PFFC - February 2008 - (Page 72)

EXPERIENCE SPEAKS uWhat is the key to uWhat is the biggest growing a business in a bad economy? Having an advantage over your competition is the key. That could be a price advantage, a quality advantage, a service advantage, or a product advantage, but you must have a reason to attract new customers. mistake you made and how did you fix it? My biggest mistake was finally realizing I had the wrong people in some positions but not doing anything about it because they were good human beings. The solution is to realize that if you terminate someone, that doesn’t mean I know my team can succeed in almost any situation if I give them the tools & the overall direction that they need. uWhat is the biggest threat uTERRY FULWILER uCEO of WS Packaging Group uManagement style | People-friendly uRecommends | The Great Game of Business by Jack Stack uHow did you get into the uHow have management to the converting industry right now? Overcapacity. The barriers to entry are not great (at least not in the narrow web segment), and there are a lot of players. This leads some people to become desperate, and that leads them to do things that hurt the overall market. uWhat do you know now they were bad people. It just means they were in the wrong position or situation that did not maximize their talents and abilities. uDo you have a personal converting business? My father, his partner, and my uncle started the business when I was in high school. When I graduated from college, there were no jobs available in my field (aerospace engineering), so I went to work for my dad, expecting to leave when the job market opened up. But I really enjoyed building a business, and I never left. uWhat is your key to styles changed over time? They have evolved into a more open, informationsharing style instead of a closed, tight-to-the-vest style. I like to think we were ahead of the game. We were sharing financials with the employees in the early ’70s before the term “open book management” was coined. that you wish you had known when you started out? How important it is to let people do their jobs without micro-managing. Delegation is hard for someone who is entrepreneurial by nature. But you have to give people the right to fail once or twice if you are going to expect them to take responsibility. hero? My dad started the business when he was 39 with a wife and six kids to support. He had very little money, and he had to sell his tools and borrow against the family car to get it started, so failure was not an option. uWhat are your hobbies? My wife and I love to travel; we’ve been all over the world. Also, I do a little golf. Three years ago, I was named to the board of directors of the Green Bay Packers. It’s a real honor. About WS Packaging Group uRelocating headquarters to new facility in Green Bay, WI uwww.wspackaging.com uFormed in 2000 with merger of Wisconsin Label Corp. and Superior Label Systems; 18 plants, 2,000 employees uSpecialty | Package printing and label converting retaining good employees? If you give good people an interesting, challenging job to do and reward their success, you don’t lose very many. How do you retain good employees? Share your perspective. Write to yolanda.simonsis@penton.com. 72 | FEBRUARY 2008 WWW.PFFC-ONLINE.COM http://www.wspackaging.com http://WWW.PFFC-ONLINE.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of PFFC - February 2008

PFFC - February 2008 Contents First Glance Calendar of Events From the Editor Web Lines Process Management News Clips Narrow Web & Label Reporter Narrow Web & Label What’s New Products Carton & Box Reporter Offset Printing A Triple Ply: Coating & Laminating Global Market Is Strong for Vacuum-Coated Products Melamine Innovation: A New Choice for Barrier Coatings How To Optimize Your Coating Solution’s Properties What’s New Products Contract Services Directory Custom Marketplace What’s New Products Services Directory Classified Marketplace Advertisers Index Experience Speaks

PFFC - February 2008

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