[climb on soapbox]

For those not in the know, the CPSIA was an attempt by regulators in Washington to protect us from poisonous lunch boxes from China. At least that's the intent in a nutshell. But of course, the result of the act was that all of a sudden anything that could possibly be defined as a childs toy, was - so now everything potentially involved in a retail environment and could be touched by a kid was subject to these new strictures, and compliance had, and still has to, be demonstrated through third party testing. This dragnet swept a lot of industries into a very wide net; one of those classic "unintended consequences" thing. But Washington, being Washington, wouldn't recognize its own mistake and refused to reconsider the vague silliness of the regulation, which has of course gotten less silly and more serious - and serious means it has started adding costs in a big way.

Look, these regulators - I honestly don't think they're out to destroy American industry. I just think they're like anybody else - they want to do a good job. Their job is to issue regulations and then enforce those regulations. In order to feel like they are doing a good job, they need to keep regulating and enforcing. I get that. Pretty much human nature.

But I thought the administration told us they were going to start doing a cost/benefit analysis of these regulations, streamline the process, etc. And while I appreciate the exemption, the damage from the initial regulation is pretty much done - our customers now expect us to do testing on our products. And while that in itself might be a good thing, it adds costs - and all of these costs eventually make their way to the consumer. So as the stuff we make gets more expensive, the customer might end up sourcing the product from China or someplace with less regulations - and the result could be an end product that is actually less safe than the one we were making initially.

I'm just saying that we have to have a strong manufacturing base in this country; when our regulators overreact to a scare created by a cheap product from a country without the regulatory scheme we have in place, they can severly hamstring industries they really had no intention of hurting, by the very act of their own reaction. This can damage American competitiveness and send manufacturing to environments less safe than our own. Newton's third law, right? For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction..

[/climb down off soapbox]

I've read some interesting articles recently about the potential decline of FSC and other third party certification outfits and it got me thinking. Since PSI has been both SFI and FSC certified for a few years now, I've been able to see the proverbial trees in the forest. My take? Anybody that thinks using FSC certified material actually helps the environment is barking up the wrong tree.

So, am I the only one that believes FSC is a worthless scam?  No, I'm not.

I know this from my dealings with other printers, from the suppliers, from our vendors involved in the paper and pulp industry, from customers who have seen the dark side of the scam. We all really know this. Leave the marketing dudes outside for a minute. Don’t listen to their “It’s a way to differentiate” or “Ecomagination” hype and bombast. Think about it – US forestry products, and especially the paper industry itself, has always been very proactive and oriented towards its own future survival. The paper and pulp industry knows it needs to manage its forests and the trees of private landowners in a way that will sustain the industry in the long term. The US forestry industry is just like and no different than any other farming industry. Same as corn rotates land and crops, the paper industry does the same. They plant trees, and then harvest these trees 20 years later, and then plant more on a different patch and keep the cycle going.

So the question is how did we get so weak and naïve to think that we needed to let a thuggish organization like FSC dictate to us what is right and proper within our industry? When did we get so sheepish as to allow this marketing machine to run roughshod over the relationship? At one point did we decide to allow a third party to hijack our business processes all in an imagined charade that destroys value and adds nothing but a cost? An FSC certification means nothing more than “Hey, I’m dumb enough to pay this group a lot of money so I can use their logo. Don’t actually think about what it really means. Just blindly believe that the FSC logo means cuddles and grins all around!”

So I'm here to say no more for PSI. I will not spend any more money on a bully organization that does nothing but add a cost to my business, that shows no concern about its own customers much less mine, that attempts to hijack the relationship for its own gain. FSC destroys value; a green gimmick imagined by a bloated bureaucracy that exists only to feed itself. If one wants to choose the better of two evils, SFI is a much better option for PSI and our customers as they at least seem to value their customers, act like we matter - like our processes matter - that we might understand what it takes to make our customers happy. SFI understands the pace of business, the fast moving and nimble decision making that has to be done in order to meet deadlines. FSC is bloated and monolithic. SFI cares about the US forestry business, the small farmer, the small landowner. FSC is trenchant and righteous.  SFI understands the business relationship here in the US far better than FSC. FSC cares not one whit for printers, for printing, for the companies that use printing. FSC only cares about itself and its own righteousness. A hypocritical and disgusting mockery of our own uniquely human desire to do good instead of bad, FSC is a waste of money, time, and effort when it comes to printing and paper.

But make no mistake: I think all third party certification schemes are a waste of time, money, and effort. I saw a new one a few days ago: Ancient Forest Friendly. It had a cute little logo with tree rings..

[sarcasm]Ahhhh. I feel better already![/end sarcasm]

So the useless FSC logo will soon be coming down from our site. Good riddance. The sooner we as an industry and as a people start using our head instead of letting the marketing people at FSC twist our heart the better off we all will be..

You ever have one of those jobs where it seems no matter what you do, you lose? We just completed one of those.. Funny thing, I saw it from a distance, like storm clouds gathering on the horizon. Where you look at the swirling mass at a distance, see the faint pops of light in the clouds, hear and sometimes even feel the rumbling... You look at it and say, "man, I hope that doesn't come this way..." but sometimes they do. This job, it was one of those. The pricing part wasn't too bad, but there were some hidden tricks we anticipated and had a plan for if this thing became a live order. What made the storm clouds gather and then come closer were the cryptic e-mails we got from people at the company we had never dealt with before, wanting to know about graphic files that were totally wrong, and why we couldn't read them. And then the thing went sideways with the old, "I sent you the e-mail last Friday saying this thing was a go. I need my proofs today and this job has to ship on Tuesday!" So you know, you put on the old rain slicker and go outside and try to unclog the gutter. We got this thing out and not much behind the original schedule, all things considered.  The client worked with us; they just needed what they needed.  We worked with them, and learned the names of some new people and maybe made a new friend.  For some reason, it made me think of Jerry Maguire.

Of course, I'm not Tom Cruise and my office doesn't have nearly as good a view as his.  And I make folding cartons,  I don't deal with world famous sports things..  Besides that, you know, the similarities.... 

I think the reason I think of ol' Jerry though, is that even when all is looking like a complete disaster, you can still pull out a success if you just keep trying.  And success might look totally different than what you envisioned at first, but if we can do something that helps get the order complete and delivered even when all looks lost, I consider that somewhat of a win.

I bet you never thought that much about Jerry Maguire, eh?  I certainly didn't mean to force you too..  I just like the movie.....

OK, so my last post ended with how boring it is to stay in the hotels...  But I figured out a way to make that a little more exciting, thanks to Guy Fieri and the Food Network:  Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives.  See, I've always liked unique food and since I might get to go to these neat places to see customers, why not go to a neat place to eat?  So I did.  Here's where I went last night:

Mike's Chili Parlor in Seattle. And yes, it was a dive. But in a good way.. People were very friendly, the Red Sox were playing the Bluejays, what more could I ask for? Umm.. This:

Chili Burger.  They, of course, had other things on the menu.  But as you can guess, they all began with chili.  Like Chili Dog.  Or Chili Bowl, or Chili Steak.  And even Chili Pasta.  But the chili was awesome, IMHO.  Very tasty.  And the green stuff on top?  Chopped jalepenos..  My mouth is still burning.  I had a good time though, and again, enjoyed everyone at the place..  So I think I solved this whole boring hotel thing!  Now I just have to work on my cholesterol level....

One of the perks of my job; nay, probably the best part of my job is when I get to visit our customers.  I love seeing what people are doing with the products we produce for them, and I love hearing how we are doing.  Good, bad, indifferent.  I really do like to get the feedback from our customers and see what we need to do to improve, how we can do better.  It's great to be an important part of our customers lives, and it's great when we can improve what we do and see that improvement pay out for the customer at the end.  And it's fun to get in front of the customer and see what is important to them and if we are paying attention to that or not.  But probably the most fun is getting into the back to see how the people that have to form our cartons and put stuff into them are doing.  We strive to make sure our cartons work each time, everytime.  We don't want them just to look good;  we want them to perform perfectly. 

Staying at the hotel is kinda boring though, but you take the good with the bad...

The installation is almost complete, the machine is powered up and turning.  Won't be long before sheets are going through and we're off and running on the new press.  Full UV capabilities, interdeck drying, full automation, etc..  I won't bore you with more details, as I think most of us printers tend to believe our customers really care about what sort of equipment we have, where it came from, how much we paid for it.  If you want those details, call me and we'll talk.  Otherwise, I think what most people want to know is the bottom line:  are the assets we own deployed in a manner that brings value to the customer?  And the answer I think is:  it depends.  I know, not really a great answer.  But if you are looking for fast turnaround, high quality packaging at solid pricing, I think we've assembled a great lineup.  This press is an affirmation of our commitment to that equation, and will enable us to deliver product faster, with more options such as pearlescent coating or printing on plastic, with better efficiency driving out costs.  Again, our ultimate goal is to be a world class manufacturer and in order to do that we have to have world class customers.  In order to attract and retain those customers, we have to be able to deliver world class products on time every time.  Might be hokey, be we really want to show we can still manufacture here in the US and compete worldwide.  The assets we employ, machinery and people, will allow us to continue that practice.

The concrete guys completed the floor and the foundation is set.  Here's what a reinforced floor looks like before concrete is poured:

Exciting eh?

Well, here's what it looks like once it's completed:

Even more exciting!  But hey, the concrete guys had fun..

So the press arrived on Monday and the riggers came with their really big forklifts and cranes and the parking lot had 7 tractor trailers full of equipment to unload.  But the heavy lifting went without a hitch and the press started to look like a press:

Now comes the really fun part where electricians and mechanical guys crawl all over the press hooking up all the wiring and running all the systems and connecting all the connections..  But it won't be long now.

6/c 28" x 40" press, full UV interdeck dryers, extended delivery plus UV coater.  Full automation, meaning you press a button and the press does the work.  We'll be able to increase our offerings to you, plus do it faster.  That's our main goal here.  Decrease lead times.  Get the product to you faster.  And do it faster without increasing your costs..  Sounds like a great plan to me!

Well, we did it.  Just went ahead and did it...  We bought a new press.  We had a really good year last year thanks to all of our customers that honored us with their work.  Don't get me wrong, it was tough.  But considering the enviornment in which we all operated, PSI had a good year.  BUT, I know that we caused some heartache out there for some of our best customers when we might not have been able to move things up in the schedule the way we used to.  Our lead time wasn't what our customers grew to expect from us over the years, and we may not have been able to jump through as many hoops as we once could.  We took steps to correct that by installing the new blanker and folder gluer I mentioned in earlier posts.  But this press is designed to give us the flexibility that we need to service you in the manner you expect and give us the ability to hit those dates, move items up in the schedule, and, hopefully, hit a home run for you everytime.  Look, we're trying to do our part to help the economy, right?  And I truly appreciate all of you enabling us to take this project on and buy these capital goods.  We couldn't, and wouldn't, do it without you.

They're digging the foundation as we speak:

Those concrete guys have the best toys..

We're now up and running on the new blanker we installed from Bobst.  This machine eliminates the need for manual stripping of the waste or broke from the die cut sheets.  This in turn improves efficiency and quality by reducing steps in manufacturing and eliminating a potential quality issue by air hammer damage.  This is all part of our quest to deliver the absolute best experience you've ever had dealing with a folding carton company.  I know, I know.  You never thought it would be this exciting to order a box, eh?  Well, now you know!

Saw an article in the WSJ today that explained how some retailers are cutting back on the variety of different products they are selling, simplifying the aisles with less, I guess you could say noise, and focusing on the dominant brands for a particular category.  It mentioned how Wal-Mart sold 24 different tape measures in the past but now is only selling 4 versions.  I laughed a little bit because just this morning I was opening a new tube of toothpaste.  Well, that's not the part that made me laugh.  The laugh came when I was trying to discern what made this particular brand of Crest different than the other brand I used to use, and how many different versions of Crest there are now.  There is the whitening brand. And then the sparkly brand.  And then the whitening brand that sparkles..  It's kinda weird.  I mean, we used to be happy with just the bland bluish paste that came out of the white tube, but now we seem to need all of these crazy versions..  Then I read this article, so maybe we won't get these crazy versions for too much longer.  I personally have always subscribed to the KISS theory.  You know, Keep It Simple Stupid.  But I know some marketing and brand managers that might be a little upset right now.

Me, I like the old stuff.

But this is kinda fun for a change I guess!

I don't think this means the deathknell for brand innovation or variety.  It might just mean that you have to look a little harder for your favorite brand of toothpaste though.