Team 1 Plastics Guest Blogger – James Cornwell

Team 1 Plastics is pleased to periodically feature Guest Bloggers to share their perspectives of the plastics industry on Plastics Pipeline. We thank today’s Guest Blogger, James Cornwell, Operation Manager of Binger Shipping Supplies, Inc.

1. Please share some background about Binger Shipping Supplies, Inc. and your role in it.

Binger Shipping Supplies began in Battle Creek, MI in 1988. The company president and owner, Tim Binger, sold his Corvette to purchase inventory and ran the business out of his two-bedroom home, with the basement serving as the warehouse. Now, 31 years later, we operate out of a 15,500 square foot facility. We stock packaging items such as corrugated, bubble wrap, tape, and other forms of expendable packaging for our customer base.

We specialize in servicing our customers in the JIT (Just-In-Time) industry. We keep our delivery radius within 60 miles and deliver to our customers as needed, typically within 24-48 hours. We do have other customers that are outside this zone and usually ship our products to them via LTL (Less Than Truckload) or ground. We are always open to expanding this zone while keeping a close eye on how this would impact the customer base that we currently have.

I have been with Binger for over 14 years. I handle all aspects of the supply chain, ranging from customer service, order processing, customer quotations and negotiations. I also monitor all inventoried items, process purchase orders, monitor all current pricing and negotiations.

My favorite part about my job is the relationships I have built with my customers, and making sure that all of their needs are met. I am the man on the other end of the line that they depend on to make this aspect of their job easier.

2. Please share about the relationship between Binger and Team 1 Plastics.

Binger Shipping Supplies and Team 1 Plastics began a business relationship back in November 1996 — well before my time at Binger. As with all our customers, I believe it is important to always provide the best service possible to Team 1 Plastics. This ranges from maintaining great communication on pricing, inventory, and delivery. Keeping in contact on pricing and how much inventory we stock specifically for the customer allows us to constantly provide aggressive pricing and continue to turn the inventory over.

3. One of the trends in packaging is to invest in packaging that is returnable, eliminating waste and saving money. How has this trend impacted your business?

I have found a lot of customers are searching for ways to improve sustainability and find purposeful packaging in order to find a second use for their packaging items. Binger has been able to be a great supplier for many companies using returnable packaging, mostly in the automotive industry. One of the struggles with using returnable packaging that companies experience is having their returnable packages come back to them from the end-user in a timely manner. As a packaging company, we have received many requests from companies looking to source back-up packaging due to this problem.

Contact James Cornwell at jcornwell@bingerssi.com or 269-966-5395. Binger Shipping Supplies, Inc. is located at 2200 Logistics Drive in Battle Creek, Michigan.