Made in Tinton Falls: Ranger Industries Makes Scrapbooking an Art

Patch tagged along with U.S. Rep. Rush Holt from the 12th District last Thursday to visit three local manufacturers and learn about the obstacles that they face in this economy and how they have found success. This is the first in a series of three articles that gives a snapshot of the state of manufacturing in Eatontown and Tinton Falls.

Tucked behind the off Hope Road in Tinton Falls in an unassuming building is one of the leading manufacturers of scrapbooking products – and we're not talking about stamp pads in three or four basic colors.

Ranger Industries produces an ever-changing line of quality inks and embossing powders used primarily by scrapbookers, mixed media artists, jewelry makers and home decor crafters and sold in retail craft stores around the country like Michaels and AC Moore. According to company president Justin Russo, Ranger has three full-time staff members working in the lab to develop new products and keep up with color trends, which change and need to be adapted every six months.

Since 2005, the company has grown from 40 to 83 employees, including 17 workers it absorbed when Ranger consolidated the business to the location and closed a Pennsylvania site.

Russo and his partner Alain Avrillon agreed that about 25 percent of each day is spent on thinking about new products. Many innovations they have developed for the medical and retail environment – used in surgeries or as the sell-by date stamped on a snack bag– are then translated into the larger retail craft market.

Russo, who lives in Oceanport, said that about 10 percent of their customers are industrial. “The crafter doesn’t drive the business,” he said, “the industrial customer does.”

Avrillon, a native of South Africa who now lives in Monmouth Beach and is sales director, made the comparison to the multiple uses and products that Arm & Hammer has found for baking soda other than for baking cookies.

“How do you legislate innovation?” asked Russo. “You have to find your niche.”

Married to sisters, Russo and Avrillon started working at Ranger, their wives’ family business, in 2001 and took over operations completely in 2006.

Ranger has worked extensively with New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program, Inc. to streamline their systems and develop best practices and has used grant money to “change to a more sophisticated style,” said Russo.

Ranger has mentored other manufacturers in the state to encourage innovation and efficiency, most recently an Atlantic City-based saltwater taffy producer that branched out into chocolates to appeal to consumers during colder months.

Following a tour of the facility last Thursday, U.S. Rep. Rush Holt, who expressed surprise over the fast-paced nature of the industry, said to Russo and Avrillon, "You guys clearly haven't stopped thinking."