Throughout this growth, Crane Consumables has made a concerted effort to recycle tons of waste at a cost to the company, said Crane, a 2006 Fenwick High School and 2010 University of Dayton graduate.
Crane Consumables started filling a small Dumpster once a week. Then it was twice a week, and three times a week. It used a larger Dumpster and filled that up twice a week.
Then the company invested in a baler in January 2012 and hung vacuum tubes from the ceiling of its warehouse to collect the waste, Crane said while walking through the warehouse.
The waste eventually is shipped to Wisconsin and Pennsylvania where it’s converted into fuel pellets that burn hotter than coal, Crane said.
In 2012, due to the company’s growth and recycling efforts, it received the Faith in the Future award by the Chamber of Commerce serving Middletown, Monroe and Trenton.
Crane said the business thrived during and after COVID because as employees stayed home from work, they ordered more items to be shipped.
Each of those packages required labels. That meant more business for Crane Consumables.
Crane picked up a cardboard box that had been shipped to the warehouse at 155 Wright Drive. He counted four labels. That brought a smile to his face.
When asked about a business that succeeds by manufacturing, printing and shopping labels, Crane said: “Who knew?“
There are two basic types of labels: thermal transfer and direct thermal that has a shorter lifespan. Those are the type of labels on Amazon and FedEx boxes, he said.
Crane Consumables has 17 machines constantly running in its 25,000-square-foot warehouse. That many machines allows the company to fill customer’s orders quickly, Crane said.
He said two of the goals at Crane are to be “lean and respond to the needs” of customers.
The company’s success is a “testament to all the hard work put in” by the employees, he said.
He was asked about being vice president of a company that carries his last name.
“There is a lot of pressure,” he said, before adding, “The pressure is good. You have expectations of yourself.”
That’s one reason the company has no voicemail. Every phone call is answered by a person, not a machine.
That way, Crane said, customers know “someone is working on it. We are engaged in what you need and you know we are here for you.”
Crane said that business plans can be traced to the family’s Catholic background.
“You don’t look out for yourself,” he said. “You take care of others.”
GET INVOLVED
In this “What Do They Do There?“ feature, the Journal-News will profile a local business on Fridays. If you have a suggestion, please forward the business name and address to Rick McCrabb at rmccrabb1@gmail.com.
About the Author
