Felins Packaging Experts: Andrew Barrieau, President & CEO

ABOUT ANDREW BARRIEAU

With over 40 years of experience leading change and innovation, Andrew Barrieau has gained a well-balanced career as a senior business executive.

The fourth of five boys, Andrew worked with his father and brothers at Harrington Richardson, a local gun manufacturer in Gardner, MA. He went on to become the first in his family to earn a college degree starting his career in the power industry with an Associate’s Degree in Heat, Power and Air Conditioning with a minor in Solar/Wind Energy from Springfield Technical Community College in Springfield, MA. Andrew’s first job after earning his degree was in Research and Development with Cleaver-Brooks, the world’s largest packaged boiler manufacturer. Andrew spent the next 17 years of his career with Cleaver-Brooks in Milwaukee where he held positions in R&D, field service, and service management, sales, manufacturing and general management with continued increases in responsibilities and accountabilities. Barrieau was later responsible for nearly half of the entire business.

As Andrew continued to take on more senior positions at Cleaver-Brooks, he simultaneously earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration (BBA) from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee then his Master’s Degree from The University of Wisconsin – Madison in the first Executive MBA class in 1995.

GROUNDBREAKING GROWTH AT KOCH INDUSTRIES

Barrieau ran two newly acquired businesses for Koch Industries, one of the largest privately held companies in the USA with annual revenue of over $115 Billion. David Koch personally hired Andrew to lead Todd Combustion and later Gordon Piatt. Both businesses manufacturing and sales operations were moved to Tulsa, OK from CT (Todd) and KS (GP). Barrieau led a major overhaul of manufacturing, engineering and sales resulting in doubling the revenue and increasing earnings by over 200% thus positioning the company as a leader in combustion in commercial, industrial and utility markets. Barrieau was instrumental in developing strategic acquisition plans of major competitors to continue to grow the company globally.

JOURNEY AT FELINS & BEYOND

In 2005, Andrew left the power industry to take an equity position in Felins, Inc. with Monument Capital, a private equity firm based out of Indianapolis. Felins is a manufacturer and distributor of sustainable packaging machines and materials. Since 1921, Felins has delivered bundling solutions to its customers around the globe, serving the ever-changing packaging needs of nearly every industry. Felins has developed over 2000 application specific solutions to create sustainable packaging alternatives that are both good for the environment and good for the bottom line. In 2021, Barrieau successfully purchased Felins from Monument Capital.

Beyond his role at Felins, Andrew serves on the Board of Directors for PMMI and on the organization’s Executive Committee. Additionally, Andrew serves on the Board of Directors for Steinhafels Furniture, Watertech of America, and is a member of The Executive Committee (TEC), also known as Vistage globally. Previous commitments include serving on the Board of Directors for the American Boiler Manufacturers Association, the Advisory Board for the Milwaukee School of Engineering, the Advisory Board for Fairfield University School of Engineering and he served as a Big Brother in the Big Brother/Big Sister organization in Milwaukee.

Andrew and his wife, Lori, enjoy spending time with family, golfing, serving their church, and volunteering their time to their community. Together, Andrew and Lori served on the Steering Committee for the Muscular Dystrophy Association Black-N-Blue Ball for 14 years and in 2012 Chaired the event. Their leadership has helped guide the Ball from raising $400K Net per year to over $1.2 Million Net per year and Milwaukee’s Black-N-Blue Ball became the #1 ranked fund raiser of its kind in the nation.

Today, under Andrew's guidance, Felins, Inc. remains a pillar of support to the packaging industry. The Felins team is dedicated to helping companies of all sizes and industries find innovative, sustainable packaging solutions that reduce waste and environmental impact while improving their bottom line.