After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Stout with an education in packaging engineering, Jerry Frisch founded Wasatch Container in 1995. From its origins as a “humble brown box manufacturer,” the company has expanded to become “Utah’s leading custom packaging manufacturer.” The company now makes boxes ranging from e-commerce to industrial packaging; foam to protect fragile, valuable, or heavy items; wooden shipping crates; protective cases for important aerospace, defense, industrial, and medical equipment; and even retail displays.
Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Wasatch Container operates three specialized manufacturing facilities in the area. The packaging leader has created more than 85 local jobs spanning 225,000 square feet of workspace. As Lauren Frisch told Utah Business, “When our team is developing, our systems are getting leaner and more efficient, and our customers are seeing stronger outcomes, we know we’re moving in the right direction.” Jerry added in conversation with the Salt Lake Chamber, “Small businesses give opportunities to people who deserve opportunities. They hire good people with good attitudes and turn them into powerhouses.”
The manufacturer’s products contribute to local commerce. As the company describes, “Boxes play an obvious role in protecting and moving goods and products at every step of the supply chain.” The company’s box options, particularly their ability to produce custom products, also help customers increase brand awareness and enhance customer experiences, ultimately fostering more business. Ryan Frisch told BW Papersystems, “One in five consumers have watched an unboxing video. Also 56% of customers’ re-purchasing decisions are influenced by their interactions with the packaging. That’s all growing mainly through the e-commerce world. And retail is growing as well.” In retail, its small counter displays and large floor or pallet displays render customers more inclined to make on-the-spot purchases.
Photo Courtesy Wasatch Container
Customers can also count on Wasatch Container to produce reliable products. The UN-certified packaging, for example, has been rigorously tested to ensure “the safe transportation of hazardous goods. Meanwhile, the manufacturer makes its shipping crates “with the longevity and reliability of wood,” so they are sturdy enough to protect the materials in transit. For example, Wasatch Container promises that its shock-absorbent crates will reduce transit vibrations, ensuring safe, undamaged deliveries. As “Utah’s premier foam packaging designer and manufacturer,” it offers foam options featuring shock absorption, cushioning, anti-static properties, and temperature control. The crates, meanwhile, are also strong enough to be reused, “in some cases up to 5 or 6 times,” Wasatch Container writes. “Get more out of your investment.” A refurbishment program bolsters this longevity even further.
Timeliness is also baked into the company’s mission. “The goal is to provide customers with their ideal packaging solution on time, every time. We are committed to staying fast, flexible, and focused,” it describes. Because the company is a local, family-owned business, the team understands the varying shipping conditions across Utah, Idaho, Colorado, and Wyoming, where “products move through wide temperature swings, high elevations, long transit distances, and rugged terrain.” The company notes that “this local insight informs every design decision.” Because it makes its products in the same region in which its customers are based, Wasatch also “provides responsiveness that out-of-region suppliers can’t always match.” Plus, after Crossroads Paper built a recycled-paper mill in Utah, Lauren Frisch reacted to the Deseret News, “With this paper mill here … we’ll have paper in our facility within 24 hours, and we’ll be able to get a customer a (custom printed) box within three to four days.”
Wasatch Container also promises to save customers money. Industrial packaging is a highlight, where automation ensures cost effectiveness and the ability to “market your brand to maximize your profitability.” Meanwhile, because custom packaging can be designed to perfectly fit customers’ products, the option reduces wasted space, rendering extra padding unnecessary, making shipping and transport cheaper and easier, and leading to more streamlined supply chains with less risk of damage. “Right-sizing packaging can reduce material use by up to 30% and save 15–20% in freight costs,” Wasatch Container describes.
Photo Courtesy Wasatch Container
The packaging leader is also committed to the environment. “We are 100% committed to making our world a better place through sustainable business initiatives and practices, corporate stewardship, and community involvement,” the company says, recognizing that “we have a beautiful mountain region that we enjoy playing in that needs our daily environmental support.” Wasatch Container operates in an industry that actively recycles materials, but there is still more to be done. In 2023, for example, Americans recycled only 5% of plastic containers but 65 to 69% of paper packaging.
The company has demonstrated this commitment across numerous products. Its corrugated boxes, for example, are made from the renewable resources that are trees and use recycled fibers to minimize waste sent to landfills. These boxes “can be recycled 7 times without losing the box’s structural integrity and functionality,” Wasatch says. It added, “Each corrugated box that shows up on your front door contains at least 50% recycled material.” Plus, because they weigh less, corrugated boxes consume less energy during transit. Meanwhile, the company manufactures its foam with 60% post-industrial content, thereby minimizing the use of virgin material and reducing product damage and reships. Finally, the manufacturer uses only Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified wood in its crates, which guarantees that it comes from a responsibly managed forest and “is not contributing to deforestation, but to forestation.” Wasatch Container also offers customers the option to choose wood crates made with recycled wood or recycled byproducts. These are also business decisions, as Wasatch Container summarizes, “Sustainable packaging now ranks among the top five purchasing factors for U.S. consumers.”
As a result of these efforts, Pregis awarded Wasatch Container its 2024 Pregis Renew Award for eliminating 35 metric tons of carbon emissions through the use of recycled-content materials. In 2022, the Utah Manufacturers Association gave the manufacturer its Small Business Environmental Stewardship Award. In the words of Wasatch Container, “Boxes – The most extraordinary, (and planet-friendly) ordinary thing in the world!”
