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Beyond The Box
December 1, 2002 By: Jackie Schultz Paperboard PackagingBates Container places special emphasis on the value of giving back to employees and the local community.
Building on the philosophy of hard work, integrity and unsurpassed customer service, Bates Container has carved its niche in the high speed, high volume brown box market. Next year, the company, headquartered near Fort Worth, Texas, will celebrate its 40th anniversary.
 A new EAM Mosca specialty bundling system improves bundle integrity, appearance, and consistency. |
Its journey from humble beginnings to present day is a classic success story. The company has grown from a two-man operation, founded in 1963 by Warren Bates and Hardy Sanders, into a $70 million company employing more than 250 people. In addition to the Fort Worth corrugated plant, Bates has a sheet plant in San Antonio, and a specialty operation.
Sanders, who has worked in the corrugated container industry for more than half a century, remains at the helm. Nearly 40 years ago, he left his job at Container Corp. of America to join Warren Bates soon after he started Bates Container. After Bates died in 1995, Sanders and his family purchased the remaining 50 percent of the company.
Initially, Sanders and Bates made 16-loaf bread boxes. These labor-intensive boxes had to be individually hand glued. "It was the most complicated box I've ever seen," Sanders says. "It had metal, plastic, wood, paper, glue, and we had to put it together."
Gradually, Bates' product offerings expanded into traditional corrugated boxes. Currently, the company makes diecuts, crash locks, infolds, and RSCs for a wide variety of industries, including clothing, food and distribution centers. Customers include Dannon Yogurt, Wal-Mart, Sears, Loew's, Best Buy, and Levi Strauss.
Giving Back
While most brown box operations possess similar characteristics, Bates is different from the standpoint of employee and community involvement. Sanders is a firm believer in treating employees well and giving back to the community.Bates President Linda Timmons says, "One of the reasons why we are so successful is the way we treat our employees and the work we do in the community. It's who we are, giving back."
For all employees, the company has a very generous compensation package.
"Our retirement plan is probably one of the best in the industry," Timmons says. "We contribute 100 percent. We have done this since 1973. Each year, we've contributed 15 percent except for two years which we contributed 12 percent."
In addition, Bates has quarterly luncheons with awards for service, attendance and safety. It pays annual bonuses to salaried and office workers and production employees, and it gives cash awards to employees who have been at the company for more than 25 years.
 A hobby of Owner Hardy Sanders (right) is to purchase artwork for display at Bates Container. Behind him is one example. From left is Mark Sanders, senior vice president, and Linda Timmons, president. |
Another perk is a company owned lake house on Eagle Mountain Lake, about 45 minutes from Fort Worth. The three bedroom brick house has a large game room that includes shuffleboard, a foosball and a card table, a large screen television set, and a separate exercise room. There's also a boat and a tennis court. The house is available for departmental parties and customer entertainment.
As far as giving back to the community, Bates and its employees support local and national charities, including the Women's Shelter, the Aids Outreach Center, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the United Way, and the Susan Komen Race for the Cure.
"We're big supporters of many things. If I had a list, it would be a mile long," Timmons says.
Super Service
As for customers, the company's hallmark is service. "When we say service, we mean super service," says President Linda Timmons. "A customer could call and say, 'I need boxes today' and get them."The plant runs three shifts for fast turnaround. The 87-inch Agnati/Marquip corrugator runs between 80 and 97 million square feet in a four-week period, depending on business, and produces predominantly B- and C-flute and doublewall. The Fort Worth plant supplies the San Antonio facility with 85 percent of its sheets. The corrugator scheduling system is from Kiwiplan.
The corrugator was built in 1954 by Langston and has been upgraded several times. "It's 87 inches from the triplestack back, and it's 98 inches forward," says Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Sanders. "As we've needed to replace different aspects of the corrugator, we've gone ahead and widened it, so we will, at some point, have the capacity to run 98-inch."
The 98-inch section includes an Agnati knife, a United/Agnati doublefacer, a United glue machine, and Marquip stackers.
Bates Container has what Sanders refers to as "one of the shortest doublefacers you'll ever see." The 45-foot United doublefacer has just three hot plate sections. Sanders says lengthening it would be expensive and difficult due to lack of space.
Converting and finishing equipment includes a 38-inch S&S flexo folder-gluer with a new diecut attachment; a 50-inch S&S flexo folder-gluer with a diecutter; a 50-inch three-color Ward flexo with diecutter and prefeeder; three two-color diecutters from Ward Machinery and Hycorr Machine; a Pentek conveyor system; four EAM Mosca bundlers; a Post folder-gluer; an Artios CAD/CAM system; and a Kongsberg sampletable.
Two recent equipment purchases include a four-color Encad ink-jet printer for making samples and an EAM Mosca S-ATRS 1600 (with dual backstops) specialty bundling system for the Post folder-gluer.
The S-ATRS series is designed to work behind specialty folder-gluers with quick set-up features. In addition, it increases the output of operator assisted bundling of limited quantity, high-speed production runs.
The bundler automatically squares and straps approximately 30 bundles per minute.
Bates installed the Mosca bundler to improve bundle integrity, appearance and consistency. The company is running the Post folder-gluer at about 16,000 boxes per hour with only one person at the S-ATRS.
Sanders says he's very happy with the S-ATRS. "It makes the appearance better and it's easier on the person on the back end (squaring the bundles)."
One of the reasons why Bates remains so successful is its continuous investment in the company. Sanders and Timmons say the next major purchase could be a corrugator for San Antonio.
"We're now looking to put a corrugator in the San Antonio plant rather than finish out the 98-inch one here," Timmons says. "Our original plan was to upgrade our existing corrugator to 98-inch but we are seriously considering spending the millions of dollars on our San Antonio plant first. Also, it would require adding onto the building. We've certainly done some brainstorming, but we haven't made a decision as to when."
While Hardy Sanders agrees that equipment investments certainly help to make a company more efficient and successful, he says there are additional reasons why Bates has prospered. They include, in no particular order, good employees, a "wonderful banking relationship" and integrity.
"This is really a wonderful place to work in the sense that you don't ever have to worry about doing the right thing," he says.PBP
