Posts Tagged ‘Family’


Things to Be Thankful For – 2014

Wednesday, November 26th, 2014

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As we sit down to celebrate Thanksgiving it is customary to talk about what we are thankful about this year. The usual list is family, friends, health, etc. All of these are things for which I am extremely grateful. I have a wonderful wife to whom I have been married over 30 years. Two wonderful children and two amazing granddaughters. We have great friends, extended family and all the usual trappings.

However, one of the things for which I am most thankful is Maxi Container and the people who work hard every day to make Maxi not only one of the best container companies, but a great place to work. You see, Maxi Container is a continuation of a business started over 100 years ago by my grandfather, Charles Rubin or Haskel Tovbin as he was know for the first 13 years of his life in Russia. He came to the US at 13, by himself, to join his two brothers in Pittsburgh. They were working at a cooperage and Charlie’s used to say that his first job in America was “to be an elevator”. It was Charlie’s job to stand on the third floor of the warehouse and pull the rope to bring the wooden barrels up from the ground for the coopers to work on.

Eventually Charlie came to Detroit and started his own Barrel Reconditioning shop, Auto City Cooperage. Charlie was one of the founding members of the National Barrel and Drum Association (NABADA) which is known today as the Reusable Industrial Packaging Association (RIPA) .

After WWII, my father, Max Rubin, started a steel drum reconditioning company called National Drum and Barrel. That company eventually bought Auto City Cooperage and lasted until 1980 when it was purchased by the City of Detroit as part of a large urban renewal project called “Poletown“. Today, that land is part of the Detroit Hamtramck Cadillac Assembly Plant.

Max then started Maxi Container which we named after Max. Maxi has continued to grow and prosper. We now employ over 25 people, many of which have been which have been with us for over 20 years, and one employee who has been here over 40. I was able to work with my father for over 12 years, and have now worked with my son Joshua for over 6 years.

Our Maxi team is stronger than ever with an increased emphasis on Customer Service and a collaborative workspace. We did suffer one huge loss this year with the death of our long time Sales Manager, Bob Vannatter. Bob’s joy of life, his commitment to our customer’s and his infectious grin are surely missed. However, I am thankful that I had the chance to know and work with him for over 20 years.

So I guess it comes down to people, the people who make Maxi Container the place it is today. Our office staff, sales staff, warehouse staff and drivers. While too many to name them all, Josh, Annette, Michelle, Melissa, Horace, Shawn, Earl, Joe, Carl and many more, keep this a fun and exciting place to work every day.

Again, it’s our people and the people who make up our customers and friends that make this all worthwhile. I am thankful for you and for them.

Have a great Holiday.


Repairing the World – Reflections for the Jewish New Year

Tuesday, September 24th, 2013

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As we are between the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) I thought I would write about something very important to me. Traditionally this time of year is a time of reflection and repentance, looking back at our deeds of the last year. Indeed it is often referred to as the Ten Days of Repentance. It is a time to look within ourselves. It is a holiday that emphasizes teshuvah which is usually translated as repentance. Literally, teshuvah means to “return” or “to turn around”. It is not enough to turn yourself around, you need to turn around your relationship with others to seek better connection and communication, to increase empathy and compassion. It can also mean to turn around our relationship with the earth, with nature, with our fragile planet. This is particularly appropriate as Rosh Hashanah is also considered the birthday of the world, a celebration of the beauty of the world in its natural unspoiled state, a state that no longer exists either physically or morally. The world today is beset with problems both natural, geopolitical and economic. What can one person, or one company do to turn this around.

This leads to the concept of Tikkun Olam which means repairing the world. It’s meanings are varied, depending on which branch of Judaism you follow, which philosophers you like, if you are into Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah) or how liberal or conservative are your political beliefs. The basic premise is that the world is broken and it is up to us, through our actions, to try to repair the world.

How can one repair the world? One act at a time. A word of kindness. A gift of charity. Visiting the sick. Mourning with the bereaved. Celebrating life’s pleasures and trying to ease the pain and burden of the people with which we come into contact.

I have tried to take this one step farther and incorporate Tikkun Olam into my daily business practices. My company, Maxi Container makes charitable donations of product to many groups. We have donated recycling containers to a Detroit School, donated containers to a project to collect backpacks and school supplies for children who cannot afford them. We have donated rain barrels to cities, schools, the Sierra Club Great Lakes Program and the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy.

We make this philosophy part of our business model by promoting sustainability through the products we sell and how we conduct our daily activities. We recycle the paper, plastic, cardboard and Styrofoam generated at our office. We have replaced inefficient lighting in our warehouse with more efficient lighting, reducing our electrical usage by 50%.

During this time period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, I will have attended a friend’s funeral and a family member’s funeral. I will have mourned with both friends and family. I will have also celebrated the Holidays with friends and family both at my temple and in the home. I will have spent time with my wife, children and grandchildren, as my oldest granddaughter prepares to start Pre-School. This juxtaposition of life and death of celebration and mourning, of the sacred (prayer) and the profane (business) just proves to me, even more, that we each can take actions every day of kindness and help repair the world.

I wish all my friends and family, and anyone who reads this blog, a happy and healthy New Year. L’shana Tova.