Peter Fox has been appointed as CEO of SOMIC Packaging, Inc. A 30-year packaging industry veteran, he has served as the Senior Vice President of Sales since joining the Twin Cities area company in 2014. His promotion signals a clear vision of future success for the manufacturer of end-of-line, retail-ready case packaging machinery.
“Peter will be driving the evolution of our organization to support our long term ambitions for continued growth in the United States,” remarked Patrick Bonetsmüller, President of Amerang, Germany, based SOMIC.
“His leadership and customer centricity has led him to steadily grow our business. Peter has built a track record of strong relationships by adopting a voice of customer mindset. Combined with his entrepreneurial approach, this has helped our employees to unleash their potential, grow their knowledge and enjoy overcoming challenges together. We wish him great success in his new mission.”
In his new role, Fox is responsible for managing U.S. operations. In the past seven years, SOMIC Packaging, Inc. has flourished under his sales and business development guidance. The company expanded into several new markets, designing and developing equipment for a variety of different industries. Earlier this year, he introduced Retail Ready Magazine that goes behind-the-scenes with company news and insights.
A key decision Fox made in 2018 proved to be instrumental in the company’s rise as a leader for innovative two-piece, retail-ready packaging equipment. In moving the company from a small Chicago area office to a larger facility in suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul, SOMIC Packaging tripled its space and opened the door to new opportunities. In addition to increased warehouse capabilities and larger spare parts inventory, Fox hired more staff and expanded customer service support. A state-of-the-art production showroom now runs Factory Acceptance Tests for all new machines prior to installation.
“We have come a long way in a relatively short period of time and we still have a lot of work to do. But I like how we are positioned in the market for future success,” said Fox, who began his packaging career in research positions at Kraft Foods and The Pillsbury Company. He then gravitated to the sales side at Delkor Systems and served as Vice President of Business Development with food packager Interpress Technologies before joining SOMIC.
“SOMIC has since become a strong player in the broader U.S. packaged food market,” continued Fox. “We have expanded our brand with installations in various industries, including cheese, confections, the coffee cartoning business and meat snacks. The fundamental driver for this growth is our machines have the flexibility to adapt to the unique needs of our customers. Our experience in Europe with retail-ready tray and hood designs has given us a tremendous advantage over our U.S. competitors. I’m looking forward to reaching the new level.”
