Port Partner Spotlight: Shore Manufacturing

4 MIN READ

By Marcia Pledger

Shore Manufacturing specializes in making custom sanitary wipes used in the food service, janitorial and industrial sectors. Despite being a small business, the company serves an impressive roster of clients, including household name brands such as Chick-fil-A, Five Guys, Zaxby’s and Arby’s.

“Sanitizing and cleanliness is extremely important in the food industry,” said William Vogel, President of Shore Manufacturing. “We know what our niche is, and we do it well.”

Kaitlyn Vogel (center), daughter of the company’s President William Vogel (left), joined the family-owned business as Director of Operations in 2023 after earning her MBA and working in the investments industry. Mukesh Patel (right), V.P. of Operations, joined Shore Manufacturing when it was founded in 2013.

Before founding Shore Manufacturing in New Jersey in 2013, Vogel conducted research on consumer spending and found that even during economic downturns, people continue to spend money outside the home—driving consistent demand for cleaning supplies for commercial spaces.

Once his company was up and running, it took two years for business to start coming in. As Shore Manufacturing grew, it experienced temporary challenges during the pandemic like many businesses in the service industry. In 2021, the company relocated to Jacksonville to capitalize on new business opportunities and reach customers more efficiently.

Vogel says the company prides itself on providing customers with personalized service. “Our wipes are custom-made. Each customer is different, so we meet with them one-on-one to learn about their unique sanitation needs.”

With a long-term customer strategy and a growing national emphasis on sanitation, Shore Manufacturing is well-positioned for continued success.

Why Jacksonville

After a few years in business in the U.S. Northeast, Vogel sought to move the company’s headquarters and operations to the U.S. Southeast, specifically Florida, to be closer to the region’s growing business and consumer population. After considering nearly 40 cities, Vogel chose Jacksonville because of its strong transportation and logistics network, including the ability for trucks to move easily throughout the country to quickly deliver customers’ products.

“People like us because we manufacture in the United States,” Vogel said. “That’s just our decision, but the majority of our purchases are also from companies in the U.S.”

Shore Manufacturing’s 82,000 square foot Jacksonville facility makes wipes specially designed and treated for various types of cleaning at different areas within a restaurant. The wipes are made from materials already in the U.S. as well as those imported from suppliers in India that are imported to JAXPORT through Ocean Network Express’ (ONE) West India North America (WIN) service. Vogel moved 65 percent of his volumes from another U.S. Southeast port to JAXPORT because of its close proximity to the company’s Jacksonville manufacturing operations. Vogel said there is a distinguishing factor of doing business with JAXPORT.

“It’s the service. It’s nice to meet the team,” Vogel said. “There’s so many moving parts and if you can develop a relationship with every spoke on the wheel it makes things work.”

Personalized Customer Service

David Briceno, Director of Cargo Development at JAXPORT, works with companies like Shore Manufacturing to reduce transportation costs. He reached out to Vogel as soon as he learned that Shore Manufacturing opened their facility six miles from JAXPORT.

“I encouraged them to use Jacksonville because it made sense,” Briceno said. “Logistically, we have the direct container service they need and offer the fastest and most efficient access to their facility.”

Briceno connected Shore Manufacturing with the JAXPORT ocean carrier that offers weekly direct calls from India and U.S. Customs to make the inspections process more efficient. “Customers are not just a number here. Our customer service sets us apart,” Briceno said.

Customer service is also the secret sauce for Shore Manufacturing. It prides itself on offering customers a three-month product inventory for uninterrupted supply, expanded capabilities with new state-of-the-art production lines, and high standards by operating a National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) certified building.

“We’re privately owned, and many of our customers want to deal with privately owned companies,” Vogel said. “We work hard to build strong relationships and assure them there won’t be delays and the products they need won’t be on backorder. We don’t have a long authorization process. Just give us a call.”

Contact Shore Manufacturing at 732-894-9810 or visit their website at https://shoremfgllc.com/

Shore Manufacturing employees work on a wide range of products created for durability and absorbency. The company is also a Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC)-certified women-owned business.