Inc. magazine ranked Dr. Shrink, Inc. on its seventh annual Inc. 500|5000, an exclusive ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. The list represents the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy, America’s independent entrepreneurs. Dr. Shrink, Inc. joins Fuhu, LivingSocial, Edible Arrangements, CDW and Lifelock, among other prominent brands.
“We are thrilled to be on the INC 5000 list for the third year in a row,” said Mike Stenberg, Dr. Shrink president. “Dr. Shrink works extremely hard to provide our customers and markets with the highest quality shrink wrap, accessories and service. We’re very appreciative to be acknowledged and rewarded for that.”
In a stagnant economic environment, median growth rate of 2013 Inc. 500|5000 companies is an impressive 142%. The companies on this year’s list report having created over 520,000 jobs in the past three years, and aggregate revenue among the honorees reached $241 billion. Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/5000.
“Not all the companies in the Inc. 500 | 5000 are in glamorous industries, but in their fields they are as famous as household name companies simply by virtue of being great at what they do. They are the hidden champions of job growth and innovation, the real muscle of the American economy,” says Inc. editor Eric Schurenberg.
The 2013 Inc. 500|5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2009 to 2012. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2009. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independent, not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies, as of December 31, 2012.
Category: Shrink Wrap Stories
Shrink Wrap "Down Under" in Australia
Our customers never cease to amaze us with their shrink wrap stories and applications. We recently had a unique testimonial of our products being used in South Australia. Our Australia distributor All Marine Spares sent us the following note that we wanted to share:
“Thought I should send you a picture of Max’s trailer, which was towed behind his brother’s bus for over 4,000 km (almost 2,500 miles). As you will see from the condition of the trailer & bus, the road conditions were not all good. The object of this exercise was for Max to get the Australian speed record for a 175cc, 25 year old, near standard motorcycle over 80 mph, and he achieved 87.6 mph. Yes, Max is a very happy camper!
The event was held in central South Australia, on a dry, salt lake bed. One major problem was how to get the motorcycle to the salt lake without getting it covered in the very fine dust on the hundreds of km of outback dirt roads. Being very inventive, Max and “Hot Gun Hurlstone” (Brett Hurlstone of All Marine Spares) set about using Dr. Shrink shrink wrap to wrap the trailer. The motorcycle got to the lake and back with no dust issue at all, furthermore the shrink wrap was totally intact at the end of the journey. What a product!!”
Thank you to Leigh Francis for sending us this shrink wrap application story. If you recently worked on a unique shrink wrap job, please email marketing@dr-shrink.com — we enjoy hearing from you and seeing what our customers & installers are up to!
2012 Year in Review
2012 was a great year for Dr. Shrink and was also the year of our 20th anniversary. We would like to take some time to highlight various happenings over the last year. We had the pleasure of working with countless customers, getting all of their shrink wrap needs taken care of throughout the year. Whether you were working with Dr. Shrink for the first, tenth, or maybe even your 20th season; we greatly appreciate the opportunity to work with you and be your premium shrink wrap supplier. We would not be where we are today without each and every one of the customers; you are the most important part of our company. For that, we would like to say thank you for working with Dr. Shrink.
Offering exceptional customer service and prompt shipping are two of the biggest factors that make Dr. Shrink stand out among the crowd. The only way that this goal can be fulfilled is to have an exceptional team. Dr. Shrink continued to bring some new faces onto the team in 2012. We welcomed Josh Purgiel to our warehouse staff and Brooke Skiera to our customer service team. They have been excellent additions to the Dr. Shrink family!
2012 started out in a big way with Dr. Shrink celebrating 20 years in business! We’ve made it a very long way and none of which could be possible without the support we’ve received from each and every customer. To celebrate this huge milestone, Dr. Shrink had discounts and giveaways throughout the entire month of April (the official month for Dr. Shrink’s anniversary), to show appreciation to all of our customers for helping make this achievement. To read more about Dr. Shrink’s beginnings and the stepping stones that got us to where we are today, click here.
To continue serving our customers with the best products and timely shipping, Dr. Shrink added an expansion onto our warehouse. Construction was started in early spring to add an additional 12,000 square feet of storage space to ensure that we have everything in stock for immediate shipment. With the construction completed in August, the warehouse staff had plenty of extra space to keep more stock of the shrink wrap and accessories that our customers needed for the upcoming fall season. Having our new warehouse expansion has been a huge help in our overall productivity and efficiency.
We saw the return of our annual Recycling Run in the spring. In 2012, we extended our reach into other states and added pick-ups in Illinois and Wisconsin. Also new for the Recycling Run in 2012 was an extension of pick-up dates for those who weren’t quite ready to have an early spring pick-up. Customers were able to select a pick-up week starting in April and going all the way through August. We are very grateful to everyone who participated in the recycling effort and hope that you will continue to help do your part in making sure this premium material is properly recycled.
Dr. Shrink was very excited and proud to be nominated and awarded the honor as one of the Michigan 50 Companies to Watch for 2012! It was a rigorous application process and out of 320 nominations, Dr. Shrink along with 49 other companies received the distinction to be recognized as a Michigan 50. Mike, Ryan, Melissa, Angela, and Travis attended the award ceremony in Lansing, MI and Mike went up on stage to be recognized and accepted the award as CEO and Founder of the company. We couldn’t have gotten this far without the support from our wonderful staff and amazing customers. Thank you to everyone who helped play a part in making this achievement possible!
We also received the honor of being on the Inc. Magazine, Inc. 5000 List for a second year in a row! This list highlights the top 5000 privately owned companies in the United States. Thousands of applications are received each year and only the top 5000 make it. It is an honor to be recognized as a top privately owned company in the entire country! In 2012, Dr. Shrink improved its ranking moving from 4,344 in 2011, to 3,921 in 2012. We hope to increase our ranking once again by applying for the 2013 Inc. 5000 list.
Dr. Shrink hosted our Second Annual Benefit Golf Scramble for Love INC of Manistee. In 2012 we saw some new faces participating and some new scenery as well. Golfers took to 18 holes at the Manistee Golf and Country Club, located right alongside beautiful Lake Michigan. Along with bigger and better prizes also came a significant increase in money raised. The 2011 event raised $3,700 and in 2012 we raised an even $5,000 for Love INC. A great time was had by all and we are already planning to have another fantastic charity event here in 2013.
As many of you already know, Dr. Shrink hosts a quarterly shrink wrap training course known as ShrinkWrap U at our facility in Manistee, MI. For the second year in a row, ShrinkWrap U traveled to the 2012 International Boat Builders Expo (IBEX)! While exhibiting at IBEX, Dr. Shrink hosted a special SWU class exclusively for IBEX attendees in Louisville, KY. ShrinkWrap U also went international for the second year making a visit to Gothenburg, Sweden which was hosted by Hans Lundberg (or better known as “The Swedish Shrink Master”), of Hansen Marine.
2012 was a great year for Dr. Shrink with many exciting things that happened. We are pushing ahead in 2013 with new goals and objectives to strive for. Please remember to check out our Facebook, Twitter, blogs and monthly newsletters to stay informed and up-to-date with all of our latest news and happenings. Thank you all for being a part of Dr. Shrink and we are excited to share 2013 with you!
Shrink Wrap Protects Boats During Hurricane Sandy
It is amazing what Mother Nature can do even on the edge of a storm. Bob Abbott saw the effects of Hurricane Sandy first hand in Cleveland, OH. He recently wrote a great testimonial and sent in photos that we would like to share:
“I just thought I would tell you how amazing shrink wrap is after seeing the aftermath of Sandy. We are in Cleveland, Ohio, on Lake Erie. Even though we didn’t get hit directly by Sandy we experienced 60 mph winds with a peak hitting 78 mph and had two marinas nearly wiped out. I shrink wrapped my boat and a friend’s boat. They are stored in a parking lot at a local Yacht Club with a marina right nearby. Here are a few pictures I took yesterday. The first 5 are of our Yacht Club, the others are from the marina next to us. I pointed out with arrows the two boats that I shrink wrapped. Shrink wrap, the only way to store outdoors.”
Click here to see Bob’s amazing photos. Feel free to send in any photos you may have of shrink wrapped objects after a storm!
From Russia With Love
Today Dr. Shrink was the host to Roman and Alexey from FastPack Russia. Roman and Alexey traveled from Saint Petersburg, Russia to New York City. They then drove 14 hours from New York to come visit the Dr. Shrink staff and tour our office and warehouse here in Manistee, MI. Above is a picture of Mike with Alexey (Left) and Roman (Right), while they were taking the tour of our facility.
FastPack has been working with Dr. Shrink since late 2010 and have grown significantly over the last 2 years. They have been very proactive with their sales approach by hosting shrink wrapping demonstrations and making trips out to visit 3 or 4 factories a week all over Russia. We are very happy to be working with Roman and Alexey, and are looking forward to helping them continue to grow even more as the years go on!
Dr. Shrink’s 20 Year Anniversary
2012 is a big year for Dr. Shrink—we are hitting a significant milestone that calls for a celebration! It’s our 20th anniversary this year! Our company was created in April 1992 and 2012 marks twenty years in business—and we could not be more pleased about it. We wanted to take some time to recollect on the past 20 years and also divulge some interesting background information on CEO and Founder Mike Stenberg. Take a minute to see how we got to where we are today, and what the future is looking like for our customers and Dr. Shrink, Inc.
Starting in 1985, before the birth of Dr. Shrink, Mike Stenberg worked as a shrink wrap installer wrapping boats, machinery, air planes, buildings, etc. for about seven years, where he perfected the trade and acquired skills that made shrink wrapping easier and more efficient. As shrink wrapping became more prevalent and widespread, Mike saw a more pressing need for distribution of premium shrink wrap and installation supplies; thus his focus shifted to being a shrink wrap distributor instead of installer. In 1992, Mike retreated from the actual shrink wrap installation work to focus more on the selling and distributorship of shrink wrap materials—and this is when Dr. Shrink was born. Mike started Dr. Shrink as a distribution company in his home garage in Manistee, MI in 1992. His initial vision for the company was to offer expert shrink wrapping advice (which he himself had gained over the years), innovative products, premium high-quality products, and excellent service—a “one stop shop” for all things shrink wrap.
Mike states, “I started by selling to local boat owners and marinas. I believe to have a strong business foundation, you need to know exactly what your vision is. The main thing that helped me see a clear vision of what I wanted to offer my customers (other installers like myself) was that I knew the tricks of the trade of shrink wrapping and was fully aware of the common hurdles and frustrations. I wanted to develop innovative products that would make shrink wrap installation more efficient, less troublesome, and more straightforward for others. In addition to that, I wanted to build a company that would be able to offer the best shrink wrapping products, excellent service, and experienced shrink wrap application advice.”
In just one year, Mike realized the company needed more space to stock products, so he purchased the first official Dr. Shrink warehouse in 1993 which was about 2,500 square feet and stocked about 40,000 to 50,000 pounds of shrink wrap. Dr. Shrink continued to grow, and so did Mike’s vision for the company. Dr. Shrink began expanding into new markets and new areas—a big step was selling internationally and acquiring international distributors. Dr. Shrink currently supplies shrink wrap to over 80 different countries that are all using shrink wrap for a variety of different purposes and applications. This growth in our customer base meant that once again, Dr. Shrink needed more space to stock product. In order to better accommodate our customer’s shrink wrap needs and making shrink wrap ready for immediate shipment, a larger 12,000 square foot warehouse was custom built for Dr. Shrink, Inc. in 2001. Four years later with continued progression, Dr. Shrink outgrew the 12,000 square foot warehouse and purchased a 60,000 square foot facility in 2005. We are still located in this facility and currently stock over 1 million pounds of shrink wrap at all times. Construction for an expansion to our current warehouse is underway this month (March) and will be completely finished by July—gaining an additional 12,000 square feet of space to stock product.
20 years is a very significant anniversary for a business. Thousands of customers have been served in this time frame. Some new customers, some have been working with us for a few years, some have even been with us from the very start. Our customers are the most important part of Dr. Shrink, Inc. Our success is due to our loyal customers—we could not have made it to 20 years without you. Mike would like to extend a personal and heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you for the opportunity to be of service as your shrink wrap supplier and colleague. It is our hope that we grow and prosper together for another 20+ years!
*** April 21, 2012 is the official date when Dr. Shrink will hit our second decade in business and we have big plans for our customers. Be sure to keep up on our Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Foursquare, and blog site for all our latest happenings. If you’re familiar with our social media outlets, you are aware that Dr. Shrink is no stranger to having contests and giveaways. It might be our anniversary, but be on the lookout for the presents to be bestowed upon you, our customers and friends. ***
2011- A Year in Review
So many memorable things have happened for Dr. Shrink, Inc. over the course of 2011 and we want to take the time to highlight some notable moments. Throughout the entire year, we’ve had the pleasure to assist countless customers with getting all their shrink wrap needs covered. We’ve had the privilege to work with and assist so many people; whether they are long time, loyal customers or just starting to work with Dr. Shrink, we must mention that we greatly appreciate and are extremely thankful for each and every person who we’ve worked with this past year and all years prior.
In order for Dr. Shrink to provide the highest quality service to all of our customers, it is a necessity to have an efficient and great staff to help take orders, meet new customers, prepare and ship out orders, etc. 2011 brought four new faces to the Dr. Shrink team. Over the year, we welcomed Travis Spotts into our marketing department, Nate Hogan as an additional outside sales rep, Logan Skiera to our warehouse staff, and Karen Korolenko who joined our customer service team. We have a great team who are always ready and motivated to help serve our customers in every way they can. Although we gained some new faces this year, we had to say goodbye to one as well. After 12 years of dedicated service, Mary Richmond retired from Dr. Shrink towards the end of August. Mary had worked with so many of our customers over the years and she is dearly missed by our staff, as well as our customers who had the pleasure of working with her.
There were a lot of “firsts” that happened this year for Dr. Shrink. We kicked off this spring with our first ever Recycling Run for Lower Michigan and parts of Ontario, Canada to get shrink wrap covers recycled versus being thrown into landfills. We teamed up with Bay Area Recycling in Traverse City, Michigan and Optima Colour in Ontario to pick up REBAGS® filled with shrink wrap ready to be recycled. The program was an overall success and we will be running it again this spring.
Early spring time we had a bit of a disaster happen to our own warehouse. A powerful storm that ripped through Manistee had wind gusts over 80 mph, causing multiple sections of our warehouse roof to be completely torn off. The Dr. Shrink team reacted without hesitation and brought out the shrink wrap to cover and contain what was left of the damaged roof. In the midst of the destruction, we made it a priority to still bring the same great service and prompt delivery that our customers expected from us.
Due to the increasing amount of the natural disasters that were happening all over the world in 2011, Dr. Shrink wanted to extend a hand. Fresh off the production line, Dr. Shrink donated 50 of our new Disaster Relief Shelters to the people of one of the hardest hit countries, Japan. We recognized that the people in this area didn’t have much, if any, shelter from the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that struck them. The people of Japan were very grateful to receive the shelters and Dr. Shrink was happy to help play a role in the relief efforts.
Dr. Shrink also achieved a very prestigious honor making the INC.Magazine’s prominent Inc. 5000 list. This list highlights the top 5000 privately owned companies in the United States. Thousands of applications are received each year and only the top 5000 make it. It is quite an honor to be recognized as a top privately owned company in the entire country!
Dr. Shrink had the chance to tap into our creative side a little bit when some of the staff created a song and corresponding music video titled “Shrink Wrap Man”. We had a great time recording the song and video and used it various times throughout the year. If you haven’t seen it already, check it out by clicking here.
This year also brought in plenty of fun times and special events. Dr. Shrink was proud to host our first annual Benefit Golf Scramble for Love INC of Manistee. A great time was had by all at the event, with a day full of golf, prizes, food, and great times with everyone who attended. For a first time event, Dr. Shrink raised nearly $3,800 for Love INC of Manistee! The event was a huge success and is the first of many more community events that we hope to host!
As many of you already know, Dr. Shrink hosts a quarterly shrink wrap training course known as ShrinkWrap U at our facility in Manistee, MI. This year, ShrinkWrap U traveled to different locations! While exhibiting at the 2011 International Boat Builder’s Show (IBEX), Dr. Shrink hosted a special SWU class exclusively for IBEX attendees in Louisville, KY. ShrinkWrap U also went international to Romania that was hosted by Mihai Tanase of Nautic Experts SRL.
Our last big highlight came near the end of the year when Dr. Shrink became a sponsor of a very incredible yacht known as “Teleport.” Chris Bray and Jess Taunton have been on an amazing journey with their yacht “Teleport”. After buying the yacht in Canada, fixing it up, and making it sail worthy, they are taking it back to Australia the long way. Their trip is a very long one and they can’t sail the world full time, so from time to time “Teleport” has to be held over for periods of time. That’s where Dr. Shrink comes into this amazing story. We were approached by Chris via email to be their shrink wrap supplier for when the “Teleport” has to be held over. Mike accepted to opportunity to be their premium shrink wrap supplier and now we are a part of the incredible journey of Chris, Jess, and the yacht “Teleport.”
2011 was a great year for Dr. Shrink with many exciting things that transpired. We look back on 2011 and see all that we have accomplished, while at the same time we look forward to 2012 with new goals and objectives to strive for. 2012 is the year of Dr. Shrink’s 20th anniversary and we have big plans coming up. It is important to us that we share this special time with you, so please remember to check out our Facebook, Twitter, Google+, blogs and newsletters to find out what we have cooking. One thing that won’t change with time is that we will continue to offer the best products and service to all of our customers all the while continuing to look for better ways to serve you. We are excited to share 2012 with you!
If you are interested in reading further into some of the stories we’ve mentioned above, please click on the links below to get the all the details.
Dr. Shrink Welcomes a New Employee
Dr. Shrink After the Storm
New Dr. Shrink Disaster Shelters Donated to Japan
Dr. Shrink’s Recent Accomplishments
ShrinkWrap U Goes International
Dr. Shrink Sponsors the Yacht Teleport
If you are a current blog or newsletter subscriber, then you have probably already seen these stories featured in past blogs and/or newsletters. If you are not a current subscriber and would like to be, please go to the bottom of this page and join our mailing list!
Dr. Shrink Wraps the Yacht Teleport
There are many amazing people in this world, each with equally amazing stories to share. Dr. Shrink has had the pleasure of working with some of these wonderful people over the years. Today we wanted to highlight the incredible story of Chris Bray, Jess Taunton, and their yacht named Teleport and explain how Dr. Shrink is now tied into their story.
Chris and Jess are adventurists from Australia. In 2009, they purchased a yacht in Canada that was in need of some major refurbishing. After spending three months rebuilding in 2010, the yacht was fixed up and given a new name, Teleport. Since then, Chris and Jess have been sailing Teleport back home to Australia in stages each year, stopping along the way to see some of the world’s most fascinating places. Beginning their journey from Halifax in Nova Scotia this year, the duo have now sailed her up the east coast of Canada, across the notorious Labrador Sea to Greenland, up Greenland’s treacherous iceberg filled west-coast, and across into the infamous Northwest Passage in the Arctic above Canada.
Throughout their journey, they have been sharing their experiences with the entire world via the internet and blogging. Many people have followed Chris and Jess’ amazing story and have been able to see some of the breathtaking sights they’ve had the privilege to see. Some people have even become sponsors for their voyages donating supplies, gear, and anything else that would help them along their trip.
Chris approached Dr. Shrink’s CEO Mike Stenberg via email about being their shrink wrap supplier for when they have to let the Teleport lay over for a period of time. Chris had just been covering the yacht with tarps and knew there was a better and more effective solution out there. Very fascinated by their story, Mike has agreed to be their sponsor and is now the premium shrink wrap supplier for Teleport!
We are very proud to be supporting these amazing people traveling the world, doing something that they truly love and are passionate about. If you would like to follow the story of Chris and Jess or to see Dr. Shrink’s special sponsorship page, please follow this link to read more about their incredible journey thus far.
Dr. Shrink Welcomes Karan Korolenko
Dr. Shrink is proud to announce a new member has been added to our dynamic shrink wrap team! We would like to formally introduce Karan Korolenko to the Dr. Shrink staff.
Karen is from Manistee, MI and joined our Customer Service team on October 24th, 2011. She brings a great deal of experience to the table; she previously worked in customer service for five years at an international company out of Chicago.
Under the wing of Kelly Buckingham in our Accounts Receivable department, Karen is currently learning very quickly how to input online orders and use our order entry software. Karen had great remarks about her instructor saying, “Kelly has been really wonderful; she is an excellent teacher.” When asked what her favorite part about working at Dr. Shrink is so far, Karen said, “I like the people; it’s a very laid back and comfortable environment. Even though it is laid back and comfortable, it still is very efficient.”
Don’t be surprised when you soon start hearing Karen’s voice answering the phone to help take your orders. We are very happy to have her join our team. Welcome Karen, from all the Dr. Shrink staff!
Dr. Shrink Joins the MIAF
Florida, known as the Sunshine State, could be re-dubbed as the Boating State. It is full of marinas, yacht dealerships, yacht clubs, and of course boats – a lot of boats. It comes as no surprise Dr. Shrink strives to work with the marine oriented businesses of Florida and be their premium shrink wrap and accessories supplier. While we currently work closely with a number of marinas, dealers, and installers in the Sunshine State, there is always room for fresh ideas and resources. In an effort to support our existing customers and seek out new opportunities; we are proud to announce our membership into the Marine Industries Association of Florida (MIAF)!
The Marine Industries Association of Florida’s purpose is to:
- Promote social activities and education between its members
- To exchange ideas on promotion and sales of their products and services
- To foster and promote boating in Florida
- To aid and assist in the proposal and adoption of suitable laws and regulations relating to boats and boating
- To aid, assist or conduct displays of boats, equipment and allied products and services
Dr. Shrink’s goal is to exhibit the advantages of shrink wrap in front of the whole marine community and open up new application avenues. Our involvement with the MIAF will help achieve this goal. Using the MIAF as a resource, Dr. Shrink will continue to reach out to new and existing businesses with premium products and excellent service, and bring new shrink wrapping ideas and opportunity to the table.
For more information about the Marine Industries Association of Florida, you can visit their website at https://www.boatflorida.org.
If you have any questions or comments about Dr. Shrink, Inc. or our products and services. Please call 800-968-5147 or email drshrink@dr-shrink.com.
