Sarasota, Florida, October 16 /PRNewswire/ — Product development and manufacturing company Kreate has been named The Home Depot’s 2026 Partner of the Year, marking the company’s third consecutive year receiving this recognition. This honor follows Kreate’s $100 million expansion in Tiffin, Ohio, enhanced vertical integration into resin manufacturing, and continued investments in employees, technology, and the HDX and Husky storage product lines.
The Home Depot’s Annual Supplier Partnership and Innovation Award recognizes supplier partners that deliver value, innovation, and performance to DIY and professional customers. Kreate’s award reflects years of collaboration between the two companies to expand and enhance The Home Depot’s storage category, with a focus on consumer-driven product development, advanced manufacturing, demand creation, and reliable execution.
“Our employees are our strength. This recognition belongs to the teams who, through their creativity, expertise, and dedication, help us become a better partner every day,” said Nickolas Reinhart, founder and owner of Kreate. “Our commitment is simple: to help our partners grow, capture market share, and better serve their customers. We elevate quality and reduce landed costs by bringing innovative, exclusive products to market and investing in our people, automated manufacturing, AI vision technology, and materials science. We aim to deliver the best value, make collaboration effortless, and earn relationships through results.”
Employees and technology work together seamlessly
Kreate combines employee expertise with robotics, automated material handling, and AI-driven machine vision to reduce defects, waste, and downtime while improving productivity, consistency, and responsiveness.
This $100 million Tiffin expansion will increase capacity and bring advanced manufacturing closer to customer demand. Kreate’s geographically optimized manufacturing and distribution operations help reduce shipping, handling, and delivery times while supporting consistent product availability.
With support from materials science and engineering, Kreate further integrates resin manufacturing to optimize formulations, product geometries, and processing workflows. These capabilities help reduce material costs and waste while maintaining the strength, durability, and performance expected by customers.
Kreate also evaluates the full cost of delivering a reliable product, including materials, labor, tooling, energy, packaging, shipping, inventory, and quality. The resulting savings and performance improvements create greater value for partners and their customers.
Innovations to help partners grow
Kreate’s mission is to reimagine product categories that better serve users. The company combines broad product, market, and manufacturing expertise with ambitious innovation to turn “the old way” into “new and better.”
Kreate designs, manufactures, and distributes HDX and Husky storage and organization products, exclusively sold at The Home Depot. Its team focuses on customer needs, differentiated design, and complementary products to expand the storage ecosystem.
Recent innovations include:
- Tote Stacker: A storage solution designed to organize and easily access storage bins, helping customers build a more practical storage system.
- HDX Defender Series: Waterproof and dustproof storage bins featuring integrated gaskets, heavy-duty latches, and transparent bodies and lids for added protection and visibility. The 27-gallon Defender Tote was named a 2026 Apartment Therapy Organization Award winner. Multiple modular sizes work together seamlessly and integrate with the broader HDX storage ecosystem.
- HDX Vista Stack Series: A modular, transparent storage system featuring stackable and nestable designs, secure latches, and multiple sizes, ideal for clothing, bedding, seasonal decor, and household essentials.
- HDX 2.5-Quart Mini Tough Tote: A compact new addition to the HDX Tough Tote ecosystem, bringing the durability and modular design of large storage bins to smaller items. Its flip-top lid and stackable, nestable structure help organize tools, craft supplies, toys, and other essentials.
- HDX Nano Tough Tote: A palm-sized member of the HDX Tough Tote family, with a 0.75-quart capacity, extending its heavy-duty storage design to hardware, craft supplies, and other small, easily lost items.
Build around partnerships
Kreate aligns its product development, production capacity, capital investment, and demand creation initiatives with partners' customers, priorities, and growth opportunities. The company emphasizes accountability, reliable delivery, proactive communication, and continuous improvement across development, forecasting, ordering, and support processes.
“Becoming the best partner isn’t just about having a great product,” Reinhart added. “It requires people who are willing to listen, take ownership, and deliver on their promises. We will continue investing in these employees and the technologies that help them succeed, creating exclusive advantages for our partners and constantly finding better ways to serve our customers. This is how we grow together.”
Kreate’s award-winning products are available online and in stores nationwide at The Home Depot. For more information, visit storage.kreate.com.
About Kreate
Kreate is a product development and manufacturing company focused on reimagining product categories for today’s consumers. From concept to realization, Kreate combines the creativity and expertise of its team with engineering, materials science, automated manufacturing, and AI vision technologies to develop differentiated products and bring superior solutions to market. Its commitment to collaboration drives innovation, creates exclusive advantages, reduces landed total costs, ensures reliable delivery, and simplifies the customer experience.
About Nickolas Asset Management
Nickolas Asset Management (NAM) is a permanent, operator-led family office built on the principles of permanent capital and long-term ownership. NAM partners with management teams to strengthen core businesses by investing in people, technology, and processes to support superior products and sustainable growth.
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