Corporate Milestones

9 Questions for Arkay Packaging’s Mitchell Kaneff

One for each decade of the company’s reign

Mitchell with 4th generation sons at Arkay’s Roanoke plant

ARKAY PACKAGING CELEBRATES ITS 90TH anniversary this year—and is still family-owned. Here, Beauty Packaging’s editor, Jamie Matusow, talks to third-generation chairman and CEO Mitchell Kaneff, who fills us in on a few highlights from the folding carton company’s past, present and future.

1: What led your grandfather into the beauty packaging industry?
My grandfather,Max Kaneff, originally worked with fragrance companies like Dorothy Gray, Lenthéric,Coty and Chanel, but mainly from a print standpoint. It really wasn’t until my dad got into the business in the late 1940s that he saw the beauty packaging industry as a great opportunity— specifically because the art, designing and packaging teams were all located in NewYork. Pride in our quality has always been part of our culture, so even back then we seemed to be a perfect fit for an exacting clientele.

2: What do you think would most amaze your grandfather about the folding carton/printing industry and Arkay’s production if he were to visit today?
In my grandfather’s time, craftsmen and artisans went hand in hand with the manufacturing of packaging. Production was more skewed toward individual talent and skill rather than technological achievement and science. I think he would be amazed by the special effects we’ve been able to hone and master with our combinations of equipment and various materials. Our equipment is state of the art and the fact is, my grandfather would also be shocked at the price of a press, not to mention the sheer speed at which it runs and how quickly we can produce a final product.

3: What do you remember most about when your dad took over the business? Did you spend time at Arkay as a boy during his leadership?
Unfortunately I never met my grandfather, but I remember well going to the sales office my father had in the Random House building in NewYork City. It was up on the 47th floor and the space and the people were all very reminiscent of “Mad Men.” I loved to go there and listen to my dad strategizing with the salesmen. I also really liked being at our factory and checking out the presses—I can still remember the smell of the ink. And I would drive the hi-los around when my dad wasn’t looking.

4: I know you wrote an entire book about it (see www.beautypackaging.com for a review of Taking Over: Insider Tips From a Third-Generation CEO), but what has been the single-most challenge of taking over?What year did you start?
My dad was my best friend,my mentor, and my confidant, so asking him to step down so that I could“take over”was very difficult for me. But even more difficult may have been when we had to shut down the Hauppauge facility because we’d opened up our plant in Roanoke. We’d been there for 40 years and, even though some employees were able to relocate inVirginia,many couldn’t and letting go of them was one of the toughest things I’ve ever had to do professionally. I first started working in the plant in 1982, when I was in high school. I became president in 1997 and my dad stepped aside in 2004.

5: What has remained consistent at Arkay over the past 90 years? What is drastically different?
We’ve maintained a consistent culture of high quality, excellent customer service and on-time delivery. And we’ve done this in a family type of atmosphere—we work hard, but we also value and enjoy each other’s company and meeting challenges together. Our commitment to quality and innovation started with my grandfather and it is very much alive and well today. What is different is probably the speed at which we can move—the expectations of our customers far exceed what they were 90 years ago and our ability to create packaging that is really like mass pieces of art of the highest quality in lightning speed—this is definitely different than back in Max Kaneff ’s day.

Three generations of Kaneffs

6: What is the greatest lesson your grandfather/ father taught you about running Arkay?
My grandfather instilled the importance of discipline in my father and my father then instilled the same in me.Our entire team has taken it to another level when it comes to how we monitor the business and ourselves and that started with Max. But I think it was his belief in people that transcended my father and now, me. People are our greatest asset and we have one of the best teams in the industry, and that takes a lot of work to keep together and to keep winning.

7: Any special anecdotes you’d like to share about the last 90 years at Arkay?
A favorite of mine is one my dad told me: One day Leonard Lauder, Estée’s son, brought over this tortoiseshell lampshade from his office and told my dad to match it for his next fragrance launch. My dad, of course, did just that—and the launch turned out to be for Aramis, one of the most successful men’s colognes in history. Another anecdote I’ll share was from back in the early ’80s when Estée was still alive— we opened up our entire facility and worked all through the night in order to have the Beautiful fragrance carton on her desk the next day—and we did it! You can imagine that after 90 years, the stories are endless— but those are two of my favorites.

8: What are you most proud of at Arkay?
I’m most proud of our team and how well we all work together. It was always a challenge years ago to be cohesive and get things done.Now we understand we are all in the same boat.We have a powerful “can do” attitude and we make things happen.

9: What’s next for Arkay as you head toward your centennial? And do you anticipate that your children will play a role in the company’s future?
What’s next is really a continuation of what we’re doing now: constantly searching for the next best thing in order to stay ahead technologically, serve our clients better, excel in the marketplace and sell more products. My twin boys are 11 now, so they’re not quite ready to do any “taking over” yet. But they’ve gone with me to our Roanoke plant and they enjoy looking at all the different styles of packaging I bring home to show them, and sharing their insights. I’d be thrilled for them to continue the business into a thriving 4th generation— interview me again for our centennial in 10 years and I’ll have an answer for you!