5 Secrets of My Success: Tony Petrelli

5 Secrets of My Success: Tony Petrelli
Secrets of my success from legacy winner Tony Petrelli, president and COO of CardPak.
By Eric Broder

When Tony Petrelli joined CardPak in 2006, the company was facing plenty of financial challenges.

During its 44-year history, the paperboard packaging firm had weathered much adversity, including a flood in 1994 and a 1996 fire that destroyed the company’s equipment and forced it to temporarily close. CardPak was rebuilt in 1998, moving from Cleveland to its current Solon digs.



But the company was deep in debt. Something had to change. The owners knew that operating changes and procedural efficiencies on the floor had to be made to save the company — and then to keep it competitive.

Enter Petrelli. Under his leadership as president and COO, CardPak returned to profitability in one year.

“Even through difficult times, this was a culture that grew up as a family,” says Petrelli. For many workers, CardPak was their first job out of school. Many had been working together for more than 20 years. They weren’t just co-workers, they were an extended family to one another, Petrelli explains. It made for a good workplace: When he arrived, CardPak had already nabbed six NorthCoast 99 awards. And Petrelli didn’t want to break that streak.

* Don’t come in guns blazing. Petrelli, a packaging industry veteran, had worked primarily with larger companies of 6,000 or more employees. The team of 125 at CardPak was much smaller and carried that friendly, family atmosphere. Floor shop employees needed to work “faster, smarter, better” to make packaging products more efficient, so Petrelli introduced new, lean manufacturing processes. But “I had to make sure I didn’t come in as a gunslinger. I realized I had to change the culture without changing the people. This was a strong group that worked hard even in tough times. I didn’t tell them to change,” Petrelli says. “I asked.”

* Communicate with care. Be careful what you say and how you say it in a more intimate environment. Written memos and e-mails don’t get the point across like a message delivered personally, and it helps to avoid misunderstanding. “Tell them what you’re going to tell them — then tell them what you told them,” says Petrelli. Tell them as many times as it takes to make sure they understand the message clearly and completely. “You can never overcommunicate to a group.”

* Safety first. Accidents will happen in heavy machinery plants — back strains, cuts, tripping over cords, electric shocks. But with Petrelli’s introduction of new manufacturing methods, along with retooling work areas and keeping them clear, safety has greatly improved at the plant. The change is highlighted by a traffic light on the CardPak shop floor. A green light indicates no workplace incidents the previous day, yellow denotes a near miss, and red means an accident occurred. No one’s seeing red now: After upping safety measures, CardPak has gone from double-digit annual incidents to the top five in safety for facilities its size in the nation. That is good for both morale and business. “It’s singularly impacted the profitability of the company,” says Petrelli.

* Nurture confidence. Company stability, especially now, is important for maintaining employee morale. Compelling new products provide the opportunity for profitability, and CardPak’s sustainable alternatives to clamshell packaging fit with the ecological demands of large retailers such as Costco and Sam’s Club. The company had a record year in 2008 and is ahead of the pace in 2009. “The bad economy is no excuse,” says Petrelli. Competitors are waiting for the clouds to pass, he says. “We set out fans to push ’em away.”

* Learned behavior. Petrelli has learned something about himself in his time at CardPak. “I find myself taking more pride in seeing an employee develop,” he says. “I’ve learned to give credit to those who help me reach my conclusions. And people have responded. The key is passion and enthusiasm.”

-- CardPak, Inc.