David Frecka is president and CEO of Next Generation Films, and even though it sounds like a company out of Hollywood, it’s not what you think.
Of course Frecka will lead you to believe he’s a movie-making bigwig if it gets him out of a speeding ticket.
“I was stopped by a cop for speeding and he asked me what I did for a living,” say Frecka. “I told him and he let me go.”
But the “Film” in the name of his company refers to flexible polymer-based film for packaging.
Frecka purchased Next Generation in 1985. It’s been a bumpy ride at times, but the company has seen profits and growth for the last five years. He spent a lot on technology and state-of-the-art equipment and considers that investment a reason for his success.
But it’s a tough business.
“The plastic industry is so volatile that it’s easy to lose money,” says Frecka. “Resin can go up and down 100 percent in six to seven months. It’s all demand-based and sometimes it’s a scary place to be.”
It became even tougher when a series of health issues forced Frecka to take time off.
“I hired some ‘professional managers,’ some industry guys, and in a year, they almost had me out of business,” he says. “They didn’t understand cash flow … we had big inventories and the company was going out of business.”
Frecka returned to work early and “I got some great people and I paid them a lot of money … I got a good accounting firm … I told (my suppliers) I knew how bad things were and gave them all weekly updates. That gave them the foundation to wait.”
The company is now prospering, but for Frecka, both failure and success are a part of business.
“They don’t kill you when you fail,” he says. “My success is built more on failures than success — you can’t shoot 100 percent all the time. You try to gain more than you lose.” How to reach: Next Generation Films, (800) 88 -8150 or www.nextgenfilms.com
