When I acquired the rights to a soft drink bottler in the upstate of South Carolina over 60 years ago, I can't say that I ever dreamed that the company would evolve into Hartness International and would become the company it is today. In those days, getting the best price on bottle caps, making improvements to equipment on our bottling lines, reducing glass breakage, and increasing our line efficiency were the focus of our efforts. Over the years, we learned a lot about how bottling lines run and the things that were critical to running a bottling facility. This gave us our unique perspective as both a bottler and a manufacturer of packaging solutions. I attribute a lot of our success to this perspective.

Today, Hartness International employs 450 of the most committed professionals in the packaging industry. These folks plan and execute global sales and manufacturing strategies, implement World Class manufacturing processes, and develop the most innovative products in the world. With regional offices in both Germany and Mexico, our business has truly become a global endeavor, and I could not be more excited.

We proudly remain a family owned business, and I am pleased to be able to say that three generations of Hartness' are involved in the company. Much has changed in 60 years, but three things have not. Total customer satisfaction and innovation are still valued principles, and we still do our business with utmost integrity. We spend a significant amount of our total revenue in research and development each year to ensure the sustainability of our future, as well as that of our clients, and I wouldn't have it any other way. As a businessman, I also well know that some of the lengths to which we go in order to support our clients might not be acceptable in many publicly-held companies. The freedom to invest in and pursue our core competencies, customer satisfaction and innovation, are only enhanced by our years of experience and status as a family owned business.

Come see us in Greenville and enjoy some South Carolina hospitality. In addition to great fellowship, you’re also sure to notice a state of the art manufacturing facility and meet the finest, most committed staff in the packaging industry.

As I like to say, we haven't yet built the perfect machine, but we're working hard on it. I think that's about the best commitment we can make.