3rd Place – Full Time Employees 25–75What does your company do?Mercantile Development Inc. (MDI) is a family owned and operated specialty converter of nonwoven wiping products. At our 155,000-square-foot facility in Shelton we manufacture our professional-grade wipers for performance in the most demanding work environments.How do you plan to keep your business going even after […]
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3rd Place – Full Time Employees 25–75
What does your company do?
Mercantile Development Inc. (MDI) is a family owned and operated specialty converter of nonwoven wiping products. At our 155,000-square-foot facility in Shelton we manufacture our professional-grade wipers for performance in the most demanding work environments.
How do you plan to keep your business going even after your current top executive retires?
Joseph Marcolla founded MDI as a trading company in 1947 and he enjoyed working right up until his passing in 2003. But beginning in the 1970s, his son-in-law Alan Fankhanel's expertise and dedication shifted the organization's focus and investment into the burgeoning nonwovens market.
Having delivered stability and profitable growth, Alan took over the management and ownership of MDI in the 1990s. The company flourished under his leadership and eventually all three of his daughters, Lucia, Calla and Jenna, joined the family business where they continue the tradition of re-investment and continuous improvement.
A systematic succession planning process culminated in 2017 with the smooth transition of the business to this third generation of family owner-operators.
What are your most significant accomplishments in the last year?
At MDI our goal is to deliver service and quality that exceed customer expectations. During the past year we had two outstanding accomplishments that support this mission. First, recognizing that many companies have made a commitment to increasing supplier diversity we chose to pursue certification as a women-owned business to further align with our customers' values. MDI received WBENC certification as a Women's Business Enterprise in May 2017.
Second, our Pro-Series wiping products have become an integral part of our customers' critical cleaning processes whereby the consistency and quality of our products directly affects their outcome. This made certifying our processes a logical next step and all of our dedicated employees were actively engaged in the initiative. In Sept. 2017, MDI's quality management system was ISO 9001:2015 certified for the design, manufacture, and sale of nonwoven wiping products. This achievement, uncommon in our industry, was a milestone for our organization.
How do you remain competitive in the market?
MDI was founded on a dedication to operational excellence and integrity. We have a long history of investing in state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, adhering to exceptional quality and safety programs, hiring top-level talent and maintaining strong financial positioning. We provide value to customers by continually developing creative solutions to meet changing market demands.
Through investment and customization of state-of-the-art converting equipment we achieve flexibility, speed, product and packaging innovations, and industry-leading turnaround times. Our experienced sales, marketing and support team delivers best-in-the-business service. And of course, we frequently initiate programs to drive down costs such as implementing lean practices on the shop floor to increase efficiencies and installing a rooftop solar array to generate our own power.
