Mil-Spec Packaging in Macon manufactures containers for military

Business 1 on 1 with Jon Watson, co-owner of Mil-Spec Packaging of Georgia, 8150 Industrial Highway, Macon, 478-788-3454.

How long have you been in business?: Six years ago Watson and his wife, Jennifer, bought the business that was founded in the 1960s.

“Neither of us were in this kind of business. … She was in social work and I was in finance. ... So we had been looking at various businesses to see what might be an opportunity. And since I had some familarity with this type of business working at Georgia Pacific in finance and I had worked in mills, we felt like this was a good fit for us.

“We had had this dream for many, many years. … Just getting to this point was not a simple process. It was a long, thought-out process, and it was a lot of sacrifice getting there. That was in 2010, right in the heart of the recession. … People thought we were absolutely nuts.”

What do you like best about your job?: “I think knowing that what you put into it every day is impacting your community, it’s impacting your customers, it’s impacting your vendors, but more importantly it’s impacting the people who work for you. And getting to have that one-on-one interaction with them and really feeling like you are making a difference is probably the thing I enjoy most.

One thing about owning your own business, it’s kind of cliché to say, but we always talk about God’s in control. When you own your own business, you realize how little you really are in control. You can put forth the effort and everything and that’s absolutely important, but ... God has helped us succeed and be successful and rewarded us with business.”

What is your specialty?: “We manufacture and distribute packaging supplies mainly to the military and defense contract industry but really to anybody. About 65 percent of our business is either military or defense contactor direct. … We can do the bar coding and labeling for the military packaging.

“We manufacture corrugated boxes and wooden crates. … Our niche is that we can do it in small quantities and we can do custom logos and things like that that differentiates us from (other companies.) … I can send a box with your logo on it.”

What are your future plans?: “We just opened a second location here in Macon. We just bought another building in the same industrial park. So now we have about 60,000 square feet under roof and just purchased new equipment. So things are looking good.

This story was originally published April 22, 2016 at 5:34 PM with the headline "Mil-Spec Packaging in Macon manufactures containers for military."