■ Manufacturing Profiles
Continued From Page 16
in price to competitors now . He wants to capitalize on his product as affordable . “ We ’ re pushing ourselves out there online ,” he said , noting his YouTube video has gotten 100,000 views . For the first time Unionwear will also produce golf shirts too .
Madeleine Robinson LPS Industries , LLC
As a manufacturer of flexible packaging , LPS is in a growth industry , but CEO Madeleine Robinson said her company ’ s future is being hampered by the labor shortage and supply issues .
Products for the medical industry have always been one of the main lines for LPS . Since the onset of the pandemic , it has been doing a booming business manufacturing the pouches for COVID tests . “ But we ’ re having trouble keeping up ,” Robinson said , explaining the biggest supplier of the aluminum foil is no longer making it available due to its concentration in the production of batteries for electric cars .
Her challenges are further exacerbated by labor woes . “ I could take on more business . I just don ’ t have the people ,” she said . LPS has hired recruiting agencies and placed ads online , all to no avail . “ And it goes for office help , accounts receivable , sales , marketing , hourly help , it ’ s across the board . I just don ’ t know where the people went ,” Robinson said .
She has explored automation but found it is not conducive to most of her products because there are strict quality control requirements in medical products and robotic work cannot meet all the tests .
Robinson has been running LPS since 1991 . She left a career on Wall Street and took over the family business when her father died . John M . Robinson founded LPS Industries in 1959 in Newark . Madeleine moved it to Moonachie in 1996 . It ’ s ironic that her loyalty to the staff was one of the reasons why she agreed to step into her father ’ s shoes and now staffing issues are confounding her .
Despite the issues , Robinson will soldier on . The plant was recently certified for bakery products and a “ clean room ” was added to enhance the medical line of products . Some older products have also had a re-emergence , she said . For example , the packing list affixed to the side of many packages was a commodity taken over by China . But since the pandemic , it has returned to LPS .
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