Ash Packaging President Frank Lorea had a longer road to Texwrap than most, with a story that starts all the way back in 1963. He and his wife had just moved to Dallas in their 1941 Ford Coupe Flathead V8 that he had assembled as a high school project. This new life in a new city started out challenging, as Lorea was only making $1.06 an hour as an apprentice electrician. However, his efficiency and skill allowed him to quickly grow his career and reputation.
After impressing in several roles, including working for a shrink wrap manufacturer as its engineering manager, Lorea transitioned to a paper house with the intention of using his prior experience to start up a packaging division. When that did not work out as he had hoped, he contacted a friend who was the local representative for a packaging equipment manufacturer about a customer who had inquired with Lorea about purchasing some machines. Lorea hoped he could set out on his own and begin selling the packaging equipment he had grown to know and love.
“He pointed out that I wasn’t set up as a distribution company yet, and I said I would be when he sold me the machines,” Lorea recounted. “We made $700 on the two machines we sold, and that was the beginning of Ash Packaging in 1982.”
In 2014, 51 years after moving to Dallas, Lorea sold his first Texwrap shrink wrapper. The quality and construction of the machine blew him away, a difficult feat considering his decades of experience working with packaging equipment. Throughout the next few years, Texwrap machines became his go-to shrink wrapping solution recommendations, and after a distinguished career, he is happy to have found a partner for the long run.
Speaking the Same Language
A large part of why Lorea has stuck around with Texwrap for so long is the positive relationship he has with his representative, Vice President of Sales David Nettles, and the rest of the Texwrap team. He credits this to a similar work ethic and excitement for shrink wrapping as an industry.
“I’m 80 years old,” Lorea said. “And every time I go into my showroom, I feel like a 5-year-old on Christmas morning. Every time I talk to David Nettles, I can tell he has that same passion for packaging. His team has a vigor to be the best we can in everything from the parts delivery to manufacturing and assembly and all the way through to testing and signing off.”
Nettles reflected the sentiment as well, saying, “Ash Packaging is very focused on shrink packaging. The passion is there because they understand the nuts and bolts of what we’re providing. They really understand the value of a shrink wrapping machine and can convey it in a way that’s compelling so that other people can feel it too.”
This shared passion between Texwrap and Ash Packaging has translated well into their work style. From the beginning of Ash Packaging, Lorea’s sales style was a personal one, sitting down with customers and sketching out a machine that would best fit their needs. He would explain each machine component and every choice he made to ensure the customers knew his recommendations were well-informed and truly in their best interests.
Texwrap takes a similar approach to business, working with each individual customer to fully understand where their packaging needs are and where they are going in the future. Nettles embraces each new project from distributors, no matter the size or complex demands, as a new opportunity to meet customers’ needs and enhance their operations with high-quality equipment.
“This is an especially good partnership because we both do our part,” Nettles said. “The ideal manufacturer is responsible for engineering the best machines and after-sales support. An ideal distributor is going to do their part in finding applications and bringing them to us with the understanding of what’s going on and how we can help. Texwrap and Ash Packaging fulfill those needs well together, which is why we have so much trust in each other.”
The Best of the Best
The biggest reason Lorea continues to turn to Texwrap, however, is the reason he was drawn to the machines in the first place.
Lorea takes a quality over quantity approach to sales, working hard to match a customer’s operation with the best machine that will provide the most helpful solution for the longest amount of time. His goal, which has consistently been fulfilled in Ash Packaging’s over 40-year history, is to bring customers back when they’re looking to expand their line even further, not because the equipment he sold them needs to be replaced prematurely.
“My company name and reputation are on the line whenever I make a sale, and I need the equipment I sell to uphold the standards I promise my customers,” Lorea said. “Texwrap machines are the best engineered, best manufactured, best assembled, best tested and best supported of any in the field. Texwrap’s equipment, mentality and leadership all fulfill exactly what a distributor needs,” Lorea said. “My relationship with Texwrap has been a dream.”