Dr. Shrink, Inc. was started by Mike and Jill Stenberg in Manistee, MI in April of 1992. Mike and Jill had a related shrink wrap installation business in Traverse City, MI that they had started in 1986 which they sold in early 1992 after seeing a niche in distribution of shrink wrapping products rather than installation. 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. The Stenbergs had relocated to Manistee, MI at this point and started Dr. Shrink, Inc. as a distribution company in their home garage.
The initial business plan was basic distribution of products and there were no 5 year goals—just staying in business until the next month was the important part. Looking back at the first year it was extremely tough to break into the shrink wrapping distribution market, and Mike and Jill realized they needed to change if survival was to be an option. They began looking for the right processes and people to give them advice to streamline and grow Dr. Shrink, Inc. Mike states, “It can be hard to ask for advice—and even worse hearing that advice when you realize that we weren’t the sharpest knives in the drawer in some business areas.” Mike and Jill changed a few key things, got down to the tasks at hand and learned a lot in a short amount of time. It took some time, a great deal of financial risk, lots of work, but the numbers changed and the business grew rapidly and is still growing rapidly today.
Mike believes to have a strong business foundation, you need to know exactly what your vision is. The main thing that helped Mike & Jill see a clear vision of what they wanted to offer their customers was that they knew the tricks of the trade of shrink wrapping and were fully aware of the common hurdles and frustrations. Mike wanted to develop innovative products that would make shrink wrap installation more efficient, less troublesome, and more straightforward for others. In addition to that, the Stenbergs wanted to build a company that would be able to offer the best shrink wrapping products, excellent service, and experienced shrink wrap application advice.
Just one year into their home business in Manistee, Mike & Jill realized the company needed more space to stock products, so they 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 the owners’ 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. An expansion to our current warehouse was completed in July 2012 in which Dr. Shrink gained an additional 12,000 square feet of space to stock product.
Over all these years, one thing remains the same– Mike continues to strive for that same goal and vision of making sure Dr. Shrink, Inc. has the best competitive advantage—offering the BEST products, the BEST customer service, the BEST employees, and the BEST and most extensive shrink wrap training and advice. Dr. Shrink, Inc. has grown into a company that is one-stop-shopping for all things shrink wrap, and offers the highest quality shrink wrap and installation accessories on the market. The company continues to thrive and grow because it has been an extremely forward thinking business. In the future, Dr. Shrink will continue to strive to offer our customers the absolute best products and customer service. We are your trusted source for all things shrink wrap.
Our customers are the most important parts of this business– they communicate with us and let us know what would make their shrink wrap jobs easier, faster, and more efficient. We listen to their suggestions and feedback and put effort into making and developing those products or systems that would help. Our customers have helped Dr. Shrink, Inc. grow into what it is today and we would not be where we are without them. Thank you to everyone for the BEST 33 years and counting!
