The Whole Package, by Premier Packaging

Most safety professionals get into this role by accident,” no pun intended, says Mayra Vega, Premier’s Corporate Environmental Health and Safety Manager. Her days working at a trauma center, needing to have everything ready for the injured person coming through the door, helped set her up for success overseeing safety at our facilities in the United States and Mexico. The key to making work behavi...

Numbers like batting averages and free throw percentages always came easy to Andy Hennessey as a kid. Today, as our Chief Financial Officer, he makes sure the numbers always work for Premier. During his 13 years with our company, he has seen—and helped—us experience tremendous growth, such as doubling our manufacturing and distribution facilities. Here he offers his insights into where we’ve been...

"We will do whatever we have to do, to get our customers what they need.” That’s the motto of Wali Shaheed, Manufacturing Site Manager for Premier’s Rancho Cucamonga facility. A 30+-year veteran of the corrugated industry, Wali oversees a growing manufacturing facility of about 50 people, average age 22. He talks about what’s important for our customers and our employees.

What does it take to be a successful Account Manager for Premier? For Lauren Bright, who works in Southern California, it’s all about problem solving, being accessible, and helping customers how they want to be helped. She and host Billy Watkins discuss how Premier solved one customer’s challenge, the Premier “difference”—our people, and why you shouldn’t fear “Box Trolls.”

Supply Chain Specialist Luke Smith enjoys building “really cool relationships” with Premier’s customers instead of just trying to sell products. The Premier way, he explains, is getting to know and understand you and your operations so we can find opportunities to help your bottom line. Luke also talks about how much he likes living in his native Utah, with its many outdoors activities like skiing...

As a child, Kevin Fritze saw the impact of logging on the Maine woods, and decided he wanted to help protect the environment. As Premier’s Sustainability Manager, he analyzes the way we operate and looks for ways for us to become more sustainable. Here he explains how the more sustainable packaging choice is not always the obvious one, as well as easy, inexpensive ways to build sustainability into...

Alex Garrett started college intending to become an opera singer and ended it determined to help people by coming up with packaging solutions. Opera’s loss is Premier’s gain. With us seven years now, Supply Chain Specialist Alex talks about how Premier’s target assessment process has helped businesses save hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. Based in Southern California, he’s had several...

Kate Smith and Rachel Carroll, the Hat Girls, had a problem: How to protect their fragile, custom-designed, high-end hats that can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars during shipping. Enter Premier Packaging, which created a box that offers excellent protection and is luxurious too, adding to the customer’s unboxing experience. Learn more about Kate and Rachel’s head-y business and our partnersh...

As Premier Packaging celebrates its 30th birthday, we look back at what our employees interviewed on the podcast like about our company, including their opportunity for advancement, our culture, and our commitment to customer service. And how did they get here? The answers range from a golf course meet-up to university MBA contacts to a Craigslist ad.

Premier offers many packaging options for our customers. Chris Winfield, Vice President of Strategic Accounts, explains the advantages of poly mailers, padded paper mailers, cold chain packaging, and corrugated boxes, from durability and recyclability to our capabilities such as dual inside/outside printing. Also: How pizza is like fine jewelry.

Premier’s manufacturing facility in Louisville, Ky, features state-of-the-art machinery, but what really sets it apart are our employees. Host Billy Watkins talks to Shipping Manager Cindy Spurlock, CAD operator Tiffany Reed, forklift driver Willie Jeffrey, and Manufacturing General Manager Jason Stinnett about their day-to-day jobs. When asked why they love working here, they all say the same thi...

Every day our employees keep products and materials smoothly flowing in and out of our Corporate Distribution Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Good people are the key to tracking and moving inventory safely and efficiently. On a visit to the DC, host Billy Watkins talks to Logistics Coordinator April Angus; Warehouse Lead Tim Weathers; Warehouse Associate Richard Gooch; and Regional Operations Mana...

“Chemistry is a way to grow your curiosity about the world,” says Pam Wilson, Premier’s Vice President of Products. She applies her curiosity to discovering and developing the products our customers want and need, both now and down the road. Here she talks about the product development process, how a polymer background is valuable in the packaging world, and why Premier is uniquely positioned to s...

Host Billy Watkins looks back at 2023, a year of challenges in which Premier scored several major accomplishments.

Despite challenges in 2023, Premier had a record year in manufacturing, with production 20 to 25% higher than before. Ryan Benningfield, Corporate Director of Manufacturing, attributes this success to new equipment, continuous improvement and, the main factor, our employees. Ryan discusses the importance of our people and looks ahead to Premier’s goals and potential challenges in 2024.

Learning how to handle disgruntled travelers as a valet at the airport was “a quick speed run to customer service,” says Rob Lynch. Today, he’s still solving problems—as Premier’s Senior Manager of IT Operations. In this far-ranging interview, he talks about how our IT Help Desk works, cybersecurity, the dangers and benefits of AI, and what the heck happened to floppy discs.

As a kid, Tabitha Lauzon organized play for she and her sisters. Today as Premier’s Senior Corporate Event Coordinator, she plans events ranging from a small gathering of executives to six huge end-of-year parties for our employees happening simultaneously across the country. She says the secret to great event planning is staying calm and on top of all the details: “Prepare for the worst and expec...

Steve Arkon, Premier’s Sales Manager for the Ohio Valley, has swum in a shark tank—so to speak. While earning his MBA at Bellarmine, he developed a solution for a common issue at transportation companies as part of a course and won a local “Shark Tank”-style competition. Steve uses the lessons he learned marketing that product and working for various companies to support and develop his sales team...

Design Specialist Chuck Pomles, a 37-year veteran of the packaging industry, describes how Premier builds relationships with its customers to find just the right solutions for their packaging and process challenges. Chuck also talks about good package design and sustainability—with the most sustainable solutions sometimes not being what you’d first expect.

Brittany Biggs, a project manager supervisor, has always been fascinated by packaging, from products on store shelves to making intricate boxes at Premier. She talks about the importance of organization and communication in her job—and how cool it is to run into celebrities in her hometown, Covington, Georgia, where hundreds of TV shows and movies have been shot.

We try to make the best podcast possible every time, but sometimes things just go wrong. Enjoy our bloopers reel with host Billy Watkins.

Adam House learned leadership with boots on the ground, whether as a Marine who helped evacuate the U.S. Embassy in the war-torn capital of Liberia in 1990 or a civilian working his way up from the factory floor to plant superintendent. As a Senior Manufacturing Specialist, he teaches Premier’s employees how to troubleshoot and solve problems with our machines on their own. Adam also talks about P...

Justin Cockerham discovered his love of technology in school and has done everything from repair computers to work the IT help desk. In his current role as Junior Business Analyst, he studies the use of technology in different areas of Premier and helps implement improvements. This fun conversation ranges from where technology is headed to host Billy Watkin’s gamer abilities to the pressure of per...

In part two of our interview, Premier’s Chief Marketing Officer Jill Gaynor talks about our culture, our state-of-the-art equipment, working the line during the pandemic, and Premier’s growth into luxury packaging. “Everything we do is service-related for our clients,” she says.

The leadership of co-owners John and Jill Gaynor has helped make Premier a success. In the first part of a two-part episode, Jill Gaynor talks about the company’s founding and growth, how we serve clients as a one-stop shop, and the evolution of her role from background advisor to Chief Marketing Officer.