Jack Keeps Cool Leading Growth at Rapid Prototypes

There is a gap between an idea for a product and its incarnation on a store shelf.

Rapid Prototypes, a Bentonville company owned and operated by Kyle Jack, bridges those gaps — and bridges them so quickly and efficiently that it has enjoyed double-digit growth most every year since Jack took over the company in 2005.

Rapid Prototypes was founded to build corrugated packaging and display prototypes for retail suppliers. That portion of the business is enjoying steady growth, while its newer division, flexible packaging, is progressing explosively.

Jack, 36, was a member of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 class in 2010. He just recently moved the company into a new facility in May (the former home of Sears on South Walton Boulevard); he more than doubled space and added specialized, higher-capacity equipment.

As the company matures, the burly, unassuming father of three is increasingly able to focus more on relationships with customers and long-term expansion, all the while making sure employees remain calm and unflappable despite tight deadlines and quick turnarounds.

When companies are pitching a product to retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., they need a mock package to show a buyer — something attractive, polished and as close to the proposed finished product as possible. Manufacturers can’t cost-effectively produce small quantities of packaging. Rapid Prototypes specializes in smaller quantities — generally a dozen or two — at far less expense and on short notice.

At its inception, the company focused on prototypes with corrugated packaging and building store displays for products. Jack took over with a partner in 2005, but has since assumed sole ownership with his wife.

Some packaging companies in Northwest Arkansas struggled during the late 2000s, when Walmart favored an assortment strategy that reduced the variety of products on the shelves. While Rapid Prototypes experienced fewer orders for pallet displays and promotions, Jack focused on diversifying, and business actually increased.

Now, 25 percent of Rapid Prototypes’ orders are for flexible packaging — such as pliable bags, pouches and bottles made of foil, paper or film sheeting. Jack predicts that, within the next few years, the flexible packaging segment of his business will overtake corrugated. He used to outsource those orders, but decided less than two years ago to hire a specialist and invest in new machines. Only a dozen or so companies in the U.S. can produce in-house prototypes using flexible packaging, and none are in the immediate region, he said.

Last May’s move increased space from 6,000-SF to 15,000-SF, and Jack continues to invest in equipment. He recently bought a new machine to produce metallic ink and white ink and can now quickly and affordably produce, for instance, a potato chip bag with a metallic silver logo.

Sales in the flexible packaging industry reached $26.7 billion last year, which is about 18 percent of the country’s $145 billion packaging market, according to the Flexible Packaging Association.

Rapid Prototypes is also diversifying its customer base. Whereas Walmart has historically been the primary audience, about a quarter of Rapid Prototypes’ work is now produced for suppliers selling to other retailers such as Target, Costco, BJ’s Wholesale Club and Whole Foods. These customers tend to find him through referrals.

“Most often, our customers got to know us through their business with Walmart, and someone they work with has a need and they send them to us,” Jack said. “Before, many of these companies had to go to their manufacturers.”

The company’s projects often begin with panicked phone calls from suppliers, but keeping cool is Jack’s trademark. Rapid Prototypes employees often work nights and weekends to get a product out the door.

 “When we commit to a deadline, we’ll meet it. We just roll up our sleeves and do the work, but I tell employees the key is that you can’t be stressed out,” he said.

Jack’s favorite moment is at the job’s end, when he helps a customer load the product in a vehicle, and enjoys a parting handshake.

“I didn’t grow up saying I want to be a packaging provider, but I knew I wanted to serve people; give them what they need, when they need it,” Jack said.