Local News
Local branded packaging manufacturer Ray Products was recently sold to new owners; Scott Glowaczewski and Chris Turbyfill. However, neither is new to the company.
Ray Products was founded by John Ray in 1966 as the first paper box plant of its kind in Kansas. Today, Ray Products creates custom packaging for notable brands, as well as manufactures custom puzzles. It is one of very few such plants in the country today.
Chris Turbyfill, of Scottsdale, Arizona, came to know Ray Products through business. Turbyfill previously owned a business called Design Packaging, which had primarily international suppliers.
“I was in luxury packaging… and 99.9% of our product was made overseas, and I did one piece of business in the U.S., and it was with Ray Products,” Turbyfill said. “I became very close with John Ray, who wasthe owner of Ray Products at the time, and he was the son of the founder.”
He noted that the project they worked on together was a cosmetic sample subscription box: Birchbox.
“In the day we were running, I don’t know, 7,000,000-9,000,000 boxes a month out of the plant,” Turbyfill said. “And that’s how I got to know Ray Products very intimately.”
See PRODUCTS, Page 7.
Turbyfill said he’s had a relationship with the company for over 15 years. He said he enjoyed a few years of retirement when Bill Lamb, the previous owner of Ray Products, asked him to come onboard to work with Glowaczewski, over a year ago.
“I met Scott and it was like brothers made in heaven,” Turbyfill said. “We align on everything and we challenge each other respectfully. We really divide and conquer. Every skill that I don’t have, he has, and more. It’s really a great partnership.”
Turbyfill leads the company as chief development officer, along side Glowaczewski, the chief financial officer.
Glowaczewski, who currently lives in Philadelphia, originally began his career in finance. He graduated from Iona University and his first job in the field was with KPMG Accounting, doing auditing, and then moving to advisory.
“I realized I didn’t really want to do that the rest of my life,” Glowaczewski said. “That world is pretty cutthroat, and even if you do make partner, it’s still very cutthroat.”
Glowaczewski noted that he has always had an entrepreneurial and competitive spirit.
“I love being part of a team. I really didn’t feel like I was getting that team aspect from being in a large corporation, even though that is what every large corporation preaches, right? So I kind of took a calculated risk in joining the previous owner,” Glowaczewski said.
He moved his family down to Pittsburg, Kansas for several years before ultimately moving back to Pennsylvania to be closer to family while maintaining his role with Ray Products.
“The people in southeast Kansas, I wish people in the Northeast had that mentality,” Glowaczewski said. “Super nice, super thoughtful, just genuine people.”
Of Ray Products, Glowaczewski said he loves that the team is talented and experienced.
“When I met Chris, it was kind of as cliché as it sounds — a match made in heaven. We really balance eachother out well. I think the trio of Chris, April, and myself can be unstoppable,” Glowaczewski said. April Dick, a longtime employee of Ray Products, is another member of the executive team. She said she began as an administrative assistant at Ray Products. Prior to her time at the company, She worked in inventory control quality assurance for the Amazon fulfillment center in Coffeyville for over eight years. She also managed the local Family Video.
“I’ve always been the type of person that wants to grow in my knowledge of wherever I’m working, whatever I’m doing. I want to understand the full process. So I just started learning different things,” Dick said. “I would get my job done, I’d go to the next person and ask what I could help with.”
When Jackie Ray, the previous human resources manager, retired, Dick took on that role.
Now under new ownership, she has added the title of operations manager.
Of changes to the company, Turbyfill said they hope to add a creative department that can work with customers on concepts from beginning to end.
He said they also want to increase their capacity for warehousing and distribution.
“So you’ve got creative from the beginning, manufacturing in the middle, and than you have distribution and warehousing at the end,” Turbyfill said.
He noted that other areas of growth include fulfillment.
“We really want what is best for the people at Ray Products. We want to hire more people. We want to get fully involved in the community,” Glowaczewski said.
Turbyfill said that Parsons is charming, and said he hopes Ray Products can become a staple in the community by hiring more local people, and contributing to the growth of Parsons.
While not living locally, Turbyfill and Glowaczewski take turns working a week on-site in Parsons, and said they plan to maintain their hands-on approach.
“I’m super excited about the future of Ray Products under Chris and Scott. With their drive and their passion for the company, I truly believe that they can meet every single goal they have set for themselves and for Ray Products,” Dick said. “I’m excited to be along for the ride, and I’m excited that they gave me the opportunity to be a part of it.”
