ACC Owners

Published: July 01, 2008

• Peter Bekx | Managing Member-Finance
• Gary Forehand | Managing Member-Engineering
• Mark Kyles | Managing Member-Operations

• How did you get into the converting business? Mark | After many years in industry, we saw an opportunity for a special contract converting business with improved services, being flexible to market demands, and customer needs.

• How would you describe your mangement style? Gary | Open atmosphere. We all get out on the floor on a daily basis.

• Are there specific challenges in your region to finding good employees? Peter | Yes, it is sometimes a challenge to find skilled people. Word of mouth helps, and we use temporary people, which allows us and them to get to know each other.

• What is your key to retaining good employees? Mark | Being fair, being open and honest, and expecting feedback from them.

• What is the biggest threat to the converting industry right now? Mark | Some of the offshore competition is a challenge. However, we also see some opportunities coming back here. The dollar versus the euro helps us in exporting. We currently see a lot more of our customers exporting our work. We don't really see any particular threats to the converting industry; we see more positives.

• How do you handle a difficult customer? Mark | We always try to fulfill customer needs. There are customers that require more information and can be more demanding of special needs, but we really don't see that as difficult.

• What keeps you up at night with regard to your business? Gary | My biggest concern is that all our equipment is operating efficiently 24-7.

• What do you enjoy most about your job? Gary | Day-to-day challenges where every day is something different.

• What do you enjoy least about your job? Gary | Getting called at 2:30 in the morning.

• What is the best advice you ever got? Gary | My father said, “I don't care if you're an hour early, just don't be a minute late.”

• What advice would you give to someone starting out in this business? Mark | Be prepared to put in a lot of hours and to have well-rounded knowledge of various aspects of business.

• What are you most proud of in your business? Mark | We've overcome a lot of obstacles, including the death of a partner who was our key sales person.

• What sustainability efforts has your company made? Mark | One of the biggest things we've done is a dramatic reduction of waste going to landfill. Now it goes to a recycling facility. Other materials that are non-recyclable, such as some nonwovens and films, are now being converted into pellets for fuel.

• Any hobbies or outside interests? Mark | We are super Green Bay Packer fans and attend all the home games. Our conference room is evidence of it, with signed prints all the way from Fuzzy Thurston to Brett Favre.

About American Custom Converting

• 2441 Larsen Rd., Green Bay, WI 54303
• www.ACConverting.com
• Founded 1997; 1 plant; 33 employees
• Specialty | Lightweight rewinding and slitting plus custom folding

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