Welcome to Breaking Down Boxes. We have compelling conversations with entrepreneurs in the packaging space.

In this engaging conversation, George Perreira of Moyy and Mike Schaefer of Tavens Packaging and Display talk with Rich Croce, President and CEO of Viking Packaging. Rich shares his journey from growing up in a family business to navigating the challenges of college and ultimately returning to lead the company. He discusses the evolution of Viking Packaging, the importance of customer service, and the lessons learned from both successes and failures in his career. The conversation highlights the significance of legacy, leadership, and the impact of personal experiences on professional growth.

About Rich

Richard Croce is the President and CEO of Viking Industries, Inc., a manufacturer of corrugated packaging as well as George H. Swatek Inc., a distributor of packaging products. Rich is proud to be the 5th generation Croce to be leading a packaging company and the 3rd at Viking. He has been published in the industry publication Box Score, as well as featured in Hudson Valley MFG Magazine for his knowledge and expertise.

Rich attended Union College in Schenectady, NY. and obtained his bachelor’s degree from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Rich has donated his time to work with the Council of Industry of South Eastern New York, serving as a board member and board president, to help area manufacturing companies improve their businesses. Rich is on the steering committee for Hudson Valley Pathways Academy which is a local P-Tech school which provides high school and associates degreed programs for local youth. Rich has served with the Boy Scouts as a Den Leader and as a coach for many youth teams in Saugerties, NY.

Connect

• LinkedIn
• YouTube
• Instagram
• Facebook
• www.vikingpackaging.com

Resources

• AICC Packaging University
• CEO Advisory Groups

New episodes drop the first Monday of every month. Remember to rate, review, and subscribe!

This podcast is brought to you by AICC, The Independent Packaging Association. Learn more at www.AICCbox.org. When you invest and engage, AICC delivers success.

Breaking Down Boxes is sponsored by Ox Box, offering strength you can depend on.

Welcome to Breaking Down Boxes. We have compelling conversations with entrepreneurs in the packaging space.

In this episode we dive into the fascinating origin stories of industry leaders who have shaped the packaging world. Join us as we revisit the early days and pivotal moments that set the stage for success for our distinguished guests: Greg Tucker, President and CEO of Bay Cities; Charlie Hodges, who retired as President and CEO of Hood Container in late 2024; Jerry Frisch, President of Wasatch Container; and John Bird, Chairman and CEO of JB Machinery.

Each guest shares the unexpected twists and turns that paved their way into the packaging industry, providing invaluable insights and inspiration to both newcomers and veterans in the field.

New episodes drop the first Monday of every month. Remember to rate, review, and subscribe!

This podcast is brought to you by AICC, The Independent Packaging Association. Learn more at www.AICCbox.org. When you invest and engage, AICC delivers success.

Breaking Down Boxes is sponsored by Ox Box, offering strength you can depend on.

Welcome to Breaking Down Boxes. We have compelling conversations with entrepreneurs in the packaging space.

In this episode of Breaking Down Boxes, hosts Jeff Pallini and George Perreira sit down with Mark Jared, Director and CEO of Cumberland Container in Monterey, TN, to explore his unconventional career path and the evolution of his business. From navigating international challenges in China to leading a box plant in Tennessee, Mark’s story is a fascinating tale of resilience, innovation, and community.

Mark shares his unique perspective on leadership, emphasizing the importance of trust and collaboration, and discusses the strategies that have driven Cumberland Container’s growth. From investing in technology to building personalized customer relationships, Mark offers insights into the challenges and opportunities within the independent packaging industry.

About Mark

Growing up in the countryside outside of a small town I learned to be fairly self-reliant and after a couple of extensive trips a love for travel. I started mountaineering at 14 with my Dad which has taken me to some pretty amazing places. At 18 I went west to work the wheat harvest before moving to Virginia to attend school at Washington & Lee University. My junior year was three of the best as I had multiple jobs over a 2 year period from construction to sales and made a trip to Mexico to climb the 3 highest peaks.

Once back at school I took the opportunity to get selected for an exchange program W&L had with the Chinese University of Hong Kong. That was in 1979 when the US recognized the People's Republic Of China and it became the “new frontier” as few Westerners had traveled there since 1949. As a poor student I could not afford to join a tour but used my majors in history and philosophy and a bit of Chinese language to get a job leading tours to China. Over the next 5 years I lead over 45 trips all over China and also into Southeast Asia, India, Pakistan, the Soviet Union, Japan and others. During that period I also went to grad school and received my Masters in International Management.

Not wanting to turn 30 leading tours I got a job with consortium of companies building the largest foreign invested real estate project in Shanghai. After working and managing the Shanghai Centre project for 20 plus years and also working on projects in Korea and Vietnam I went to work for Dubai World responsible for developing new real estate projects in Asia. In 2010 I received a fax from my father to come home and buy the box company he had started in 1969. He claimed I could continue to live in China as the company had a management team but that turned out to be stretch of the truth. In 2013 I moved the family away from their 23 million best friends to middle TN and began to work at Cumberland Container where I had no clue how a box was made. However the company had a very good team of leaders that I recognized I needed to even try to manage the business.

After our GM left in 2016 taking a considerable amount of business we formed a management committee to run the business all of which are still at the company. I joined AICC around 2018 and began attending the meetings where I got a great introduction to a lot of new ideas and great people in the industry. I pretty quickly drank the kool-aid to get ahead we needed to have fast and precise equipment to be competitive and grow the business so over the past 5+ years we went on capital investment program buying new FFGs, RDC, Baysek, Speciality Folder Gluer, Partition Assembler, Automatan and Stitcher/Gluer.

We also expanded the facility growing to 260K square feet, upgraded our shipping fleet, scrap system and graphics capability making us well positioned for the next 10+ years. Plus I bought 12 acres of property adjacent to the plant for future expansion. Cumberland has a great management group and a very capable workforce of 95...