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w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m O c t o b e r 2 0 15 • I NSIGH T | 31 Shari Jackson, director of film recycling with the Flexible Film Recovery Group of the American Chemisty Council, says the success of Wisconsin Film & Bag can serve as a model for other companies in the industry when it comes to recycling. e plastics have value that producers and users want to recover. Creating a process and a supply chain are important challenges to overcome to meet an industry goal of 2 billion pounds of film recycled annually by 2020. "What they have created is a unique process for commercial recovery," Jackson says. "Businesses want to recycle these films and are looking for recovery options like SEAN P. JOHNSON Success often depends on having the right people at the right place at the right time. For Wisconsin Film & Bag, it was having Jim Feeney in that sweet spot. President of the company since 2008, Feeney oversaw the innovation effort that resulted in WFB's patented process for recycling post-consumer scrap film into resins that can produce products with the same characteristics and specifications as virgin resins. When things went wrong — and they did several times — Feeney was able to keep his team engaged in pushing the process forward. Perhaps it was a sense of déjà vu. For nearly 20 years of his career, Feeney worked for some of the region's major paper producers, and was involved in similar projects when that industry began incorporating post-consumer content in its products. "We wound up working with some very similar processes that could be mapped into the plastics industry," Feeney says. "There were some footsteps already there." A native of Philadelphia, Feeney went to work in Northeast Wisconsin's paper industry after graduating from St. Norbert College. Those years spent with the paper companies, including companies listed in the Fortune 500, taught him some important lessons about success and innovation. "The economic downturn of 2008 was the fifth one I've been through. It can be a good time to innovate because a lot of people and companies get stagnant," he says. Not only did WFB use that opportunity to launch its plastic films recycling effort, the company also opened new sales offices and worked to strengthen existing relationships as well as build new ones, Feeney says. For Feeney, smaller and more nimble is better for innovation and competitiveness. "That's one of the reasons I left the Fortune 500 and came here. I want to be creative." The right stuff Crews work 24 hours, seven days a week producing plastic film products such as drum liner, pallet wrap and a variety of pouches. this. We need to be investing in opportunities like this." e workforce has also benefited, growing by more than 57 percent since the ECO Blend line was launched, from 109 to 175 employees working at the Shawano-based company. As ECO Blend further penetrates the marketplace, the company could see employment expand beyond 200 workers. "I never get tired of hearing the story of how they persevered," says Nancy Smith, executive director of the Shawano County Chamber of Commerce. "When I think of entrepreneurship, I can't help but think of Jim Feeney and what they went through." In addition to its growth, Smith praised the company for the leadership and other contributions it makes to the community. Feeney has served as chamber president and is a regular contributor to its leadership programs. Moving forward A side from the triple play on the bottom line, the recycling effort has created new business opportunities Wisconsin Film & Bag had not previously anticipated. e company is now working with trade groups, industry partners and other users of plastic films to create a supply chain for the post-consumer materials it needs to keep the recycling lines running. "When I see trucks leaving Shawano with products I know are wrapped in film come back empty, I wonder how we can get that to come back full," Johnson says. While a walk through the storage area reveals stacked bundles of recycled film, there is room to handle additional material — even to bring on additional equipment if necessary. Plans for an additional extruder are in the works for 2016. With three patents already approved for the recycling process and another two pending, licensing could also be in the future, though it seems unlikely the company will let go of the competitive advantage it has developed anytime soon. Appreciative of the new opportunities, Feeney is also thankful for the lessons learned on what he calls the company's "innovation journey." "Innovation is at the heart of what we do to survive," he says. "Failure, and the persistence to overcome it, will lead you to success."