BEST IN CLASS PROFILE
BULK LIFT INTERNATIONAL, INC.
company facts Founded: 1978 Locations: Carpentersville, IL; Nuevo Laredo, MX; Nanjing and Taizhou, PRC China Business Scope: Manufacturer of bulk bags, flexible intermediate bulk containers (FIBC), dry bulk containers and small 50lb flexible packaging. Employees: 400 Website: www.bulklift.com
“Making sure we have our foreign operations properly cared for is critical to protecting our entire organization. The team of professionals at The Horton Group along with their Assurex Partners in Mexico were able to clearly explain our exposures outside of the U.S. and implement a risk management program that responded accordingly.� - Brian Kelly President and CEO Bulk Lift International, Inc.
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The Right Bag, On Time ! TM
ight Bag, On TimeTM’ isn’t just a slogan, it’s our mission statement,” says Brian Kelly, President and CEO of Bulk Lift International, Inc. As a manufacturer of flexible packaging for the food, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries, Bulk Lift is working to replace corrugated boxes and storage bins for the easy and hygienic transfer of manufactured products. “Our packaging is an integral part of the supply chain. Our products must arrive to the customer with the exact specifications and in the time frame they demand. Our ability to consistently deliver on this promise sets us apart from our competition.”
a Bronze-Level certification is required of all employees and consists of six months of classroom training, on-the-job bag inspection, and a minimum score of 92% on a rigorous exam.
The Right BagTM promise ensures customers get the bags that best fit their needs. While this means the right size, strength, and material, Bulk Lift also emphasizes product engineering to improve how the bags are used. “It is very important for us to conduct customer performance profiles to effectively create a bag that fits their needs,” shared David Nattrass, Vice President of Production and Engineering. “If we believe the client needs a new design or to modify their existing bags, we will make the appropriate recommendations. We then show our customers how product changes can improve their processes, such as holding a higher volume of product, saving space or adding speed to their workflow. Ultimately, this saves customers money.”
“Bulk Lift University was established from our desire to be the best at what we do and to continue to raise the bar of bulk bag excellence,” states Gary Nattrass, Vice President of Sales. “By investing in our employees, we achieve continuous improvement resulting in the continued satisfaction of our customers.”
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The sales team takes an additional year to achieve Silver-Level status, which further develops their problem solving and consultation skills. Finally, Gold-Level certified employees receive a Certified Packaging Technician degree. This degree is achieved after two years of root cause analysis, product improvement identification, and the ability to design new specifications.
Bulk Lift University To help employees deliver consistency in the performance of their products and people, Bulk Lift launched Bulk Lift University (BLU). For instance,
Bulk Lift continued their global expansion by opening a production facility near Nanjing China.
operations outside the US. During the development of Bulk Lift’s Chinese facility, Johnny Zhao from Horton Insurance Brokers, Ltd. in Beijing, China, worked with Bulk Lift’s local plant manager to complete a Risk Analysis of the new facility. “With a significant amount of our production outside the U.S., making sure we have our foreign operations properly cared for is critical to protecting our entire organization. The team of professionals at The Horton Group in the The Spring 2008 National Sales Conference at Bulk Lift’s Nuevo Laredo, Mexico operations. U.S. and China, along with their Assurex Partner in Mexico, were able to clearly explain our exposures outside of the U.S. and implement a risk manOver Borders and Overseas agement program that responded accordingly,” shared Brian. In 1998, Bulk Lift established its operation in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. The logistical advantages of Nuevo Laredo and “We had two auto accidents in Mexico within two weeks of growing international demand made it an ideal location. each other,” remembers David. “They were the first claims Today, it is North America’s largest FIBC manufacturing that we had ever had outside the United States. Within hours operation. of the accidents, the Assurex Partner in Mexico had notified the Mexican insurer and provided a complete status report to “Nuevo Laredo provides full manufacturing flexibility,” us and Horton in the U.S. We were made aware of all details explains David. “We have ten production lines, giving us the as the claim progressed. Our level of risk management is option to run the same product on all ten lines, or run ten much stronger with a global network supporting our needs.” separate products, one line at a time. This flexibility, along with our proximity to one of the largest land ports in the US (Laredo, TX), gives us the ability to meet customer demand Future Plans and ship within 24 hours of receiving an order.” With its international presence growing, Bulk Lift’s management team has aggressive plans for the future. “We In response to the growing demand in the Asian market, would like to manufacture and distribute to even more forBulk Lift continued their global expansion and opened a proeign countries and continue our double-digit growth. Since duction facility near Nanjing, China. “We now have the abilwe already have a strong presence in the United States, and ity to deliver the Right Bag to the Asian market, while adherour global market share continues to grow,” said Gary. “We ing to our strict policy of on-time delivery,” shared Brian. want to deliver the Right Bag, On TimeTM to more clients “We realize that many of our customers are global compaworldwide.” nies. As part of our promise, we need to make sure we are also global.”
Managing Risk Around the World While many emerging global companies make the mistake of not getting involved in foreign insurance placements, Bulk Lift made an early commitment to centralize their global risk management program. Bulk Lift relies on The Horton Group, an Assurex Global partner, and the Assurex Global network to develop a Controlled Master Insurance Program to protect Bulk Lift’s
Bulk Lift University, a student in training at the Spring 2008 Sales Conference.
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