Channel Daily News

Out of the box

You are a system builder of note in your community. On a good month you ship 400 white boxes and on a bad one 100 units.<You service your customer to the hilt because that’s where the money is. Your systems are custom-built and reliable, but something’s missing. And, you can’t put your finger on it.
Mario Migliacci, may have what you are looking for.
He’s the general manager of a Toronto division Norampac, a corrugated packaging manufacturer. But he knows system builders from a break/fix business he used to run.
Migliacci said he understands that these small businesses need a way to differentiate themselves from competitors. He believes Montreal-based Norampac can deliver branded boxes and protective material that may give a local system builder an edge in the market.
Its design lab can construct any sized package, even small ones for hard drives and other peripherals. The box can come in any colour and with any client logo, he said.

Protection
Boxes can have foam protection that is made from anti-static material, which is ideal for computers and other electronic equipment.
The foam is pink in colour and made from polyethylene material from Dow Chemical, Migliacci said.
“The foam is tiered to make sure the PC unit fits no matter what the size of the unit. You just tear off the tiers,” Migliacci said.
Norampac makes packages for industries such as automotive, electronics, aviation and medical, but Migliacci would like to extend that into high tech.
Currently, Norampac has information technology clients such as Samtack, Alcatel, and Psion Teklogic.
The company has been positioned to break into white box market since 2001, when Norampac acquired PolyFab, a manufacturer of foam.
Before that Norampac was known for its corrugated cardboard boxes.
Migliacci added that computer retailers and small resellers can use their service to make point of purchase displays.