On the Rise Spotlight: Growing Sales & the Next-Gen at Harpak-ULMA

Joey Schmidt’s path into the packaging industry was likely initiated in his subconscious, influenced by early exposure to his father’s work in food processing. When the opportunity to work in the industry arose, he didn’t hesitate to jump in with both feet, beginning on the customer side at a large Pennsylvania pork plant.

“[Working in the rendering department on the food manufacturing side] gave me hands-on experience with food processing and a glimpse of packaging equipment,” Schmidt recalls. That early exposure provided a unique foundation for his later work selling packaging equipment, from sealing gaskets to inline printing systems for thermoformers across the food and medical device segments. Over the past 10 years, Schmidt has progressed up the ladder at Harpak-ULMA Packaging to his current role leading sales across the Eastern U.S. and Canada.

While he credits the discipline he learned from 4:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. shifts on the pork plant floor for shaping his work ethic, it also opened his eyes.

“That experience helped me distinguish between what I wanted—and didn’t want—to do for the rest of my life,” he says. Knowing what he wanted and manifesting it was not without its challenges. “Selling high-value capital equipment requires a consultative approach, building trust over long sales cycles,” he explains, citing his natural ability to connect with people as a significant tool in easing the transition.

With a philosophy centered on relationships, Schmidt advises emerging leaders to “care about your people—not just your team, but the customers you engage with. Clients are smart and will quickly recognize if you only care about commissions.” This customer-first approach drives his leadership style, fostering trust and long-term connections both internally and externally.

Despite being a veteran of packaging sales at a relatively young age, Schmidt still finds fascination in the cross-industry applications of packaging technology. “On any given day, we can be in a meat plant, a bakery, a medical device facility, or a CPG plant—all using the same packaging equipment,” he says. This exposure allows him to share innovative ideas across sectors and continuously expand his own knowledge.

Among his proudest accomplishments, Schmidt highlights not only personal recognition—winning Harpak-ULMA’s Regional Sales Manager of the Year Award three consecutive times—but also seeing his team members succeed under his mentorship. “Watching someone I mentored earn that award gave me a proud ‘dad moment’—a deeper satisfaction than any personal milestone,” he says.

Looking ahead, Schmidt’s aim to continue growing within Harpak-ULMA keeps him keenly focused on industry trends, particularly automation, digital transformation, and sustainability.

“Automation isn’t just about replacing manual work anymore—it’s embedding intelligence into processes, improving throughput, traceability, and consistency,” he says. From AI-driven smart vision systems to robotics-enabled production, Schmidt sees these technologies as essential for meeting labor constraints and keeping up with market demands. Meanwhile, sustainability efforts—ranging from smaller portion packaging to compliant, eco-friendly medical device films—remain central to his and Harpak-ULMA’s mission.

Schmidt’s blend of operational expertise, relationship-driven leadership, and forward-thinking perspective position him as a rising star in the packaging industry, shaping solutions that meet today’s challenges while preparing for tomorrow’s opportunities.