Brett Atlas grew up in Chicago, developing a committed work ethic from a very young age. At 7 years old he was already working for his family’s swimming pool business, sweeping the warehouse and helping to clean bathrooms.
Brett went on to receive a business degree from the University of Kansas, working each summer in the business, and then attended law school. Immediately after passing the bar, Brett started a commercial fountain company, which is still operating today. A committed family man, this was his original plan all along. He soon got married and was introduced to the packaging business through his father-in-law, Carl Riekes.
Brett saw camaraderie through the industry, met some amazing people, and was immediately attracted to the packaging business. He quickly realized that a number of packaging companies throughout the country were all family-owned businesses. Each one had carved out a niche within the packaging industry and helped each other out. He began noticing different packaging on retail shelves (a habit he still has today) and decided to make the switch from the pool business into the packaging industry – still keeping with his love and loyalty to a family business.
Starting out in the packaging world
Ready to begin walking down this new career path, Brett moved to Omaha, NE in 2003 and joined the Ryco Packaging team. Much of his time was spent traveling to Ryco Packaging’s 14 branches and learning each one. His first order of business was to work on their new system, creating meaningful item codes for thousands of products and familiarizing himself with all the various product offerings.
Originally placed in a customer service role, he successfully completed these job duties and then moved into purchasing in just 6 short months, ultimately taking over that department. Not long after, Ryco Packaging sold the business and Brett left the packaging industry for the next 5 years.
In 2012, Carl and Brett launched a new company, Riekes Container, focusing on glass, plastics, and closures. With an “all hands on deck” start-up mentality, Brett has been involved in every aspect of the growing business including management, purchasing, sales and customer service.
We interviewed Brett in order to gain a little insight on Riekes Container, the recent MJS Packaging/Riekes Container merger, and what’s going on in the glass industry today.
What’s special about Riekes Container?
“Riekes Container has always prided itself on being flexible and creative. We are also very proud of the relationships we’ve built with our customers and suppliers. These are relationships which have become true partnerships that enable us to develop lasting solutions that are truly a win-win.
“We’ve also had great success with products that were previously unknown, or even intimidating, to the group. We really stress to our sales team to learn from their customers. A key differentiator, and something that I’ve focused intensely on since the day we started, is our culture. We always want our people to have fun and love what they do. However, we also maintain a critical eye on every aspect of our business to ensure things are never complacent and that they’re always moving forward.”
What does it mean for Riekes Container to now be part of the MJS Packaging family?
“The two companies are so similar, both with humble beginnings in the late 1800’s. S. Riekes and Sons was started in 1898 and M. Jacob & Sons was started in 1885. It’s been a great relationship so far and, with many great synergies between the two companies, I’m very excited to continue sharing our strengths with each other .
The future looks very bright and we are all looking forward to continuing along the path of growth that Riekes Container has been on.”
Discussing the glass industry’s current state
“Overall, the glass industry appears to be facing capacity issues, causing delays in production. both domestically and overseas. This is where true supplier partnerships like we have at Riekes Container offer big advantages to our customers, both with quality and delivery times.”
Keep quality and procedures top of mind
“Many stock options are currently available, but often times customers want to differentiate their brand by designing custom bottles. We have outstanding relationships with our domestic suppliers, but offshore production can also become attractive or necessary due to cost savings. Tempting though it may be, it can be fraught with risk for a customer if the proper preparations and quality controls are not established, tested and monitored. This is an area where we feel we have a significant experience advantage.”
Test everything before going into production.
“Always take the time to test any new formats, materials, package shapes, or other variances before you go into production with the package. Sometimes customers want to skip this step in order to save time and get their products on the shelves, but this can be a costly mistake in the long run. The expression “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is as relevant in our business as any, when you consider the dominos that can fall if the packaging fails for the customer. Take your time and do it right the first time.”
From everyone here at MJS Packaging, thank you for your time, Brett. We are honored to have you become part of the MJS family and we truly look forward to the future!
