Building Unbreakable Brands

Podcast Episode: Building Unbreakable Brands — Jenn Barlund, Falcon Plastics
Guest: Jenn Barlund, Third-Generation Owner, Falcon Plastics
Host: Meghan Lynch, Founder & CEO, Six-Point Strategy

[00:05]
Meghan Lynch: Welcome to Building Unbreakable Brands, where we talk to business leaders with a generational mindset. I'm Meghan Lynch, advisor to family businesses and founder of Six-Point Strategy. Today, I'm joined by Jenn Barlund, third-generation owner of Falcon Plastics. Jenn blends her family’s legacy with a forward-thinking approach to leadership. Welcome, Jenn!
Jenn Barlund: Thank you! Great to be here.

[00:40]
Meghan: You’re approaching your 50th anniversary, right?
Jenn: Yes, May 2025 marks 50 years in business.

[00:56]
Meghan: Falcon Plastics is a custom plastic molder that’s grown tremendously since the 1970s. Looking back, what have been some major turning points?
Jenn: There’ve been quite a few. My grandparents, Don and Carol, started the company—not initially as a family business. One of Don’s customers owned half the company. Eventually, that customer asked him to make difficult changes before selling. Instead, Don bought him out and called my grandma saying, "We now own 100%." That was a defining moment. He led with a people-first mindset, which I’ve tried to carry forward. Around 1997, it officially became a family business.

[03:08]
Another key moment came when my dad landed Toshiba. That account more than doubled our business overnight. It was chaotic, but also pivotal. It taught us a lot.

[04:16]
Meghan: Did that growth experience shape how you think about scaling today?
Jenn: Absolutely. Having one customer make up 60% of revenue is risky. That experience taught us the value of diversification—not just across customers, but also locations. When something like COVID hits, you need to be resilient. Toshiba is still a great customer, but we’ve grown more strategic since then.

[05:16]
Meghan: How do you balance diversification with maintaining focus?
Jenn: It’s tricky. We had a "we'll do anything for anyone" approach for a while. It aligned with our entrepreneurial spirit but wasn’t sustainable. We’ve since gotten much more focused. When we add a new capability—like the two-shot molding we’re exploring—we make sure it serves both new markets and our current customers better.

[07:14]
We’d rather have deep partnerships than hundreds of shallow customer relationships.

[07:25]
Meghan: You’ve seen generational transitions from G1 to G2 and now G3. How have those experiences compared?
Jenn: G2 to G3 was smoother. G1 to G2 was tough—my dad and uncle both wanted to lead, and it took time to figure out how to share leadership. They ended up co-leading. That experience helped them be more intentional when transitioning to me and my cousin Kyle. We started succession planning in 2020—during COVID, which ironically proved we could lead through crisis.

[10:04]
Meghan: Falcon is known for on-time delivery. How does that value affect your internal culture?
Jenn: It’s huge. We average 99.9% on-time delivery, which is rare in our industry. But that high standard requires a lot from our team. We emphasize building quality into our process from the start, rather than checking it at the end. It’s a point of pride and a competitive advantage.

[13:10]
It also brings in repeat business. Some of our clients have been with us 20–30 years. Even when they temporarily move work elsewhere, it often comes back because of our consistency.

[14:17]
Meghan: What do you see as Falcon’s biggest brand asset?
Jenn: Our customer service. We’re not the cheapest, and that’s okay. We provide start-to-finish solutions and don’t nickel-and-dime for R&D support. It’s part of the Falcon experience.

[16:10]
Meghan: How do you protect core culture while evolving the business?
Jenn: That’s the hardest part. We've grown from 3 to nearly 300 employees, and culture gets harder to maintain with that scale. But it's what keeps me here. We’re focused on intentional culture work—defining it, living it, and evolving it while staying true to our roots.

[18:22]
We recently created a five-year strategic plan through 2030, and one of our four goals is culture and communication. That’s critical to keeping employees engaged and honoring our values.

[19:11]
Meghan: Any company traditions that reflect that culture?
Jenn: Philanthropy is big for us. We match United Way donations 2-to-1. We also do profit-sharing—15% of profits go back to employees. Plus, we host picnics, parties, and celebrate little moments like National Popcorn Day. It makes work fun.

[20:55]
Meghan: Was it hard to build trust as a third-generation leader?
Jenn: Definitely. I didn’t grow up around the business—I lived with my mom in Virginia. But I came back for college, worked my way up, and managed our flagship facility. The team there watched me grow up, so earning their respect meant a lot. I’ve always led with humility and relationship-building.

[24:12]
My dad and uncle still visit. They don’t undermine my leadership—they support it. We’ve been intentional about open communication and alignment. No power struggles.

[25:22]
Meghan: It sounds like a spirit of servant leadership runs in the family.
Jenn: I think so. None of us planned to lead the business. We just answered the call when the business needed us.

[26:30]
Meghan: Now, a few final questions from the next generation—my son Henry!
Henry: What’s the weirdest thing you make out of plastic?
Jenn: Ammunition trays! We repurpose regrind plastic from products that can’t reuse it—like medical parts—and make trays instead of sending waste to the landfill.
Henry: What’s your favorite part of your job?
Jenn: Working with the team. It feels like spending time with friends. We’re making a real impact, and that’s exciting.
Henry: Any advice for a kid interested in the family business?
Jenn: Work hard—and leave for a bit. That space helped me see how special Falcon is. You don’t have to build something new—you can build on something great.
Henry: Why did the worker quit his job at the chess piece factory?
Jenn: I don’t know—why?
Henry: He got tired of working the night shift.
Jenn: (Laughs) That’s a good one!

[31:19]
Meghan: Jenn, thanks so much for joining us. Where can people find you?
Jenn: LinkedIn is best—I’m very active there. Or you can visit our website.
Meghan: Perfect. Thanks again, and congrats on 50 years and beyond!
Jenn: Thank you!

End of Episode