Spotlight On: Trion Industries

“When Being Seen Means Being Sold.”

That is the tagline officials at Trion Industries use to make it clear to retailers that the Wilkes-Barre, Pa.-based company is serious when it comes to helping them increase facings. The more products that consumers see on retail shelves, the more opportunity those merchants have of completing a deal. 

Trion has a lot of different options for retailers seeking to expand the limited amount of shelf space in their stores while giving shoppers as much product as possible within their walls. The company offers a wide range of products, ranging from traditional display and scan hooks to adjustable merchandising trays to its state-of-the-art WonderBar merchandising system, which is designed to increase facings, maximize visibility, enhance package billboarding, ensure product rotation and reduce shrinkage for a full range of frozen, refrigerated and general merchandise products. In addition, Trion offers an expandable wire tray system and a Clear Scan label system. 

“Trion is about additional facings,” says Brad Cox, the company’s director of sales and marketing. “Retailers like the fact that we help them with their space needs and they realize that can create more sales and profits.”

The WonderBar system is a case in point. Cox says that Trion has sold more than 16 million units of the system, which include merchandising bars of various lengths, and trays that are between 11- and 24-inches deep. “The WonderBar system allows us to go into the grocery environment and help our retail partners get additional space that allows them to stock more products,” he adds. “Products like the WonderBar system are what we are known for in this industry.”

The fact that Trion has such a strong track record over the years is also playing a big role in the company’s success. Cox is quick to note that Trion has been offering retail and point-of-purchase fixtures to the grocery industry for more than 50 years, earning more than 120 U.S. and international patents for innovations that started with the original straight-entry display hook in 1965. 

It is quite clear that the company’s pride and joy is its 300,000 square-foot computerized production facility in Wilkes-Barre. Trion officials say the facility features the greatest number of automated wire forming machines of any factory complex in the industry and houses extensive plastic co-extruders, capable of extruding up to four dissimilar materials into one profile with downstream assembly, cutting, punching and packing. It also features welding machines, computer-controlled progressive die stamping presses, rated at up to 80 tons, as well as punching, blanking, drilling and coldheading abilities.

All told, Trion offers about 25,000 fixtures and components, operates a 200,000 square-foot warehouse in addition to the production facility and employs about 350 workers. Today, it is one of the top 50 retail and point-of-purchase fixture manufacturers in the U.S. and is a worldwide leading manufacturer of display, scanning and specialty hooks as well as other fixture display products.

Not bad for a company that was started by David Thalenfeld in 1965, when he decided to utilize the knowledge and experience he acquired from running his successful own chain of stores in New York. The first big break came when the Woolworth Department Stores quickly adopted Trion’s innovative SpaceMaker Hook system to merchandise more products and refresh displays more quickly. Today, John Thalenfeld, David’s son, is the company’s CEO.

“Our pitch to the industry is that we are experts at what we do,” notes Cox, who moved into his current position about two years ago. “We have created products that make it easier for retailers to do their jobs and provide solutions that result in labor savings and reduce product shrink. Our systems allow for rear loading, date order selling and support quick re-planogramming.”

​Trion also understands the need to help retailers differentiate themselves from their competition as well as make it easier for consumers to shop the store, a big need as digital competitors become a more important part of the retail landscape. 

That means staying ahead of the curve when it comes to new products and new packaging. Rich Wildrick, the company’s director of engineering, says that staying in close contact with consumer packaged goods companies is vital for Trion to continue to do its job. “Packaging, for example, is always changing,” he says. “Take the baby food category. It has moved away from glass jars to tubs and pouches to make it easier for moms to feed their children. Trion reacted quickly with the launch of fixtures supporting these new package types.”

Like Cox, Wildrick points at the Trion staff as a reason for the company’s success. “It has always been about all of our people, from those working at headquarters, to our sales teams and the people working in the factory and the warehouse,” he says. “It is simply amazing what they have done and the relationships they have forged over the years. It is a very dedicated team.”

Cox says the team has no plans to slow down. “We are always trying to make the next best thing for our retail customers,” he notes. “Our job is to stay ahead of the curve on innovation and to make sure that our customers are happy with what we offer them. I am extremely confident that we will keep leading the pack.”