William B. Gram

Premium Beauty News - First, a few words on the company…

William B. Gram - We produce our bags in both the United States and Asia. We provide our customers with a full range of support, right from the first meeting through to worldwide distribution, with as little or as much hand-holding as the client requires. We’ll even assist with project goal analysis to decide upon the correct course of action. We participate to the design, manufacture, and conveyance of the selected product. Our project managers have packaging engineering backgrounds and years of experience in the management of manufacturing. All requirements are taken into account including graphic development, sampling, quality engineering, manufacturing, and distribution. Every detail of a project is analyzed and closely monitored to meet the most demanding expectations. All our offices employ multilingual staff, experienced at providing clients with a level of support appropriate to global businesses. You should also know that for nearly four decades, Pak 2000 has managed the distribution of its clients’ products, nationally and internationally, utilizing ocean and air freight and that we can also deliver warehousing, and store-door service.

Premium Beauty News - Some however will say that there is nothing more ordinary than a paper bag!

William B. Gram - Well, they’re wrong! All of our work is of the highest quality and designed to add value to the product being purchased. The companies with which we work are not only in the business of providing consumers with excellent products, they also offer esteem, as part of a lifestyle choice. For many, being able to be proud of a purchase is just as important as the quality of the product. Providing a complete customer experience is part and parcel of luxury branding. Our solutions are designed to maximize not only a company’s ability to market their brand post-purchase, but also to provide the consumer purchasing the product with a suitable outer packaging that increases esteem.

Premium Beauty News - It might be useful to recall the main benefits of these famous bags?

William B. Gram - It’s actually worth recalling. When they choose one of our bags, companies enjoy the following benefits:

 A portable billboard which provides a branding opportunity to increase exposure while the consumer is on the move, between the store and his final destination.
 Recurring brand exposure opportunities, as our premium bags are normally saved and re-used several times by the consumer throughout the normal life cycle of the bag.
 An additional element that adds value to the purchasing experience, as part of the luxury lifestyle indicated by the premium brand purchased.

Premium Beauty News - You do not just manufacture bags! You also manufacture boxes? And even if you also offer plastic based products, you really are a fully fledged player of the paper industry!

William B. Gram - This is true even if boxes are not, strictly speaking, our main activity! Concerning the materials we transform even if paper is the main material, our philosophy is to use the finest materials available. Different materials have different costs, and it’s up to our customers to select the materials that will fit their projects’ economic parameters. We use for example a high grade quality coated paper in a variety of thicknesses to ensure the correct amount of rigidity for specific projects. Customers can select from a paper coated on one side (C1S) or covered on two sides (C2S) with a gloss or matte finish. We also use Kraft paper. Paper undergoing the Kraft process tends to have a higher tensile strength than other paper materials. It is relatively inexpensive and when produced is naturally darker than other papers, though it can be bleached to produce an excellent clean, white look. Although the line between paper and board is often blurry, our use of chipboard is extensive, as it’s a sturdy material normally created with a high volume of recycled content. But we also use cotton, the undisputed king of modern natural materials; cotton offers a variety of benefits. It’s a fully sustainable resource, it’s lightweight, strong, easy to clean, and can be as soft or as tough as required. Bags made of cotton are completely washable and are favoured by consumers as a luxury item when accompanying a purchase. Jute, the coarser and less well-known cousin of cotton, is even tougher though it’s not quite as soft. It is also one of the most inexpensive natural fibres available.

On the plastic side, Polyethylene (PE) is the most common plastic in the world; it is used to create bags that are both recyclable and reusable. Most plastic shopping bags are made from different thicknesses of PE, thanks to its durability and ability to expand. Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) is lower in density than its parent material, meaning it has less tensile strength. The upshot is that this ensures the material is softer and much more ductile, excellent for producing soft-touch items. Polypropylene (PP) is a thermoplastic used in a variety of applications; PP is a packaging industry mainstay. It’s a tough material and can be made into a variety of forms. Most reusable shopping bags today are made from non-woven PP.

Premium Beauty News - Environmental concepts are of course essential in your business?

William B. Gram - We offer multiple solutions that address packaging concerns for a smaller environmental footprint. Paper bags can be reused and recycled, and our non-woven or PE bags can be reused. All of our bags have many finishing options from which to choose, which use materials designed to minimize waste, keeping harmful chemicals out of the ecosystem. To note that we hold numerous industry certifications, allowing us to provide our customers a high level of confidence and security. Though many are industry standard process- and production-oriented, we also hold many specialty certifications that ensure excellence in a number of more specific areas. Hence we hold the Forest Stewardship Council™’s official Chain of Custody Certification, which applies to businesses that in some way use FSC-certified forest products. This certification ensures the validity of claims associated with all FSC-certified material and products throughout the production chain. The same goes for the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, which is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) through independent third-party certification. The PEFC is an umbrella endeavour that endorses national forest certification systems.

With threats to free commerce becoming more commonplace, the Customs/Trade Partnership Against Terrorism is a voluntary government-business initiative, fostering relationships that improve overall international supply chain and U.S. border security. The initiative works with importers, carriers, consolidators, licensed custom brokers, and manufacturers to ensure the integrity of security practices and verify the security of business partners within the supply chain.

Finally, EPI is the developer, licensor and distributor of Totally Degradable Plastic Additives (TDPA®). EPI’s technology has been designed to control and manage the lifetime of products made from the most common plastics used by modern society. Due to stringent laws governing the use of terms like "degradable", "biodegradable", and "compostable" in many parts of the USA, companies like EPI, working in concert with the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), offer a seal of quality to those companies that voluntarily participate in quantifying their use of such terms.

Premium Beauty News - Your development strategy covers both the United States and Europe?

William B. Gram - We are a global company that markets its products worldwide but Europe is a very important market for our Group. France, in particular, remains one of the first markets in the world for premium brands. And we intend to strengthen our position there. We’re probably the ones in the best position for this!