Veritiv Leader in Business-to-Business Distribution

By Zoe Francis, Hacienda Network Staff Writer

Packaging Segment Booming

Consumers may not realize they are familiar with Veritiv's products, but it is highly likely they have held in their hands the company's many types of innovative packaging.

Veritiv is North America's largest distributor of packaging, printing paper and facility/janitorial supplies. While all parts of the business are important, the packaging segment is growing the most.

"The company definitely understands that packaging is currently the largest growth area of the segments we serve," Vince Clubb, general manager of Veritiv's Northern California territory, said. "It's really a big growth engine in the segments we serve."

Veritiv, based in Atlanta, was formed in July 2014 following the merger of International Paper Company's xpedx division and Unisource Worldwide.

The company's new expanded distribution and design center in Hacienda is a critical part of its burgeoning packaging business.

"We increased the size of the design center by about 40 percent," Clubb said. "That will enable us to add more equipment and different types of equipment. We can expand the throughput and the number of customers we can work with."

The Hacienda site is one of 12 Veritiv design centers throughout the country. It focuses mainly on customers in Northern California, but can be called on for specialized orders.

"The Pleasanton design center can do design for any customer of Veritiv," he noted. "(We) may have the particular equipment unique for the design of that packaging (a customer needs)."

Veritiv's package designs safely ensconce all types of commercial and corporate products, such as consumer electronics and medical equipment.

"We will work with companies to help design not only the type of packaging, but the graphic design of how it's going to look," Clubb said. "Some of it is retail packaging. We sell those companies the packaging that they need to protect (the product) when they ship it off to wherever it's going. Inside that box is a structural design that helps the product to not be damaged while in transit."

The package design includes various components to keep products safe, including cardboard, foam core, pulp and other materials.

"Companies might ask us not only to help us design the package that their products come in, but they also want us to use substrates that are recyclable and environmental sensitive," Clubb said. "They often want us to use materials that have the least impact on the environment. We get into a lot of things besides just selling a box. We assist our customers with understanding the environmental footprint of their products."

In addition to the growing packaging segment, Veritiv also supplies a variety of paper products that customers use for printing magazines, advertisements, fliers and other publications.

A growing part of Veritiv's paper segment is wide-format printing, which is any type of printing on a large format like stand-up signs, window displays and even wrap-around bus advertisements.

The company's other specialty is facilities supplies solutions or commercial janitorial supplies. That includes everything a business or large building, such as a sports stadium, hospital or school, needs to function - soaps, dispensers, cleaners, paper towels, napkins and more.

"Any business that has a large population of people has a need for janitorial products," Clubb said.

Veritiv continues to expand to maintain its edge as the leading distribution company in North America.

"There's no one in the distribution industry that has the size and scale of Veritiv," Clubb said. "We offer a set of solutions. We'll work with you to find out the right solution to whatever you're trying to ship to your customers."

Learn more about Veritiv at veritivcorp.com.

Photo: Vincent Clubb, General Manager, of Veritiv's Northern California Territory

Also in this issue...