In 2014, Glenn sold Glenmore to his son, James Rowley, and then retired from the business in 2016. In the years since, James has grown Glenmore to more than 100 employees and the company currently operates out of two facilities in the Richmond area, with a combined footprint of approximately 50,000 square feet.

“Printing is a very generational industry, and I can remember throwing paper airplanes off the mezzanines at Glenmore on Saturdays and Sundays with my dad,” said James. “I would carefully craft different shapes of airplanes to see if I could get them to go farther and farther, and the pressman would come in on Monday morning and they’d be pulling paper airplanes out of the ink fountains.”

“But it’s the story that sells the bottle. If you can’t tell that story with your packaging, you risk your premium line or your new product launch blending in with everything else on the shelf.”

James Rowley, Glenmore Custom Print & Packaging

A passion for packaging has driven Glenmore to become one of the top Canadian manufacturers of custom-printed paperboard boxes, labels, shrink sleeves and tubes. Today, Glenmore primarily focuses on high-end retail packaging for the food and beverage, wine and spirits, cosmetics, nutraceutical, and confectionery industries across Canada and throughout the western U.S.

“Most of the beverage companies in Western Canada have worked with us in some capacity over the last three to five years,” said James. “We’ve also printed for a large number of wineries and distilleries, which has become a significant focus area for us.”

In November 2022, James brought on industry veteran Jay Tapp as Glenmore’s chief operating officer. Tapp has worked in the packaging sector for more than 35 years and, most notably, founded Tapp Label Technologies Inc., which he sold in 2005. Tapp brings with him a wealth of experience and expertise in streamlining processes and procedures, as well as continuous improvement through measuring results, setting goals and growth.

Tapp was working in the Chicago area when James reached out to him looking for the right person to run Glenmore. The position was ultimately deemed a good fit, and Tapp relocated from Chicago to take on the COO role.

“This position was interesting to me because James’ entrepreneurial vision was to not only grow the company, but to change the way a typical packaging company operates,” said Tapp. “In the year that I’ve been here so far, I can honestly say it’s been an amazingly fun ride and the time has just flown by.”

A changing business

Over the years, Glenmore has been able to adapt to keep up with the ever-changing needs of its customers. The company has seen a significant evolution in the marketplace, with a greater focus on improving the shelf-visibility of products.

“A lot of beverage companies are extremely conscious today about how their products look on the shelf, going as far as thinking about image resolutions and colours of their cans; 10 years ago, that wasn’t the case,” said James. “So, we are working with our customers on ways to pretty-up their products, allowing them to better stand out within a crowded space.”

James has also noticed significant growth in more boutique offerings, as breweries, distilleries and wineries embrace the concept of limited release items and non-alcoholic options. With that, Glenmore’s role has been to help their customers find ways to warrant the additional costs that might be associated with unique packaging that showcases new product lines and limited releases.

“We have customers that sell their spirits for more than $125 per bottle and they’re looking at how to justify a $125 spend, so we help them by making it more giftable and luxurious with our packaging,” said James. “What’s the differentiator between a $60 bottle of whisky and a $100 bottle of whisky? Often, it’s just the packaging. Yes, the flavours are different. Yes, the distilling process is different. But it’s the story that sells the bottle. If you can’t tell that story with your packaging, you risk your premium line or your new product launch blending in with everything else on the shelf. That is what makes high-end labels and exterior packaging so important.”

“We seek out the go-getters and the go-getters seek out Glenmore.”

James Rowley, Glenmore Custom Print & Packaging

Creating a broad array of packaging for customers needing smaller batch orders – especially on the winery and distillery side of things, where much of the product is hand-packaged – is not for the faint of heart. However, it is an area where Glenmore has proven to not only be comfortable in, but excel in.

“Our customers have a great eye for detail and they really pay attention to the product we send them, and that is something that scares a lot of printers away,” said James. “But for us, we’re very dedicated to producing quality and that’s what makes us comfortable in the luxury space. And if we make a mistake, we replace it – simple as that – and our customers appreciate that commitment to product quality.”

A culture of excellence

Glenmore has developed a culture of excellence, where customer service and product development are first and foremost. Glenmore’s workplace environment is extremely diverse, dynamic and collaborative. There is always something going on and no two days are the same. Glenmore stands apart from much of its competition because its team works with five different product lines at once, and – from boxes to foil stamped roll labels – the company manufactures everything in-house.

“Our staff could be working on a folding carton one day and then a label or shrink sleeve project the next,” said Tapp. “While this might seem challenging for some, our team likes a challenge, and it helps them remain versatile and highly technical in their understanding of the printing and packaging industry. This is something that is hard-wired into our culture as we create opportunities for education and we all learn from one another each day.”

At Glenmore, the belief is that all machine operators want to work with the newest and nicest pieces of equipment. Therefore, James has made it his top priority to invest in bringing the latest, state-of-the-art technology to the company, which has helped Glenmore attract some of the finest talent in the business.

“We seek out the go-getters and the go-getters seek out Glenmore,” said James, who admits the culture of excellence at Glenmore isn’t always for everyone. “We do challenging work here, so if you’re at a point in your career where you want to grow and be challenged, Glenmore is absolutely the place for you. Working on the sort of work we do can be nerve-racking for some but, for others, it’s what they live for.”

Doing better

Glenmore is strongly committed to making the world a better place through sustainability, which is no big surprise given that before joining the company, James went to university to study corporate environmental management.

As such, the company has implemented several waste reduction and recycling policies and initiatives to reduce its environmental impact, and promote sustainable manufacturing.

Most of the paper and board that Glenmore stocks on their floor is either Forest Stewardship Council certified or made from recycled materials, which means the company’s paperboard boxes and tubes are completely recyclable. Glenmore also works with Veritree, which connects businesses with verified tree planting projects around the world as a way to offset their carbon footprint.

“The environment and climate change are issues that are incredibly important to me, and we do everything we can at Glenmore to make sure that we are making a difference and not just greenwashing,” said James.

Looking ahead, Glenmore will continue to focus on what it does best by leveraging the Glenmore brand and reputation for customer service, and expanding its packaging and label reach throughout the food, beverage, and wine and spirits industries.

“We really just want to double down on our processes and get even better at what we do,” said James. “Our goal is to provide beverage companies with a solution for higher-end packaging options that they might not think are achievable from a cost standpoint and then make it cost achievable. We are excited for what the future holds for us at Glenmore.”

GLBC started with three employees working out of a small 5,000-square-foot plant located in Burnaby, B.C., vastly different from where it is today.

The company has grown to approximately 500 employees and its current facilities in Richmond, B.C., measure more than 465,000 square feet. GLBC also has distribution locations in Kelowna, Victoria, and Abbotsford, B.C., as well as in Everett, Wash. In 2019, GLBC continued to expand eastward to service Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, and has a satellite office in Alberta.

Over the years, GLBC has always strived to offer customers the innovative solutions for all their labelling and packaging needs, and has acquired the equipment and capabilities to expand its services and expertise to more than just boxes. GLBC established a moving supplies division in 2004, a label division in 2006, and with the acquisition of Ideon Packaging in 2020, an enhanced digital print packaging division.

“We started out in 1982 with just corrugated products, but now we carry a wide scope of packaging products, that is what makes us different,” said James DeVries, vice president of sales, retail packaging division at GLBC. “Where our competition might just be a label company or only sell folding cartons or corrugated boxes or protective packaging, we manufacture and sell all of these items, and more, and that is what really sets us apart from everyone else.”

As a trusted one-source supplier, GLBC’s experts think ‘outside the box’ to uncover the perfect packaging and display solutions for a wide range of businesses and industries. In addition to serving the craft beer, wine and spirits sector, GLBC also works closely with customers from almost every industry segment, such as, but not limited to, food and beverage, health and wellness, beauty, nutraceutical and sports nutrition, manufacturing and e-commerce.

“We’re very much a solution driven organization and pride ourselves on being able to sit down with our customers to understand what it is they want, and then developing products that match up – right from design through graphics, to their final solutions,” said DeVries.

Our customers are looking for something creative and unique, and we have the team and expertise here to deliver packaging solutions that make sense for them, both economically and efficiently.

James DeVries, Great Little Box Company/Ideon Packaging

Some of the company’s more popular products and services are related to its retail-ready packaging solutions, where the package has to sell the product. “Our customers ask for packaging that pops off the shelf to draw the consumer in, whether that is through higher graphics, bold designs or increased visibility,” said DeVries. “When our customers are looking for something unique, we have the team and expertise here to deliver solutions that make sense for them, both economically and efficiently.”

A people-first mentality

Despite the growth of the company over the last 40 years, GLBC has stayed true to the values that made it a ‘great little box company’ in the first place: being a welcoming, open and fun place to work, all while maintaining a family atmosphere that is dedicated to delivering excellence in everything it does.

As part of this, GLBC constantly looks for ways to bring employees together through company events and activities held throughout the year, such as its Holiday Children’s Party, where Meggy purchases gifts for all the staff’s children and grandchildren, and attends the event to ensure that every child receives one.

“I have worked for a few different organizations in the course of my career, and it’s rare to find a company as committed to their employees as GLBC,” said DeVries. “We are a company that cares about our people like they are part of the family, and we do what we can to encourage and maintain that kind of culture. This has resulted in a very low turnover rate and we have some employees who have been with us for many years just because they like working here.”

The investment GLBC puts into its employees has not gone unnoticed, and the company has been recognized multiple times as one of Canada’s best managed companies and top employers. This year, the company received the prestigious ‘Canada’s Best Managed Companies’ designation, which names GLBC as being among the best-in-class of Canadian owned and managed companies – one that demonstrates leadership in the areas of strategy, capabilities and innovation, culture and commitment, and financials to achieve sustainable growth.

“We are proud to accept this award and truly believe our people are the foundation of our company,” said Brad Tindall, president of GLBC. “As our company celebrates our 40th anniversary, we’re grateful for the fact that people tell us today that their favourite part of the job is their co-workers and it’s the same answer that people gave 20 years ago when the company was so much smaller.”

GLBC also earned recognition as being one of Canada’s top small and medium employers by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers. GLBC was chosen for this coveted award for a variety of reasons, such as giving its employees a unique head office work environment that features an onsite fitness facility with numerous fitness programs, from hiking to yoga, and personal trainer services, an outdoor sand volleyball court, an onsite vegetable garden and an outdoor gazebo. The award also recognized GLBC for allowing everyone in the company to share in the business’ success through profit-sharing and for helping them to build long-term savings with matching RSP contributions.

“Great Little Box Company/Ideon Packaging is proud to once again be recognized as one of Canada’s Top Small and Medium Employers, and we believe GLBC’s success to date is a testament to the incredible people we have on our team,” said Tindall.

Making the world a better place

GLBC is wholly committed to operating in a more sustainable manner. The company conducts regular reviews of all its environmental objectives to always provide its customers with the most environmentally responsible packaging products available, and its technical professionals are trained in life cycle analysis and use internationally recognized techniques to assess the environmental impact of their packaging designs.

The company website reads, “Our award-winning design team goes above and beyond traditional packaging criteria of performance, cost, communication and compliance by sourcing responsibly, and optimizing and recovering resources. Nothing excites us more than working with our customers to help profitably grow their business using sustainable packaging.”

GLBC sustainable designs are 100 per cent recyclable, require less manufacturing time, energy and raw materials to produce, which results in a lower-cost solution for the customer that meets, or exceeds, the original design’s function and performance.

Where our competition might just be a label company or only sell folding cartons or corrugated boxes or protective packaging, we manufacture and sell all of these items, and more, and that is what really sets us apart from everyone else.

James DeVries, Great Little Box Company/Ideon Packaging

One such example is GLBC’s compostable packing peanuts. It’s an environmentally friendly starch-based alternative packing product that is nontoxic, composed of a corn starch fill that dissolves in water to leave no toxic waste. The peanuts are also static-free and dispense the same as any other loose fill. However, the best part is that these peanuts are just as economically friendly and cost about the same as regular polystyrene peanuts.

GLBC is also certified under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative program and Forest Stewardship Council, ensuring that its raw materials and products are responsibly sourced from certified forests.

Not only is GLBC committed to the environment, the company also strongly believes in giving back to the community. GLBC is always on the lookout for ways to express its social responsibility, and they support a variety of local charities and associations, such as the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund, which supports burn survivor programs like Burn Camp for kids, virtual mental health support and the Home Away accommodation program that provides a home away from home for families travelling to Vancouver seeking burn and trauma treatment.

Prior to being acquired in 2020, Ideon Packaging was a proud supporter of Canuck Place with a yearly toy drive for the foundation. This is a tradition that GLBC was more than happy to continue. Employees visit a local toy shop and purchase gifts for the families at Canuck Place, ensuring that Santa Claus delivers the gifts around the Okanagan Valley and Lower Mainland in time for the holiday season.

Charity does not just occur at the top of the company and the spirit of giving manifests throughout GLBC. To represent this, GLBC created a monthly program – the Award of Excellence – in which peers nominate each other to acknowledge and celebrate staff who go above and beyond the call of duty. Every month, three winners each get to pick a charity close to their heart for GLBC to support.

Looking ahead

Moving forward, GLBC plans to continue strengthening its position in British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, as well as broadening its presence south of the border in Washington state.

“We’re focused on continuing our growth trajectory and building our business based on the excellent service we’ve always delivered, and keep strengthening the relationships that have helped us become so successful for more than 40 years,” said DeVries.