With no end in sight for the increased need for services and safety precautions, the ability to think critically and creatively about consumer needs and the delivery of those needs has never been more important. The innova­tion and resilience of manufac­turing organizations is virtually unprecedented. SquarePac Services, located in Atlan­ta, Georgia, is committed to connecting family, friends, and businesses with the resources they need to navigate these difficult times. 

Founded by CEO Walter Griggs and CFO Jeanille Griggs, SquarePac produces custom packaging and material han­dling solutions for various industries, such as furniture, communications, utility, and automotive. The team designs high-quality products to be heavy-duty, returnable, and reusable. When the COVID-19 became prevalent, Walter’s prevailing thoughts were how to protect and provide for his family. 

THE PIVOT 

“The first thing I wanted to do was to make sure that my family and my friends had everything [they] needed,” Walter says. “We had to tap into our resources and, luckily, because we are manufacturers, we were able to tap into our different resources abroad.” 

SquarePac was able to find mandatory supplies that not even large corporations were able to source at the time. “We were able to find masks, nitrile gloves, and touchless thermometers [as well as] san­itizers and Tyvek suits,” Walter shares. 

As inventory became avail­able, the company reached out to several organizations, including banks, prisons, sheriff departments, Georgia Power, Comcast, the Federal Reserve, and Ingersoll Rand, to help hundreds of thousands of people prepare to return to work safely. 

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS 

The crisis required invest­ments in inventory, market­ing, and logistics that proved profitable for SquarePac over the long run. In addition to PPE, the team began manufac­turing universal, heavy-duty, touchless foot dispensers and sneeze guards, as well. Not only did it want to be a solu­ tion provider and distributor of other branded products, but SquarePac also wanted to design and produce its own. 

“We took a look at what was on the market and we said, ‘How can we make it better? How can we make the solu­tion more universal?’” Walter explains. 

The dispenser’s design allows it to be used for any type of product that requires a pump applicator, including sanitizer, soap, and condiments. “We can go in so many different directions with this,” Walter adds.

LESSON LEARNED 

The last several months of living during the pandemic has taught the SquarePac team that if there’s a problem, provide a solution. “You just have to use what you got and you can get what you want,” Walter says. “We have a good name and a good reputation with the vendors we use and they made serious headway in a market that they were com­pletely new to.”