Business of the Week: Marietta Corp.

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Nov 05, 1999 by Dickinson, Casey J

CORTLAND - Frequent travelers are well acquainted with Marietta Corp. products even if the company's name doesn't sound familiar to. them. Marietta manufactures many of the guest amenities featured in hotels worldwide. The company has captured approximately one-quarter of the North American hotel-amenities market and competes with makers of such well-known consumer products as Dial soap.

Marietta Corp. began in the village of Marietta on the shores of Otisco Lake in Onondaga County. In 1976, company founder Manny Siegle, a veteran of the food-packaging industry, having seen -hotel amenities provided in other countries, decided to introduce the miniaturized products to the U.S. market.

Marietta the village proved too small for Marietta the corporation, and the company chose an old Smith-Corona facility in Cortland in which to start production. Holiday Inn was one of the first chains to contract with Marietta for such guest amenities as shampoo in unit-of-use bottles.

"We started selling the concept of having a customized product line for hotel guests," says Tamara Sciera, vice president of business development for Marietta Corp.

The product line has grown over the years from standard soaps and shampoos to a myriad of personal-care products, such as conditioner, lotion, bath gel, and mouthwash. Marietta also sells other common hotel amenities such as shower caps and sewing kits.

The company began steadily growing in its market through the national hotel chains. Today, Marietta Corp. has 50 national-account programs for franchisees of most major hotel chains. Each product line is custom designed to hotel company specifications. Marietta also carries 14 lines of unbranded guest amenities catering to independent hotel operators.

Marietta recently signed a seven-year agreement with Cendant Corp. to supply amenities to its eight hotel chains. Cendant is one of the leading franchisors of hotels worldwide.

Hotel amenities range in price from approximately six cents to 12 cents for individual bars of soap. Shampoos can cost up to 20 cents each for specialized brands.

Marietta operates three primary manufacturing locations: Cortland, Olive Branch, Miss., and Toronto, Ontario. The company acquired its Olive Branch location in 1989 after buying the American Soap Company. The Mississippi plant now produces most of Marietta's solid soap products. Most of the company's liquid products, such as shampoo and lotion, are packaged in the 125,000sq.-ft. Cortland plant. The Toronto location serves Marietta's Canadian market accounts for approximately 10 percent of the company's North American sales.

Marietta also manufactures unit-of-use-size packages for consumer goods, a business the company expanded into early in its history. The custom packages can be manufactured in flexible plastic envelopes, small bottles, tubes, and other plastic containers. Procter & Gamble contracted with Marietta to create miniature bottles of its Pantene-brand shampoo. The bottles were not typical sample-size bottles, says Sciera. They were exact replicas of the larger sizes, a more expensive undertaking.

According to Sciera, the amenities business is more closely tied to the economy than the packaging business. "When times are good, hotels tend to offer more amenities," she explains.

The company also distributes its products through a worldwide network of independent dealers, and earlier this year, Marietta acquired a foreign distribution company with offices in Great Britain and Australia.

Marietta Corp.

37 Huntington St.

Cortlalnd, N.Y. 13045

Phone: (607)753-6746

Fax: (607)756-0658

Web Address: www.mariettacorp.com

Products: Manufacturer of miniature personal

care items for the hotel industry and custom

unit-of-use packaged products

Type of Business: Privately held

Founded: 1976

Locations: Cortland; Olive Branch, Miss.;

toronto, Ontario; sales offices in Great Britain

and Australia

Employees: 920 total full-time Cortland 600;

Olive Branch, Miss. 260; Toronto 60

Key Officers: Barry Florescue, chairman and

CEO; David Hempson, senior vice president

for operations; Philip Shager, chief financial

officer

Annual Sales: $100 million