hurt many people.”
Richard Croce Jr., who now runs daily operations for the company, said he is looking at ways to rebrand Viking”™s products. “We create and ship 42 million pieces a year. Approximately 20 million of that number is in corrugated boxes, the rest in other kinds of cardboard containers for our customers.
“We”™re working with designers to ”˜personalize”™ boxes and give them a distinctive look. In order to survive, we must remain competitive and think ”˜out of the box,”™ the corrugated box, that is,” he said. As part of the process, Viking is working with its customer base to help them grow business by getting artwork on their orders.
One sticking point for the Croces is the cost of paper, which is controlled by four companies, including International Paper. “Over the last ten years they have shut down many paper mills and have combined to control 73 percent of the industry. It certainly does not make it easy to get competitive bids.”
The Council of Industry, which recognized Richard Croce Sr. as manufacturer of the year in 201l, “was a big help when I started out.”
“What we need now are resources to help us to continue to grow. I think Empire State Development should focus on existing companies and help them remain viable, not just focus on attracting new business.”
The Croces, avid Yankee fans, were thrilled to get an order for 4,000 boxes that will hold specially made bats to signify Derek Jeter”™s historic 3,000th hit at Yankee Stadium July 10.
“What made us both laugh was the New York City media outlets were reporting that someone from ”˜upstate”™ had caught the ball,” Croce said. “The man lives in Highland Mills. To us, that”™s just a hop, skip and a jump from the Bronx!”