How Versatile Packagers Stays Versatile

Versatile Packagers shares the keys to building long-lasting co-packing partnerships.

Versatile Packagers Executive Director Bob Vande Weghe.
Versatile Packagers Executive Director Bob Vande Weghe.
Versatile Packagers

Versatile Packagers, headquartered in Tampa, is part of the Wheelhouse family, with locations in North Carolina, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Priding itself on building lasting co-packing partnerships, Versatile celebrates 25 years with Signature Brands, the dessert decoration and holiday goods company, this year.

Contract Manufacturing and Packaging (CMP) caught up with Executive Director Bob Vande Weghe, who explained how Versatile builds those partnerships and why tactics like taking an end-to-end cost mindset, staying agile amidst fluctuating demand, and fostering innovation are critical.

Bob Vande Weghe (left) discusses cupcake liner production with a worker at Versatile Packagers’ Tampa facility.Bob Vande Weghe (left) discusses cupcake liner production with a worker at Versatile Packagers’ Tampa facility.Versatile PackagersCM+P: Versatile Packagers went from a 15,000-square-meter facility to one ten times that size today. How?

Bob Vande Weghe: Versatile Packagers started in 1992 with Tropicana. We were co-packing for them, handling multi-packs of products on both the refrigerated and ambient sides. This launched our company. From there, we diversified and grew by adding more services and equipment to handle different types of packaging. Since Florida isn’t a huge manufacturing state, we have to stay agile to manage a lot of different types of jobs. Most of our jobs aren’t large, so agility in our location is essential as we’re constantly handling a bit of everything for everyone.

What kinds of jobs do you take on nowadays?

We’ve expanded into various types of packaging, including blister packaging, cartoning, and beverage containers. In 2019, we were purchased by South Atlantic Packaging and Wheelhouse Corporation, which opened new opportunities to serve our customer base across multiple locations, reducing freight costs for those with out-of-state locations. We now have five locations across the U.S. Now, we’re involved in the automotive, medical, nutraceutical, skincare, and haircare industries. I think the only area we don’t cover is pharmaceuticals.

How does Versatile Packagers stand apart from the competition?

Our focus is on developing long-term customer relationships. I often talk about “yes sir/yes ma’am” accounts—customers that simply want us to execute without collaboration. While those are fine, we prefer partnerships where we can collaborate and look for improvements in design, labor, equipment, and people. Those are the four areas we focused on over the years.

Once a customer is onboard, we aim to sit down with them and suggest ways to reduce costs and improve processes. We prefer to be involved early in a project rather than after everything is finalized. By then, it can be too late to make improvements or reduce costs, and it becomes a “yes sir/yes ma’am” scenario.

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Editors report on distinguishing characteristics that define each new product and collected video demonstrating the equipment or materials as displayed at the show. This topical report, winnowed from nearly 300 PACK EXPO collective booth visits, represents a categorized, organized account of individual items that were selected based on whether they were deemed to be both new, and truly innovative, based on decades of combined editorial experience in experiencing and evaluating PACK EXPO products.
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