1998 C. Taylor Kew Leadership Award
The Power of Packaging
As chairman of the board of the National Paperbox Association, Ted Frain, Jr. preached the "power of packaging and the packaging association."
By Dawn Whalen
GOOD RELATIONSHIPS with his family, his customers and even his competitors have led Ted Frain, Jr., founder and former president of Unipak, and this year's recipient of the National Paperbox Association's (NPA) C. Taylor Kew Leadership Award, to be well respected in the paperbox industry.
"My father is very optimistic, very sales oriented, very customer service and customer oriented," says his son and vice president of Unipak, Stephen Frain. "The relationship he had with customers was very important to him. He really enjoyed working with them. It was fun for him. He'd probably shake his head now because customer relationships don't seem to be as important as they once were."
The younger Frain says a regular business habit his father practiced was to frequently take customers golfing. "Things were different back then. He was good at entertaining [to build relationships] and his customers expected it."
Industry Beginnings
After Frain served as a pilot in WWII, he returned to Pennsylvania and in the early '50s began working at Downingtown Paperbox Co., a folding carton company. In the course of 10 years there he was promoted to sales manager, then general manager. But his big break in the box industry came in 1968 when the company was sold. It was at that point that he had the opportunity to buy Pottstown Paperbox. Five years later he parlayed that successful venture into a second when he acquired Westchester Paperbox and subsequently consolidated the two to form Unipak, a set-up box converter that today has 50 employees and is headed by his son, Ted Frain III, himself a second-generation NPA board chairman.
Throughout the 1970s and early '80s Frain continued to build Unipak's scope and impact on the market. At a time when the set-up box industry was just beginning to see a marked decline, he wisely added a folding carton division to Unipak in 1982, which afforded the small converting operation inroads into the confectionary, candy, pharmaceutical, computer and hardware industries.
Change Through Leadership
Seeing a trend in the decline of set-up box operations nationwide, and not wanting to lose a significant share of his own family's business, Frain became involved with the NPA, then the National Paperboard & Paperbox Association, which was losing members due to the decline in use of set-up boxes, of which many were produced by "mom and pops" that either could not keep up with the labor and storage costs of the bulky rigid boxes, or whose children saw no future in taking over the family business.
It was Frain who was instrumental in establishing a dialogue that would open the heretofore "set-up box" association's membership to include folding carton converters, a motion that the association welcomed and voted to approve.
Years after his initial contact with and impact on the association, Frain continued to have influence within the NPA. He served as chairman of the Eastern Division Committee from 1975-'79. He also served on the Northeastern Advisory Board and on the Board of Directors for the NPA. In 1979 he earned the association's highest honor for volunteerism, the Outstanding Service Award, and is but one of a handful of boxmakers who, in the association's 80-year history, have earned four Encore Awards for continued service. During the period 1985-'86 Frain held the post of chairman of the board of the NPA, and continues to have an impact on the rigid and folding carton industry today by serving as chairman of both the Past Chairman's Council and the Paperbox Industry Foundation Board of Directors.
It is this dedication and commitment to ensure that this industry segment survives and prospers that led Frain's peers to select him to receive the 1998 Kew Leadership award.
Besides the obvious influence Frain had in bringing the folding carton segment into the association, he is credited by his peers with providing leadership to the association during a "transition" period.
Frain and Frank Erdman, chairman of Wright Brothers Paperbox who preceded him as president, led the group of boxmakers through a period during which their long-time director was leaving and they were searching for a capable replacement who could see the change occurring in the industry, and who could help direct the association toward a renewed agenda and goals.
"It was a traumatic period because the association was in a real comfort zone that just disappeared," says Bill Reiber, president of Columbus Paperbox, who adds that Frain and Erdman, both long-time directors, made the [association members] feel that everything was going to be all right. They set up the search for a new director and made sure there were no great [adverse] changes in policy or direction of the association."
Fred Kmic, former general manager of boxmaker J.E. Smith Co., attributes Frain's leadership abilities, both then and now, to his "upbeat personality." "He was a good businessman, and a great salesman," said Kmic, who adds that Frain has always been "a driving force...who has certainly made an impact on the association and its direction."
The Power of Packaging
When Frain became NPA's chairman of the board, he brought with him his personal "packaging philosophy," which many say the association adopted to bring success to an entire industry group.
"Ted has always been a big promoter of 'the power of packaging' and the effect it can have on a sales force," said Reiber. "He translated that when he was chairman of the association to the power of the packaging association. He was a great believer that everything deserved the best package it could get," which in Frain's eyes was a rigid or folding carton converted by an NPA member company.
Personal Profile
Industry: After Ted Frain, Jr. served in WWII, he began working at Downingtown Paperbox Co. in Pennsylvania, where he rose to general manager before leaving in 1968 to buy Pottstown Paperbox. In 1973, he bought Westchester Paperbox and consolidated the two box companies to form Unipak in Westchester, PA. Unipak was initially a set-up box company, but Frain added a folding carton division in 1982. Unipak has 50 employees.
Association Involvement: Frain served as chairman of the Eastern Division Committee from 1975-'79 and was chairman of the board of the NPA from 1985-'86. He is currently chairman of the Past Chairman's Council, and is on the Advisory Council. Frain also served on the Northeastern Advisory Board. He won the Outstanding Service Award in 1979, and is the recipient of four Encore Awards.
Personal: Frain and his wife Judy have two sons, Ted III, president of Unipak and Stephen, who is vice president. They have one daughter, Susan Vasquez. Frain retired in 1987.
