When Paul Pflug’s employees came to him with an idea to decorate their cubicles for Halloween, he knew that the end result was going to be good.
After all, every single time his staff has come up with a holiday-themed idea to create a family-like atmosphere at Pflug Packaging and Fulfillment – a 400,000 square-foot plus warehouse facility in the Lathrop Industrial Park adjacent to the ACE station on Yosemite Avenue that employs more than 300 people – they have delivered.
But they seem to have outdone themselves this time.
Between now and Halloween, the company – which fulfills custom packaging orders from Fortune 500 companies that either don’t have the capacity or the expertise for the types of jobs the business provides – has been transformed into a full-scale fright fest that has delved into somewhat of a competition amongst departments.
Cubicles have become small rooms with webbed ceilings and spooky and sometimes downright disturbing themes. The shipping department is in direct competition with the receiving department on the other side of the warehouse. Even Pflug himself has gotten in on the action by decorating his office as a demented carnival complete with a clown in his closet holding a knife for those brave enough to take a peek behind the curtain.
While it might not be the kind of Halloween family fun most people think of when it comes to the holiday, the spirit, Pflug said, is one of maintaining a family atmosphere amongst those who spend their days at the warehouse and office, and these sorts of undertakings do a wonderful job of getting to look forward to coming work every day.
“When this idea first came up, I knew that they were going to go 100 percent because they do that with everything that they do,” Pflug said. “They’re a great team that always invests as much as they can into an idea, whether it’s something for the business or something to liven things up for a holiday.
“Things like this create such a good energy and an atmosphere – it’s go big or go home around here, and they definitely went big this year.”
According to Pang Vang, who works in accounts receivable for the company, the cubicle decorations evolved out of traditional Halloween events in recent years that included a pumpkin carving contest and costume contest. By trying to find something that could draw more people in, Vang pitched the idea to Pflug and the framework slowly started to pull together.
It wasn’t until people started pouring themselves into their ideas – whether it was a haunted baby cubicle or one dedicated solely to Freddy Krueger and the Friday the 13th franchise – that she realized who big of a hit it was going to be.
“People have really gone all out with detail,” said Vang, who is running the judging for the more than a dozen entries. “I know that I enjoy doing this, but I also like seeing what other people come up with and they really came up with some good stuff this year.”
Pflug isn’t quite sure what is in store yet for Christmas, but says he has no doubt that it will have the same level of participation as the Halloween decoration contest.
“I’m sure it’ll be amazing – it’s always amazing when these guys come up with an idea.”

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.