The Check Is in the Mail

By Kyle Swenson

his summer Lorain-based Erdie Industries Inc. plans on spreading its innovative mailing and shipping technology to new markets with a little help from a big friend.

The firm recently landed a marketing and supply agreement with Sonoco, a $3.7 billion global manufacturer in Hartsville, S.C. The  company plans to use its resources to introduce Erdie’s patent-pending Twist-n-Pull mailing tube system across North America.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for a small company,” says Erdie CEO Jason Erdie, who sees the agreement as an example of a symbiotic business approach. “Big companies do things well, and small companies do things well. You put them together and it’s a powerful concept.”
Developed a few years ago, the Twist-n-Pull caps secure the ends of cardboard mailing tubes without the help of tape or staples. Caps fit into the open ends of the tube and are tightly secured with a simple turn of the locking tab. 

Erdie has marketed the product line over the last few years, but due to its size, the 35-employee firm has been unable to spread the product nationally. The agreement with Sonoco allows the larger corporation to produce the Twist-n-Pull tubes at its various locations across North America in order to fill Erdie’s national and international business orders. Erdie will continue to manufacture the product for orders within 500 miles of the Northeast Ohio headquarters.

With more than 300 operations in 35 countries, Sonoco offers a company of Erdie’s size a cost-effective opportunity to expand business. More importantly, Erdie sees the agreement as an example of the type of cooperation needed between American businesses in order to compete in an increasingly competitive global market.

Erdie believes the agreement will lead to growth, both in employees and production, as well as in the company Web site. “As the product gets out there, a lot of people will want to order online.”