25 Years Celebration

Lithia Springs, GA  - April 1, 2021 – Forrest Marbutt – It was a celebration 25 years in the making.  FSI was born April 1^st, 1996 25 years ago.  Ken Marbutt together with his brother, Hoyt, began in 16,000 ft² of space.  Soon after, they hired their first employee, Karen Cross, who is still with FSI today.  We took time out recently to celebrate this milestone, and it was also a bit of a homecoming, building dedication and welcome to Douglas County celebration all rolled into one event. 

To highlight how far we’ve come in warehouse space (especially for those employees who just started with us in the last year), we marked off in orange cones the exact dimensions of our first 16,000 ft² warehouse.  Our seating area was able to fit within these cones, and it was a great visual for everyone to see how much we’ve grown.  You might be able to see the orange cones in the background of our group picture, and the other 2 cones were located from where the picture was taken.    

Food trucks were brought in where everyone got all the food from whatever trucks they wanted.  You name it, it was probably available.  Burgers, tacos, BBQ, cajun, desserts, etc. 

With 1996 themed music blaring, employee recognitions and 25 door prizes were just past of the festivities enjoyed by all (who knew you could get a Yeti cooler in FSI Blue?).  We even had an employee celebrating her 25^th birthday that day – she was born on the same day as FSI! 

We had a banner made that was quite the hit displaying 25 years’ worth of pictures.  Lots of memories on this banner celebrating various aspects of work life, our first job, our growth through various buildings, meetings, tradeshows, parties, anniversary celebrations, retirements, awards, 5K’s, Tough Mudders, fishing trips, pranks, etc. etc. etc.

Long time partner, Tiffany Krumins, and her Product Genius podcast crew were also on-hand for the festivities, and we were able to record a podcast together with the 2 founders, Ken and Hoyt.  Stay tuned for the release of that podcast in the near future where we discuss FSI’s humble beginnings, growth and obstacles to overcome during this 25 year journey.

It was great to see many of FSI’s past retired employees come out for this event.  Even if we had done nothing else, that made the day right there.  It is not unusual for our retirees to visit us in the past or we find ways to get together with them outside of work.  But with the pandemic going on this past year, most of us haven’t seen them in over a year, and they certainly hadn’t been to the new building yet.  It was great to show them what their years of hard work of building FSI up helped lead to.

Who knows what the future holds for FSI.  In our 25 years, we’ve always outgrown every building we’ve been in, kept hiring to keep up with that growth, and we see no reason to stop.  Future generations of FSI leadership who’ve grown up in the family business are already working in the warehouse.  We will make sure that we remain a leader in the fulfillment industry by continuing to invest in our infrastructure, equipment, systems, and people.  We thank our clients and employees who have helped make it all possible.  We couldn’t be where we are today without you.  It’s been a great 25 years so far, and there’s a bright future ahead for FSI!   

Fulfillment Strategies International (FSI) focuses on helping companies, from entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 corporations, get their products to the individual consumers, retail locations, or team members by specializing in inventory management, order fulfillment, subscription box management, and kitting for e-Commerce.  FSI can be reached at 678-391-5980 or email info@fsi3pl.com.

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