Contract packaging specialist Assemblies Unlimited Inc. (AUI) has created a dedicated Southern Region covering Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama — a move driven by rising demand from food, supplement, and consumer goods brands manufacturing across the South. The new Southern Regional Sales Office is based in Arlington, Texas, and led by Regional Sales Manager Kaleb Tueller.
Why the South, Why Now
AUI's Southern copacker network had already grown to include partner facilities in Fort Worth, Houston, Paris, and Irving, Texas, as well as Decatur, Alabama — a footprint spanning capabilities from powder filling and stick packs to SQF-certified secondary packaging and point-of-purchase display assembly. The new region joins AUI's existing Western, Central, and Eastern divisions, rounding out a true coast-to-coast structure.
For food and beverage operators, the practical implication is shorter lead times and easier project initiation. AUI's model matches each packaging project to the most geographically and operationally suitable partner facility, then manages the engagement end to end — including raw material sourcing, filling, kitting, and fulfillment, with finished goods delivered directly to the client's warehouse or distribution center. That turnkey approach matters especially for emerging brands that lack in-house packaging infrastructure but need consistent, food-safe execution at scale.
"Our network in the South has grown to the point where it deserves its own dedicated team," said Justin Dickert, President of Assemblies Unlimited. "Customers in Texas and the surrounding states want a packaging partner who understands their market and can match them with the right plant quickly."
The Man on the Ground
Tueller arrives with a background well suited to the role. He most recently helped food, beverage, and CPG manufacturers adopt automation and robotics solutions, following earlier experience in industrial packaging supply chain and eight years in medical sales. His cross-sector background positions him to engage both established regional manufacturers and the fast-scaling better-for-you brands that have made Texas and the broader Sun Belt a hotbed of food and beverage industry activity.
"Brands here are growing fast and need a packaging partner who responds quickly and follows through," Tueller said. "I look forward to giving customers across the region a local point of contact backed by AUI's national network of copackers."
Implications for Operators and Brands
The broader context is significant for anyone tracking the contract packaging and co-manufacturing landscape. Foodservice operators, retailers, and emerging CPG brands have faced ongoing pressure to regionalize supply chains — reducing freight exposure, shrinking lead times, and keeping finished goods closer to distribution hubs. A dedicated Southern sales team with embedded partner facilities addresses exactly those pain points for brands that previously had to work through a more centralized national contact.
Founded in 1993 by Randy Shaw, AUI has built its model around serving outsourced packaging needs across food and non-food applications, liquid and powder filling, and primary and secondary packaging. The Arlington office is the company's third regional sales location, alongside existing offices in Irvine, California, and Cranford, New Jersey. Shaw framed the expansion as consistent with the company's founding philosophy: "Since 1993, we've grown by going where our customers need us. Brands in the South now have local support and a deep bench of qualified copackers close to home."
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
