Introduction:
Hello, my name is Shannon Moser. I am a graduate student at Western Carolina University’s Masters in the Science & Technology curriculum. I’m here at KRW with Ken Wilkes, CEO of KRW & Smart-bottle. Our interview started with a shop tour. The first thing I noticed was there was a lot of room for expansion. That shows me he’s always thinking of expanding; never satisfied with present business levels.
The shop is set up into roughly 5 areas;
1) The Lab: Where product is tested & proto-type production takes place.
2) The Prep area: Where small batch runs & proto-types bags are cut & prepared for manufacture.
3) The Machining area: Manual machines (lathes & mill) & a “new” CNC Bridgeport and a new CNC lathe.
4) Assembly area: General work area & fabrication area for small machines.
5) The large machine room: Large proto-type machines are fabricated in this room. Once complete, these machines area shipped out to facilities to produce bags, designed all in house at KRW.
I was lucky enough to meet Ken about 2 years ago. I like to machine…I’ve done it for 20 years & Ken saw potential in me to help with proto-type machining. I was very impressed at first, but the more I saw his operation, the product & machine design, & understood how the machine process developed, I was blown away. I have wanted to sit down for a long time & learn more from such an inventive individual.
SHANNON: Ken, where did you grow up? I’ve heard you talk about California a lot…is that right?
Raised In Santa Monica California, graduated Santa Monica High School as did my mother and father as well as my oldest daughter
SHANNON: What kind of educational background do you have?
KEN: I went to college on and off until I was drafted into the Army and became a medic. My real education came from taking things apart and putting most of them back together better , never did get the alarm clock spring back in.
SHANNON: Did you have a career before Medi-pax & is that where you got your start in the flexible package industry?
KEN: I had a 1957 VW bug in High School, was not a big hit with the girls and nobody knew how to fix them. I got pretty good at it and one of my first jobs was as a VW mechanic at a German auto repair company. When I came out of the army I needed a job and ended up at a Cellophane bag company called Schuster Cellophane. I invented some new packaging for medical devices while there and I also was the general manger and VP for then new division Medipax
SHANNON: When did you know it was time to venture off into your own business & what was that 1st business…KENPACK?
KEN: I was running Medipax on a 24/6 basis and signed the checks and did everything else. My boss told me that he was the only one that invented things there. After he told me that I left the company and started my own and eventually bought Medipax.
SHANNON: KRW in 1985, & Smart bottle in 1990. How many businesses have you started?
KEN: I have started three basic business , Kenpak, Kenpak Machinery , this became Smart Bottle and KRW Packaging Machinery , and ATK motorcycles.
SHANNON: I have read that you have multiple patents in packaging & in machinery invented. How many patents do you have? What is that process like applying for a patent?
KEN: I have world wide about 50 patents. First thing you need to do after thinking you have invented something is to be sure nobody else has already done it. You need to do a world wide search now, Google patents is a good place to start.
SHANNON: You told me a very short story one time about looking for spare machine parts in a junk yard in the desert on the west coast…can you recount that story?
KEN: When I was repairing VW one of the cheapest places to get parts were junk yards in the desert. These junk yards were just open desert with a bunch of cars store very close to each other, sometimes on top of each other. You would go to the office and say I want a starter for a 59 VW and he would say yeah got one out there , not sure where but if you find it will cost you $10.00. So out you go in 110 degree heat and you find the VW and it is 120 degrees and you climb under hoping it does not move on you and you unbolt the starter; the hottest and dirtiest job ever.
SHANNON: How does one get to do business with Dow & KRAFT? Which one did you do business with first? Did doing business with one create opportunity with the other?
KEN: Sometimes it is true it is who you know that matters. After being in business for 25 years in medical packaging and introducing several patented products along the way you get known. I have been asked to speak at several forums and attending these events were folks from Dow and Kraft and many other companies.
SHANNON: I like your concept on flexible packaging. It can apply to so many different products…hot, cold, solids & liquids. Do you see your particular industry growing in the next 5 years?
KEN: Water world wide is a problem, some countries like Chile have no drinkable water in some of their large cities and they need to buy drinkable water every day. Also emergency water is needed around the world and right now they have to ship in rigid bottles and then fill them with tankers. With Smart Bottle they can ship in 10 times as many empties.
What is the biggest obstacle you face as a small business owner?
KEN: Government, all levels but the most difficult is the federal government.
Thank you for the opportunity to interview. I think a lot of you personally & professionally. This has been a great opportunity to learn from a successful, multi patent holding, multi-business owning, international businessman that is stuck away up here…hidden out in Weaverville, NC.
For a video peak at one of Kens’ many machine creations that produce Smart-Bottle, check out this 4 minute video:
