MANUFACTURING
MANUFACTURING
How Keurig ’ s Richard Sweeney Helped Reinvent Coffee
By : Larry Feld
You could say that Dick Sweeney is a lucky guy . He would probably agree . After a 25-year tenure with Keurig Green Mountain , just slightly before the company acquired the Dr . Pepper Snapple Group in 2018 , Dick Sweeney retired from the company he co-founded in the early 1990s .
He modestly confides that he is profoundly lucky , considering his less-than-stellar early academic record . “ I didn ’ t discover that I was dyslexic until I was in my early thirties ,” Sweeney notes .
Dick Sweeney grew up as a Jersey boy . One of four children ( an older brother and two younger sisters ), Sweeney lost his father at age ten .
“ It was the 1950s . My father died , so we never had it easy , but we always had a good family life . And we had an extended nuclear family with lots of aunts , uncles , and cousins .”
His first work experience was delivering for a local butcher . “ My school was wildly overcrowded and forced to go on split sessions . I approached the local butcher in town and explained that I was available in the mornings to make deliveries . That was my first job ,” Dick recalls .
After graduating high school in 1966 , Sweeney quickly found the Vietnam War . “ Since I was neither a student nor scholar , I was consequently drafted in October of 1966 .”
He spent all of 1967 and 1968 in Vietnam , serving in the 52nd Infantry LRP Rangers doing reconnaissance patrols . Upon his return home , he found a country divided and not particularly supportive of returning servicemen . “ No one said thank you for your service back then ,” he recalls .
Sweeney refers to his military experience as a turning point . “ I sometimes describe it as one of the best experiences of my life and one I wouldn ’ t wish on anyone . That is , I wouldn ’ t wish a war or combat experience on anyone ,” he says .
The military taught the 20-year-old confidence , leadership , and the value of teamwork . “ I learned not to put limits on myself and to meet the expectations others put on me .”
Post-military , Sweeney found work as a UPS driver but got laid off . He then found a factory job as an assembler and welder , where he fell in love with the manufacturing process . The job inspired him to apply to NJIT , or the Newark College of Engineering , as it was known at the time .
At first , he was rejected , due to his poor high school grades . “ I pleaded with the admissions officer ,” Sweeney recalls , successfully earning a probationary seat . “ I was going to classes at night . I had to work full-time . I had no finances ,” Dick remembers . Thus began a nineyear grind of work and study , but he did earn his engineering degree in 1982 – slightly less than a decade later .
Meanwhile , his factory job earned him several promotions , changing roles as he moved through the company . Promoted from the factory floor , he learned office operations and supply chain management . Eventually , Sweeney accepted a new position as Vice President at a Newark-based appliance manufacturer where he gained critical experience in producing small electric appliances .
He also continued his education , eventually earning his master ’ s degree from Fairleigh Dickenson University .
At age 40 , Dick Sweeney struck out on his own to become a manufacturing consultant . He also became interested in sailing . “ I learned how to sail , and I was on a sailboat race and met a guy who told me about friends of his who had an idea for a coffee machine ,” he recalls . The acquaintance convinced him to meet with these entrepreneurs .
“ So on a proverbial dark and stormy night , I met them ( inventors John Sylvan and Peter Dragone ) in the Ground Round restaurant in Pawtucket , Rhode Island . I was intrigued by their idea . They recruited me to be a co-founder , and I started putting money into it ,” Sweeney relates . In 1993 , Dick Sweeney became the Vice President of Engineering for the fledgling Keurig Company .
The next decade was a blur of trial and error ; from finding the right manufacturing partners to perfecting the appliances and the pod devices , establishing a network of roasters , and of course , the endless pursuit of investors . “ For the first 10 years , I oftentimes felt I was a cup of coffee away from living in a Maytag box under the bridge ,” Sweeney quips . “ Getting the appliances to work properly in the beginning was a challenge . Getting the packaging lines to work effectively was a challenge . Getting people to buy into our passion was a challenge .”
Early on , Sylvan and Dragone lost control of the company , with Sylvan taking a buyout and Dragone remaining as a stakeholder . Sweeney survived and remained a key player in engineering and product manufacturing development . When the brewing system finally launched in the office coffee marketplace in 1998 , Keurig became a textbook “ overnight ” success . People quickly adopted the fresh-brewed single-serve experience . Success became unhinged in 2005 when the company began selling machines and K-Cup pods to consumers . With hordes of office workers as early adopters , sales blossomed .
Dick Sweeney while on a PALS ( patient airlift service ) flight , from Boston , MA , to Manassas , VA . Sweeney , who earned his pilot ’ s license , volunteers for PALS .
In 2016 , Keurig Green Mountain was acquired by the private equity firm JAB Holding Company for nearly $ 14 billion . Keurig Green Mountain merged with Dr Pepper Snapple Group in 2018 inking a deal worth $ 18.7 billion . Today , the publicly traded Keurig Dr Pepper is the third largest beverage company in North America . The Keurig system ’ s beverage selection today includes over 575 varieties and over 80 brands of coffee , tea , and other beverages . It is the stuff of legend . And academic study . “ It ’ s been interesting . We have three case studies at Harvard Business School . The last one was a joint case study with Harvard and the Tuck School at Dartmouth . And then there ’ s another case study at the Kellogg School ,” Sweeney says .
Lessons Learned
“ Keurig was a good exercise in persistence and determination . I garnered much of that from my experience as a reconnaissance team leader . When I speak these days , I emphasize how success is about building good teams . While we desire people with passion , intelligence , and courage in the business , never discount luck . Luck comes in two flavors : good and bad . Whichever way it comes , you have to deal with it ,” he suggests .
Photo : Prassuna Budlong
November 2024 COMMERCE 19