For over 100 years, Rehrig Pacific has believed the key to success lies in making products that give our customers a real advantage. In 1913, a young carpenter named Will Rehrig saw new possibilities emerging as the Second Industrial Revolution was in full swing. Merging woodworking skills with a knack for designing machinery, Will built a business supplying customers with manufactured wood containers.
Over the next few decades, Rehrig Box & Manufacturing Co. grew to be a well-regarded supplier to the milk industry. The Great Depression and WWII slowed the progress of the business, but it was ably managed by Bud Rehrig, a second generation Rehrig. Under his guidance, the company flourished along the West Coast. Proving our staying power, we became the sole manufacturer of milk crates in California, when in 1929 there had been nine.
We changed our name to Rehrig Pacific Company as our expertise in manufacturing steel-reinforced wooden cases was now being augmented by a growing knowledge of the milk industry. We were transitioning from product supplier to consultative solution provider. Brad Rehrig, a third generation Rehrig, saw the capabilities of the growing supply of a new material—plastics.
Rehrig Pacific introduced its first plastic milk crate and the transformation from woodworkers to plastic manufacturers had begun. The plastics machinery industry was coming into its own and Rehrig Pacific took full advantage of the advancements in manufacturing technology. This enabled us to focus more on both manufacturing quality containers and deepening our knowledge of our customers’ operations, rather than spending time and resources designing our own equipment.
During the second half of the twentieth century, Rehrig Pacific expanded from a regional supplier to a national supplier with manufacturing capacity throughout the United States. Key to our success was Brad Rehrig’s belief in the capability of Rehrig Pacific’s employees and the returns that could be realized by investing in this wonderful resource. Brad’s legacy can be clearly seen in the core values we hold dearly today: Family, Service, Growth, Intrapreneurship, and Innovation.
Rehrig Pacific’s belief in the strength of its employees is shown in the promotion of Mike Doka, our fourth President and first non-family leader. Mike oversaw the cementing of Rehrig Pacific as the dominant force in the industries we served, our entry in large part molding, and introduction of automated manufacturing.
Today, we are in our second century of business, carrying on under the leadership of Will Rehrig, our founder’s great-grandson. Rehrig Pacific continues to build upon our expertise in manufacturing, our extensive knowledge of our customers’ operations, and the incredible talent of our people to originate new solutions for our customers. Today, we continue Will Rehrig’s legacy of helping companies move goods, resources, and ideas.
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