Project Spotlight: Fox Valley Wood Products
Hometown Connections with a third-generation, wood-manufacturing solutions company the Fox Valley has relied on since 1963!
When you live in a small community, you just never know when you’re going to run into someone you know. A good example of small-town networking is when Jeff Van Zeeland reached out to me in August of 2021 to do some updated photography of Fox Valley Wood Products.
My sister-in-law Kami referred Jeff to me. They went to school together. But, Jeff didn’t realize until later on that him and I actually worked together when I was in trucking. Before I started doing photography solely full time I worked with my family’s over the road flatbed company, MW Trucking. We would haul specialized crates from Fox Valley Wood Products to some of our shared clients in the manufacturing industry. So, it was great to reconnect with him; it was always great to work with him then and Fox Valley Wood Products has always made an excellent-quality product.
With the personal referral from my sister-in-law and working with Jeff in the past, the project instantly became personal for me. As awesome as it is to work with some big companies, I very much have a passion for assisting local, family owned and operated businesses. The hands on approach from the owners and management and the closeness that they are to the work being done is special and the attention to customer care, employee care and quality of product/service is always evident. The connection with their employees shows in long-time employees that become like family (Fox Valley Wood Products’ employee retention rate is near 100%)! As specific proof, Brian has been working with Fox Valley Wood Products since 1988, 33+years! <insert joke about Brian working shifts during kindergarten recess>
The management team is made up of 2nd and 3rd generation family owners. A storied past that has built a strong and close knit foundation.
Fox Valley Wood Products has proved that this quality matters, and it has made them a market leader in their niche of manufacturing. They are northeast Wisconsin’s premier manufacturer of wood packaging solutions, including wood pallets, wood crates, specialty wooden boxes and mechanical skids.
I visited with Jeff to do a walkthrough and site scout to plan the shoot. After we agreed on some scenes, I spent two half-days taking photos. The first half-day was getting their team in action and getting details of the facility. The second half-day was to get portraits of some select team members and a photo of the whole staff.
Parked to Team Photo within 20 Minutes
We scheduled the team photo shoot for a day when there was zero chance of rain. But when I showed up that morning, there was such thick morning fog! The mist was falling so much that it felt more like a rain shower. I knew they had held back some delivery drivers so they could be in the photo so working quickly was of high importance. With some good teamwork we scrapped together some clear plastic bags to throw over my strobes, got the lights up on stands and POOF we were done! The shot below was finished within 20 minutes from the time I parked!
From the site scout, we knew the shot would be in this location and employees would need ladders in order to climb up on wood stacks and pallets. We also knew we would need a truck moved in for people to stand on as well. We were able to get the shot done quickly since our plan was in place, we just had to arrange the details. The only thing that couldn’t be controlled was the weather, despite our planning attempt! Very few settings are perfect for photographing, and the challenges give perfect opportunities to test my creativity and troubleshooting! Below is the same staff photo, but in post-production I was able to swap the foggy sky for a more ideal one and clean up some of the big raindrops (or fogdrops, is that a thing?).
Being a third-generation company has allowed Fox Valley Wood Products to pass down a strong example of work ethic & learning experiences throughout the years. They know that two of the most important elements in running a successful company are trying to exceed expectations by providing excellent service to their customers, as well as treating their employees well (it seems to be working, if their high retention rate is any indication)! It is always an honor to work with companies that have been serving our community for so many years!
Because high standards are also important to me in my business, I made sure to check in with Jeff to see how my work has helped his company, and for any feedback on how it was to work with me (again, but in a different setting years later!). “I appreciated Graham’s flexibility, professionalism, his relatability to our team, and his quality images. We’ve used these images on our website, in our print marketing, and for internal corporate display.”
Thanks for the feedback, Jeff! I love that my work is able to provide value to a company that provides such valuable service to my hometown community.
Whether you are a local, family-run business like Fox Valley Wood Products, a large corporate business, or a business with just a handful of employees, we can work together to capture what makes your company unique and create images that can help you grow your business. Reach out to me see how we could work together!