🔒Waterbury-based PACT sees growth opportunities by offering safer, cheaper ways to ship industrial products

As global supply chain bottlenecks and shipping challenges plague countless companies, finding reliable and creative packaging and shipping industry services has become increasingly important.

That’s provided opportunities for Packaging and Crating Technologies LLC, or PACT, a Waterbury-based company that makes sustainable packaging products for the industrial and moving and storage industries while also expanding its reach across several sectors, including manufacturing, art and military contractors.

“We basically fit the needs of the customers,” said PACT President Rodger Mort. “Whatever their issue with shipping that they are facing, we take care of it and eliminate it.”

Not only has that been a central selling point with companies, but it also helped PACT boost its revenues 30% last year to $5.1 million.

Mort attributed the growth to increased demand for PACT’s J-Crate, a reusable corrugated shipping container the company touts as stronger than wood at a third of the weight.

“That helped many companies save on air freight shipments and the end-use because you can use these things many times instead of just disposing of the wood in the end,” Mort said.

While many companies tend to ship their products inside a wooden crate, he noted it’s cumbersome and archaic.

In recent years it’s also become more expensive as lumber prices have skyrocketed during the pandemic amid supply chain bottlenecks that have plagued countless industries.

“Right now, the cost of wood is so high it makes our corrugated products so much more [desirable] because you get a 20% to 30% difference in price,” Mort said.

Mort said that’s been a welcomed change for the company, which typically has to work for years to warm clients up to using corrugated containers.

“That’s a big thing,” Mort said. “You’ve got to get through the door and gain their trust, and that’s when they start wanting to hear about everything.”

PACT is also expecting further growth from a new product called Thermo Shield, which is a fire-resistant shipping wrap designed to prevent catastrophes caused by battery explosions during transport.

As it expands, PACT also needs more space, so it’s slated to move its 10-person staff from its 28,000-square-foot facility in Waterbury to a 71,000-square-foot building in Watertown.

High level of confidence

While the company has been around since 2005, PACT didn’t hit its stride until 2011, when Mort joined and began leading business operations for the company.

At the time, he said he helped rebrand PACT alongside a silent owner, relaunching its core lineup of products like the J-Crate and PleetWrap.

While PACT struggled in its early years, Mort said the company has had steady annual growth more recently because it prioritized customer service and worked to address the concerns of its client base, which has blossomed to roughly 1,800 brands nationwide.

That’s been the case for Massachusetts-based TheraCycle, a neurological therapy product manufacturer that serves people with conditions like Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and stroke.

“PACT has been a good business partner that works with our needs along with the ebbs and flows of our business,” said TheraCycle’s head of sales, Peter Kaplan.

Kaplan said TheraCycle partnered with PACT because of its extensive experience handling equipment packaging and creativity toward addressing their concerns.

“The end result was a packing carton with integrity and durability that we ship across the globe with a high level of confidence that the product will arrive safely and intact,” Kaplan said.

Jason Zwetsch, director of environmental health and safety for Sunnking, which specializes in electronic scrap removal and IT equipment disposal services for western and central New York companies, echoed similar sentiments.

According to Zwetsch, Sunnking discovered PACT by researching different ways to pack and ship damaged, defective, or recalled batteries destined for recycling at smelters.

“Working with PACT has given Sunnking peace of mind knowing we have a partner providing us with solutions that control hazards present with shipping damaged batteries,” Zwetsch said.

Battery-powered growth

Arguably the most significant and profitable product PACT has focused on as of late has been lithium-ion batteries safety and shipping.

PACT recently obtained a U.S. patent for its sustainable shipping material Thermo Shield, the paper-based, fire-resistant shipping wrap designed to prevent catastrophes caused by battery explosions during transport, also known as thermal runaway.

“When a box catches on fire, one battery out of the million that is in the container can light up the container, leading a freighter ship to grab the container and toss it in the water,” Mort said.

Mort said companies have pushed for sustainable packing and shipping options in recent years, which PACT has been addressing with its list of products, including its J-Crate, Thermo Shield and PleetWrap. Sustainable wrapping paper can suppress instances of hazardous thermal runaway inside a corrugated container carrying lithium-ion batteries, he said.

According to the company, just seven United Parcel Service customers are responsible for shipping over 40 million lithium-ion batteries per year. And the global lithium-ion battery market is projected to grow from $41.1 billion in 2021 to $193.13 billion by 2028, according to a Feb. 21 report by research firm Fortune Business Insights.

Looking ahead, Mort said he expects further growth in the coming year, as the company plans to expand its footprint in the state and capitalize on opportunities within the battery industry.

“This is our year to expand because the Thermo Shield is going to be huge,” Mort said.