Worcester Business Journal

April 26, 2021

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wbjournal.com | April 26, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 15 Hi-Gear and our affiliate company, US Pack Inc., provide turnkey business solutions to the automotive aftermarket industry as well as household and industrial cleaning products markets. With the strength or our combined services and capabilities, we offer a measurable competitive advantage for our customers: state of the art manufacturing process, strategically located domestic and international warehouse facilities, multi-language labeling, diversity of products/product lines and packaging offerings, extensive import and export experience, continuous improvement systems, and are customer centric driven. We are excited to receive the WBJ Green Manufacturing Award. We believe that everyone—corporations as well as average citizens— have a profound responsibility to protect our environment. As a local manufacturer we are dedicated to the practices and efforts that help to reduce our carbon footprint and contribute to a "greener" and cleaner world. Through the development of our solar farms, which power our production and warehouse operations and our award-winning toxic chemical use reduction initiatives we've made significant strides in this important effort. We're proud of our contributions and feel honored to be recognized for our endeavors. US Pack, Inc. 300 Whitney Street Leominster, MA 01453 978-537-4748 MANUFACTURING S U M M I T & Worcester Business Journal's EXCELLENCE AWARDS MANUFACTURING S U M M I T & EXCELLENCE AWARDS WBJ Worcester Business Journal M A N U F A C T U R I N G E X C E L L E N C E A W A R D S F O C U S US Pack is becoming more self-sustaining U S Pack in Leominster is a woman-owned custom formulating blending and packaging company run and co-founded by its president, Svetlana Aptekman. e manufacturer, which specializes in engine additives and cleaning formulas, produces a wide range of products, including everything from motor oils to household cleaners, janitorial products and hydraulic fluids, just to name a few. Perhaps most iconic to the company, which is quietly nestled near the Mall at Whitney Field, is the Hi-Gear cleaning products brand, which is owned by Aptekman and which US Pack makes and distributes. "What US Pack does for itself is we private label for all our other customers," said Eric Longo, the company's director of operations. But aside from balancing a unique brand and a customer base with its own separate set of needs, the company has made green initiatives part and parcel of BY MONICA BUSCH Special to the Worcester Business Journal its operation. "When they installed this building, they put as much solar on the roof as they could," Longo said, adding the same was true for its warehousing facility in Fitchburg. e result, he explained, is most of US Pack's power comes from solar energy. According to in-house metrics, the Leominster solar facility alone has generated 2,396 megawatt hours in its lifetime. With Fitchburg added in, that figure is 13,299 megawatt hours, enough energy to power a search engine data center for 404 days. By another measure, according to US Pack, that's a cumulative gasoline offset of 1.8 million gallons. All of this is in conjunction with ongoing lean manufacturing efforts, which include efforts to drive waste out of the company's processes, Longo said. It's a strategy not just good for business, but the environment, he said. "In this very trying time, right now it's very difficult, with the supply chain, getting products to and from wherever you go, whether it's just trucking in the U.S. or getting containers across the ocean," Longo said. By focusing on green manufacturing principles, he said, ultimately costs are reduced both for US Pack and its customers. Green Manufacturer Award U S P a c k Location: Leominster Industry subsector: Custom formulation blending and packaging, specializing in a wide range of custom liquid specialty products, primarily for applications in the automotive aftermarket sector, as well as for household and industrial markets. Employees: 16 Founded: 2004 Top executive: President Svetlana Aptekman Primary product: Engine additives and cleaning products Quite the pickup: "Darrin Hellijas is our blend manager that has a title of chief mixologist, and he actually worked for the company that sold us the building. We like to joke and say he came with the building." W

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