As you might expect, there are boxes in Robert Meggy's office - but these ones are wrapped in colourful paper.

As in Christmasses past, Meggy, president and CEO of Great Little Box Co. Ltd., headquartered on Mitchell Island in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond, has purchased gifts for all of his firm's employees' children.

He has also picked up the tab on the firm's annual holiday bash, and covered the hotel costs for employees - and their families - who work at warehouses in Victoria, Kelowna and the Seattle suburb of Everett, Wash. (Great Little Box also has a Calgary branch office to fill orders from Alberta, but it is operated by staff from another company.)

"We have a Christmas party for all the kids in the company every year," says Meggy.

Bayne Stanley, Business Edge
From profit-sharing to a fitness centre and an open-book policy, Great Little Box Co. CEO Robert Meggy ensures his employees are partners in success.

"We spend, probably, an average of about $60 a present. I find out from their parents what they want, because there are about 120 kids now. I'm pretty involved - and always have been. So (employees) just use my office as a toy store. I've become an expert in children's toys every year."

Actually, Meggy plays Santa for employees year-round. If he's not providing free fruit every day, he's planning a dock on the Fraser River in front of Great Little Box Co.'s new 250,000-sq.-ft. headquarters.

"We're getting quotes on having a dock put in here so we can have kayaks down here that people can use whenever they want," says Meggy.

The new plant, which opened last spring, also has a beach volleyball court, basketball court and fitness centre. Meggy had builders flip the entrance of the glass-fronted building to the back of the property so that offices would overlook the Fraser River - which still looks majestic on a dreary winter morning. While many CEOs focus on sales, he spends most of his time with employees.

In addition to these performance-based perks, Meggy hosts an all-expenses paid company golf tournament each summer, provides monthly profit-sharing cheques to all employees and, in moves that would make many scandal-plagued CEOs squirm, opens up the firm's financial books to all and gets everyone to participate in budget planning.

If the company reaches its annual profit targets, he takes all employees on a weekend getaway. Places visited in recent years include the Mexican resorts of Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta, as well as Las Vegas.

The crew won't meet its "Big Outrageous eXtravaganza" target this year, thanks largely to the strong Canadian dollar. But Great Little Box Co. has managed to double its profits in the past four years and now generates $30 million in annual revenues while producing 30 million boxes, mainly for manufacturers - from those small enough to hold a ring to those big enough to contain furniture - along with display stands, foam and other shipping and moving supplies.

As a result of his generosity, international consulting firm Watson Wyatt and BC Business Magazine recently named Great Little Box Co. as British Columbia's best company to work for, and Maclean's has listed it among Canada's top 100 employers for 2007. Deloitte and the National Post have ranked it among Canada's 50 best companies five times since 1995. This year, Meggy was named as a finalist for the Ernst and Young Pacific Region Entrepreneur Of The Year for the third time.

The firm has also won a number of manufacturing industry accolades since Meggy, a certified management accountant by profession, acquired a box company that was in receivership in 1982 and brought it back to life.

Not bad, considering Great Little Box Co. only had three employees in the early days.

Robert Meggy

But there's much more to Meggy's life than boxes. He has raced cars, built boats, trekked up Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa and the Himalayas in Nepal during visits to more than 50 countries, and run a marathon - among other feats.

What's next for him? Well, what isn't?

1. What was it like growing up in Tsawwassen (in the Delta municipality south of Vancouver)?

"It was quite good, because it was remote and you made your own fun out there. We took a school bus every day to Ladner to go to high school. I grew up in Vancouver until I was 10 before I moved out there. That was quite a change, from a 1,000-student school to 90 students."

2. Who were some of your early mentors?

"Obviously, it has to be your parents. But I can honestly say I never really had any (more)."

3. What steered you into accounting?

"I went to (the University of British Columbia) and took a bachelor of science in math because I was good at math. I kept on thinking I'd see the light one day - but I never did. I graduated and had no idea what I wanted to do. So I worked in the computers with my brother. One of our customers was a CMA so I took courses and liked that, so I became a CMA.The last company I worked for was a fairly incompetent third-generation forest products company, and I suppose now it inspired me to have my own company - because (at the time) I thought I could do better than this. They went into bankruptcy at the time I found this place, so it worked out very nicely. This company (that is now Great Little Box) had actually gone for about a year and it went into receivership. I bought the assets off the receiver and started it up again."

4. What sort of adversity did you face?

"When I started the company, my wife (Marg) and I both had more than one job. We owned quite a few rental properties and we'd been building up rentals even to the point of (owning) a small apartment block and various single-family duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes and things like that - various rental properties around the Lower Mainland and Victoria. Back in 1980, inflation was 10 per cent, real estate values went up 10 per cent, everything was wonderful. Then '81 came along and prices doubled in a year. We made a lot of money on paper, although I wasn't too happy because rents were still the same. So you really couldn't afford to buy anything anymore. In '82, of course, things really went sideways. It was almost like a depression. Interest rates were 20 per cent and the market was just crashing. Real estate, basically, dropped in half. The first six months, I lost 18 pounds. It was plain ugly. I finally got a good salesperson in and we finally started creating some business after six months. Ever since then, we've never looked back. We've had a couple of instances where I've been out of my core business. I went into a food manufacturing company many years ago that turned out to be disastrous. But we've been steadily building over the years."

5. What was your first big contract?

"We don't really get big contracts. We have about 1,000 companies. The big mills here sort of take the big accounts. So we have more large-quantity accounts. The (formerly low) Canadian dollar has certainly helped us a lot and the growths have been quite good, so we needed a much bigger building. We decided to build our own this time, because you just don't find many buildings this size. We have 250 metres of waterfront here. All of the offices are all built-in views, so everybody has an outside view."

6. What challenges did you face when it came to recruiting?

"Probably no more than anybody else. But I've always believed in social events.

"When this company was very small, we only had three people and we always had social events. Our first Christmas party was a Chinese restaurant. Now, we're at the ballroom at the Hyatt out at the airport. I always noticed that people who did not go to social events, for the most part, they weren't here a year. They didn't last very long. Not that they were bad people, but people who didn't go to social events weren't interested in their workplace, which is really the company. So we've always focused on getting people interested in social events and adding more and more. I've always believed that everybody, including me, has got to enjoy going to work. I find that people that work well with other people stay a lot longer. My first employee is still here. He's a machine operator. He's a Vietnamese immigrant and he's still here."

7. What types of skills do your employees have to have?

"You're looking at everything from professional accountants to truck drivers, millwrights, sales training. It's a real variety. Our biggest problem is (finding) millwrights and good salespeople. We've got an (information technology) department, but boxes are still pretty basic. But every high-tech company needs boxes."

8. When did you start opening your books to employees?

"Well, we've had profit-sharing for many years, but didn't open the books up until six or seven years ago. We decided to make it open-book. I talk to all employees. I give very good talks to employees on how to read financial statements, income statements and a balance sheet ... I meet with all employees every six months in small groups to go over things like that - to (help them) understand what built the company."

9. What does having all these fitness programs do for reducing employee absenteeism and sick days?

"It's creating the culture that we want here. We always try to meet the needs and wants of people. People want recognition. So we even have people nominate each other around the company (for employee of the month), and every plant has their own (program.) For instance, we bring all our own employees in and everybody who has been nominated gets a gift certificate. The winner gets their own parking place with their name on it. (The spot) is right in front of the door here. It's the only spot (with a name on it) in the company and it's for the employee of the month ... We measure everything here, and when you measure, you can reward and, obviously, become more efficient and everything else like that. We have a lot of recognition programs. So it makes for a very positive atmosphere. People want to know what's going on in a company - and (providing that information) is what we're very good at. We have a monthly meeting of all employees - and all of the factories have their own.

We review everything that's happening in the company. All of the managers talk about their departments. Everybody waits for me to talk, because I review the financials. We have profit-sharing for everybody. On the overhead, we bring up the income statement and balance sheet. It's very rare for a private company ever to do that. We take 15 per cent of profits and split them equally amongst everybody in the company. It doesn't matter if you're a truck driver or controller - everybody gets the same amount. We have a few people in top management who have different programs. It's a little bit different because that's part of their pay. If we lose money, you don't get anything. Fortunately, it's been a while since we lost money. People also want to be promoted. Every job is posted (internally) before we go outside. They want education. We pay for all that. (Another thing they want is) security. We don't have any part-time jobs or contract jobs. Everything is permanent. So everything we do, we try to fulfil people's needs and wants."

10. Given that you open your books to everybody - and you're an accountant - what do you think of some of the corporate scandals that have occurred with Enron and some of these companies?

"I think public companies are a whole different world. I would never become public. In a private company, you can do something for people. I just find that with being public, everything is for short-term gain. You find there's always conflicts between presidents and shareholders, and things like that. Your aims are different. It's very difficult to have long-term planning in a public company because they want short-term gain. We strive to have no conflict here and we have very little. We have a very good evaluation system and quarterly reviews for all employees. So we're very much on top of people and their feelings - making sure it's an enjoyable experience being here. Most companies have two or three interviews (for potential hires.) We probably have eight or nine, on an average, because we want to get people to fit into our culture. We want them to enjoy working here, too. These days, it's very hard to get people. Also, you don't want people to leave - because that's very expensive."

11. What can firms across Canada learn from your experiences?

"If you think it's hard to hire people now, in the next three years it's going to be really hard. It's so important to create a good atmosphere to keep people. Even now, that's our single biggest issue - hiring. Although we're very fussy about hiring, it's going to get worse and worse all the time. Companies who don't treat people well, they're going to start losing (employees) here, because it is going to be a buyers market when it comes to jobs."

12. What is your turnover rate, approximately?

"It's probably under one per cent, when we talk about things out of our control - like pregnancies. Or spouses being transferred. Someone leaving for the sake of leaving? Rarely has it ever happened."

13. Which side of the box do you think on?

"I'm not like your normal accountant.

"It's pretty funny, when I have my own company, to say that. I do think outside the box a lot. We try and get creative here. We'd never win these awards we have - we're one of Canada's 50 best-managed companies - unless we're thinking outside, being creative. People are our No. 1 asset. I'm very strong on that. We have a number of strategic planning meetings throughout the year and always have different people around the company involved in them. Everything is people-driven. Everybody who comes up with ideas is recognized for them. We have minimum $10 (rewards) and we pay up to $1,000 when we use ideas."

14. What are your firm's expansion plans?

"Our biggest problem the last few years was that we had no space. Now that we're in the new building, we're actively looking for companies to buy. We just bought this label company, and we bought a moving-box company recently. We're actively looking now for small companies to buy to increase what we do - in B.C., Washington state, also because we're down there. But other (places are) too far, because the corrugated (cardboard) is so bulky (and expensive to ship.) So we can't go very far. We want to run things under our roof, because we've got space here."

15. Why did you expand into Washington state?

"It seemed natural. The manufacturing base in Seattle is probably three to five times our size. It's only two hours to Everett. So it's natural place, rather than Calgary or back east. It takes a while to establish yourself. We have seven salespeople there now. It's very expensive. We don't make money most of the time. I'm more interested in growth right now than making money."

16. So how do you find the time to manage a company with different locations and still climb a mountain in Africa and run a marathon?

"Well, the sales manager says that sales are always better when I'm not here. I only have three people report to me. One is my wife. Well, it's debatable who reports to (whom) sometimes. Our business, in one sense, is fairly simple because orders come and orders go. I'm here more for the long-term. I also act as general manager. I was here at five this morning. This is a very typical day for me. I was here on the weekend for a few hours. I was getting pretty caught up with stuff. I don't deal much with customers, because our biggest customer is only three per cent of the business. I'm not a sales- person. In my other life, I'd probably be an engineer - quite boring. I don't micro-manage. My stuff (doesn't involve) telling people what to do. I make sure I don't undermine. That's very important."

17. What will your Christmas demand be like?

"That starts in late August, and it's dying off now. Dealing with manufacturers, these (boxes) are made long in advance of Christmas. So Christmas itself, for us, is pretty much a four-month period. It probably increases the business by about 20 per cent. The slowest months are January, February - bloody awful. Probably about (a decline of) 20 per cent."

18. Why do you support the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation?

"Because there's a few people here with Crohn's and Colitis - one of them being me. I've had Crohn's for many years. I wanted to support a national medical charity, so I've been on the national board of directors. I've been lucky - since I've done so much exercise the last six or seven years, I've hardly had any problems with (pain). I've had two operations. I've been off quite a bit with it, but in the last several years, knock on wood, I'm only on minor doses of (medication). If you look at long life and good health ... the No. 1 thing by far is being in good physical shape. I'm very strong on that. I run a few times a week. Saturday, I spent all day snow-shoeing. I see a trainer once a week, play squash every week, hike on the weekends. This year, we just came back from Nepal. A couple of years ago, we had a company trip with six of us up to (Mount) Kilimanjaro. We have a group of us that do the (notoriously tough) Grouse Grind every week (up Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver.)" 19. So what's your next big personal project?

"We're going to Thailand in January, and I'm going to the Seychelles and Madagascar in April. I've got a wedding in Italy in May, so I can't complain. I take several trips a year. I love to travel. We go to a lot of Third World countries. I'm looking up lots on the Internet on Serengeti (a national wildlife park in Tanzania), because I'd like to go. On your deathbed, you never say, 'Gee, I wish I'd spent more time at the office.' So many people can easily afford it, but just don't go anywhere. By next January (2007), I'm going to go to Goa (in India)."

20. If someone says you can't run your company anymore, what will you do?

"Well, one of my biggest hobbies is boating. I've had boats all my life and I built them for many years. We love to go to Granville Island (where many boats are moored) during the summer. We always go up north every year. Easter, Thanksgiving, if we're not doing something else, we're boating. As long as I do all that, I can see (myself) doing that for a long time."

Robert Meggy

* Title: Founder, president/CEO

* Born/raised/age: Vancouver/Vancouver, Tsawwassen/60.

* Education: Bachelor of science in math from the University of British Columbia (1971), certified management accountant designation (1977). Family: Wife Marg, son David, 27, daughter Christine, 25.

* Career: After graduating from UBC in 1971, Meggy worked as a controller for several companies and in a computer firm with his brother while also completing courses for his CMA designation. In 1982, he purchased a box company that was in receivership in and turned it into Great Little Box Co. Ltd.

* Kudos: Named a finalist for the Ernst and Young Pacific Region Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2006, 2005 and 2004.

* Moonlighting: Meggy has been actively involved with the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada for more than 20 years and served as national vice-president for the B.C./Yukon region. He is also a member of the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) entrepreneurship program's advisory board and a board member for Quest Outreach Society. Vancouver-based Quest intercepts waste food before it reaches landfill sites and redirects it to hundreds of social agencies across the Lower Mainland. In 2005-06, Quest rescued $7.15 million worth of food - or a quarter tonne of fresh vegetables, fruit, meat and fish, baked and other fare per month - and fed 50,000 people per month. Meggy is also a past board member for Providence Health Care, a Vancouver-based Catholic health-care provider that operates seven facilities, including hospitals and care centres (open to people of any denomination), while also training medical professionals and conducting research.

* Passions: Travel, hiking, boating, physical fitness.

Great Big Little Box Co.

* Brass: Robert Meggy, president and CEO; Marg Meggy, vice-president of finance.

* Profile: A private company that was established in 1982 and has no plans to go public, Great Little Box Co. operates Western Canada's largest independent corrugated sheet plant at its headquarters on Mitchell Island in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond. The firm has almost 200 employees, and also operates warehouses in Kelowna, Victoria and the Seattle suburb of Everett, Wash. It also has a branch office in Calgary that is staffed by another company.

* Stats: Great Little Box Co. generates $30 million worth of revenue per year and produces 30 million boxes annually along with other supplies.

* Awards: This year, Great Little Box Co. was named best company to work for in B.C. (Watson Wyatt Worldwide, B.C. Business Magazine) after being named one of the province's top 25 employers each of the past four years. Also recognized this year as one of Canada's top 10 employers (Financial Post), and one of Canada's top 100 employers (Maclean's.) Was just voted - for the third straight year - as one of Canada's 50 best managed companies by Deloitte and Touche, the National Post, CIBC Commercial Banking and the Queen's School of Business. The honour includes 2007. Three-time winner of the Tappi Corrpak design competition (2006, 2004, 2003) and two-time recipient (1999, 1997) of Quality Council of B.C. Award of Distinction.

* Website: www.greatlittlebox.com

* HQ: 11300 Twigg Place, Mitchell Island, Richmond, B.C., V6V 3C1

* Phone/Fax: (604) 301-3700 or 1-800-661-3377 /(604) 301-3745.

(Monte Stewart can be reached at monte@businessedge.ca)