Company Details
Krueger Wholesale Florist, Inc.
Rothschild, WI
www.kruegerwholesale.com
FLORIST IMPROVES PRODUCTIVITY WHILE ELIMINATING STEM AND BLOOM DAMAGE
One of the largest floral distributors in the Midwest, Krueger Wholesale Florist, Inc. (Krueger) supplies florists and mass market store chains with freshly cut flowers, greens, botanicals and floral supplies. While Krueger receives almost all of their cold chain flowers from growers in California and South America, they grow, grade and bunch lilies and snapdragons at their main headquarters in Rothschild, Wisconsin.
For several years, Krueger used twist-ties, rubber bands and staplers to secure their bunches and sleeves but was continually frustrated with constant damage to both stems and blooms of their lilies and snapdragons.
AN EFFICIENT SOLUTION
While visiting a supplier in Columbia, Krueger COO Seth Fochs was amazed by worker productivity and the quality of each completed bunch. After learning his supplier was using a Felins Pak-Tyer, manufactured in Krueger’s home state, Fochs immediately called to request a demo machine.
Initially, Krueger’s grading staff was skeptical of the new machine but, within a week, they were impressed with how much time was saved and damaged reduced by using a Felins Pak-Tyer. In fact, they were so happy that they told Fochs, “If you take the Pak-Tyer away from us, we’ll quit.”
OUTCOME
Krueger has had Felins Offset Pak-Tyers in their greenhouse for nearly a decade. The machines have improved the florist’s throughput, eliminated damage to stems and blooms and greatly reduced repetitive motion injuries with their automatic tying technology and are easily maintained with a weekly cleaning.
“I think every grower should consider this machine,” says Fochs, “I would consider it a value-add.”
