Instabox still offers custom brown shipping boxes, but its product offerings also include litho-laminated with high-end graphics.

Many custom box manufacturers have minimum order quantities before starting a run, but Edmonton, Alberta-based Instabox Alberta Inc. says it will take on any size order at any time. "It's come to the point where people are getting a lot more savvy about what their space is costing them," President Greg Mace says.

"Instead of tying up money in boxes, our philosophy is to buy small quantities [of boxes] and more frequently.

"For instance, you are not going to do all your shopping at 7-Eleven, but if you need a pound of bacon at 3 a.m., it is good to go there," Mace adds. "You will pay a little more, but you'll get it. We do offer volume if they want it, but we do have small quantities."

A willingness to make small-quantity runs is just one of the ways Instabox lives up to its reputation for great service, according to Mace. The company was founded in the early 1970s in Nottingham, England, by Mace's uncle, Malcolm Mace, and his grandfather, Jack Mace. Malcolm took over the company in 1971, named Integrated Packaging at the time. He later founded Faspak Containers after purchasing and extensively modifying a machine from Germany that makes small shipping boxes in small quantities for a quick turnaround.

When the U.K. went through an economic downturn in the mid-'70s, Mace's father, John Mace, suggested moving the company to Canada. In 1974, Instabox's first location in North America in Winnipeg struggled. But the company moved to Edmonton in 1975 and thrived, eventually opening another location in Calgary.

Today, Instabox still offers custom brown shipping boxes, but its product offerings also include litho-laminated with high-end graphics. The company has grown from three people to 77 and has $15 million in annual revenues.

Using the Web
Although Instabox has sold its products on the Internet for about 10 years, Mace says the company has made headway only in the United States, through its Cactus Corrugated Containers (CCC) Web site, www.cactuscontainers.com. CCC is a 10-year-old, San Diego-based U.S. subsidiary of Instabox that conducts its business exclusively through the Internet. CCC delivers high-end custom boxes throughout the United States, and Mace adds that it is one of only a handful of companies to do so through the Internet only.

"We do business with a lot of high-end companies," Mace says. "What we do is service the heck out of them. We talk to them, serve what they need, quote very quickly and do all the design and all the artwork."

Instabox is looking to expand CCC with offices in Texas and South Carolina because of the number of sales it makes in those regions. There is not as much demand for Web business in Canada, Mace says. The fact that Canada is not as densely populated as the United States is one of the main factors, according to Mace, because it makes delivery a hassle. "It is a long way to ship because there are a lot of empty spaces in between," Mace adds.

Box Business Booms
Instabox is still thriving in Alberta, according to Mace. He credits a work force that has remained loyal to the company through the years. "The whole reason for our success is the consistency of the staff being with us for so long," Mace adds.

"Everybody knows their jobs, so there is less mistakes to be made. Without them, we wouldn't be here. It is a very detail-involved business with small quantities. It is not like high-volume, where you set the runs and leave it."

According to Mace says the company would like to expand in Canada, but recruiting continues to be a challenge. "We are always [looking for] people that know the industry," he says.