Justin Kirkpatrick, vice president sales and marketing, is climbing the ranks at Econocorp, Randolph, Mass., while leading the cartoning equipment manufacturer to address global markets.
PP-OEM: How does your role help Econocorp innovate?
As the director of export sales and marketing, I oversee our international and domestic marketing activities and new business development. Econocorp was one of the first OEMs to have a website, but for 15 years, it stayed the same. When I joined the company, I wanted to make information easier to access online. It took me a year to get a couple of quotes and work on the website, but a year ago, we rolled out the new website. We wanted customers to see a library of videos within a couple of clicks on the website because videos are our best-selling tools. There is a list of videos on the homepage and on the information page of every machine. When I started tracking our online traffic and visitors to make the argument for a new website, our average session duration was well under a minute, and now, our average session duration is more than three minutes.
PP-OEM: How did you venture into manufacturing?
I went to Ithaca College in upstate New York and received a bachelor’s degree in communications and one in sociology. Those degrees took me abroad to teach English as a second language to students. I got into sales just when I found out that Econocorp was looking for an international sales manager. I didn’t know much about manufacturing, and I knew nothing about packaging machinery, but I have learned so much here.
PP-OEM: How did you learn more about the industry?
My very first day at Econocorp happened at PACK EXPO Chicago, which is the best way for anyone to begin. All I knew was that we made cartoners, but being at the show gave me a better idea of how our machinery fits into a packaging line. Econocorp immediately got me involved in a few of the PMMI committees, like the Emerging Leaders Task Force. Since I started, I have regularly attended PMMI meetings, which has been an invaluable resource.
PP-OEM: What has your experience been like with the Emerging Leaders Network and Committee?
It was a great opportunity because I was completely new to the industry and most people on that committee are familiar with the industry and PMMI, but they are typically younger, so it was great to connect with my peers. There is a wide variety of experience levels, and I like to learn about how other emerging leaders operate their business and the challenges they face. Our LinkedIn network and trade show meetings are a good place for continued discussion and a great way for someone to learn about the industry in a less intimidating manner.
PP-OEM: What is your advice to those new to the industry?
Packaging machinery is not the most attractive sounding term when considering a career path, but it doesn’t mean that it’s not interesting. Every day is a challenge, and it’s interesting to see engineers come up with such unique solutions. If you are looking to come into the industry, you need to have interest in mechanical and electrical solutions, and if you have an engineering mind, you will thrive. We all make a specific product, but at the end of the day, what we end up selling is customer driven. Being adaptable and flexible are good qualities to have.
PP-OEM: What are some industry trends you are eying?
We’re always looking for the next industry segment to target. Cartons were a universal secondary packaging solution that many end users would go with. But now some of those end users are switching to flexible packaging solutions instead, which means we have a slightly smaller piece of the pie to go after. Identifying segments that are new to using cartons, such as the rapidly growing craft beer market, is essential.
