Recipe for Success - Growth is Key
Growth is key to any converter's success, and Weber Marking Systems is flourishing.
TAKE ONE CONVERTER, add in Mark Andy presses and accessories from such companies as AAA Press International and RotoMetrics and stir. Sprinkle in a variety of label substrates and inks, and allow to grow. Following such a recipe has proven to be a successful mix for Weber Marking Systems, headquartered in Arlington Heights, Ill.
Weber Marking Systems, established in 1932 by Joseph Weber Sr., began with the production of stencils, addressing machines, and hand printers for print-and-apply labeling. But today, it has grown into a multi-faceted label and coding company serving the food, general manufacturing, health and beauty, and pharmaceutical markets.
Humble beginnings
Although its early roots were grounded in the production of manual and mechanical marking equipment, Weber Marking Systems found itself on the road to computer-based, electronic label printing as bar codes entered the packaging world. "That's when our business really exploded," says company Vice President of Manufacturing George Stieber. "And it has continued to expand."
Undergoing a huge growth spurt, the company introduced dot-matrix label printers, then thermal/thermal-transfer, laser, and label print-and-apply systems. In 1975, it purchased its first Mark Andy press to provide broader printing capabilities to support its expanding business.
It was only a short jump onto the label-printing bandwagon from there. Weber Marking Systems purchased its Florida-based subsidiary, Tape & Label Engineering in 1979, and began printing primary graphic labels. According to Stieber, the company just grew naturally into label printing.
"Today, we're printing text, graphics, and bar codes with our systems," says Stieber, who began his career with Weber 30 years ago. "We produce everything from blank labels to colorful prime labels for use at point-of-purchase, and we label everything from corrugated cartons to the products that are packed inside of them."
The company handles all of its prepress work in-house, as well, and recently upgraded its capabilities with the purchase of a computer-to-plate (CtP) system. Basically, this is one well-rounded label converter that can provide the market with a variety of options for product identification.
In recent years, Weber Marking Systems has also added direct marking to its product mix. "Some identification applications are best served by directly marking the product or package," Stieber points out. "That's why we now offer a full range coding systems that can help our customers address those types of requirements."
Let's get to work
According to Stieber, the company operates on a philosophy of "staying ahead technologically and competitively by offering products and solutions to meet every aspect of the labeling spectrum." To meet this business charter, it relies heavily on the contributions of its employees. The company has about 1,000 employees worldwide, and more than 450 at its headquarters and St. Petersburg, Fla., subsidiary.
"We have a lot of product identification solutions," states Stieber, "but none of them would be possible without the dedication of our employees. They are the experts that make it all possible."
Weber Marking Systems' employees are just one facet that helps the company provide an extensive offering of labeling machinery, along with film, paper, booklet, primary, secondary, custom, and stock labels. Equipment and material suppliers also play a very important role in the company's success.
Weber Marking Systems uses a variety of suppliers, including AAA Press International, Avery Dennison Fasson Roll North America, Raflatac, MACtac, FLEXcon, Alden & Ott, RotoMetrics, and Water Ink Technologies, while Mark Andy has provided them with more than 75 presses.
Stieber comments, "We use Mark Andy presses because the company has always provided us with what we have needed and they haven't given us a reason to change." Weber Marking Systems' Florida subsidiary also performs rotary-screen UV printing with a Stork rotary screen system.
The company stocks more than 100 different label substrates, as well. If this isn't enough, Stieber says the company will get the substrate needed to address the requirements of its customers. Plus, as an added benefit to its customers, Weber Marking Systems converts the majority of its own pressure-sensitive paper and film material using a state-of-the-art Kroenert coater/laminator.
To go along with its diversity of substrates, Weber Marking Systems uses an increasing variety of inks. Though it has traditionally used water-based inks, the company recently added a new ingredient to the mix—UV inks. After researching top UV manufacturers, it partnered with AAA Press to retrofit some of its Mark Andy presses with more than 65 AAA Press LIGHTouch™ UV curing systems. "Ultimately," says Stieber, "we can retrofit the presses with UV curing systems without any costly modification to the presses themselves. The LIGHTouch UV Systems are built-to-last and the technical support is outstanding."
The use of UV inks has provided numerous benefits to Weber Marking Systems' printing operations. "There is less waste, longer shelf life, and it allows the press to run faster than water-based inks," says Stieber. UV inks are 100 percent solid, stable inks that offer fade- and abrasion-resistance, he notes. "They also exhibit more opacity and are easier to print with. They allow for better printing on clear films and clear labels, especially for the no-label look, a popular material for primary labels."
Ready, set, grow
The addition of AAA Press' LIGHTouch UV curing systems is just one of the elements that is keeping Weber Marking Systems on the leading edge technology-wise, says Stieber. The company is also positioning itself to provide its customers with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and labels.
Stieber comments that the company is in a similarly-advantageous position today as it was about 25 years ago when bar codes were hitting the market. "Because we already develop and write our proprietary Legitronic® labeling software and provide equipment to generate the bar code labels, it's an easy transition for us to now write our own software and have our printers encode the information into the RFID chip to meet our customers' requirements." Stieber says the company is prepared for this large initiative and will meet all necessary RFID compliance standards.
He also sees RFID as a key opportunity for growth. "In the future," Stieber forecasts, "we will provide our customers with a range of RFID labeling solutions. We think RFID is the future of labeling and we plan to be a leading source."
Stieber is also quick to answer the question of what makes his company distinctive and its customers loyal. "We are a one-stop supplier that can offer our customers a product-identification solution. Whether it's labeling or coding, we provide the whole system, and we stand behind it." Some companies, Stieber comments, purchase their labels from one supplier, the label applicator from a different source, and software and service from yet another company. But then when a problem arises, they have no one to turn to for support.
"We don't just sell our customers the labels; we support them," Stieber points out. "We tailor our standard equipment to the end-user's specific product and application. We offer all of the alternatives, and we do it on a worldwide basis," he says.
In addition to its two domestic plants, Weber also has 13 additional facilities in 11 countries throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. The company's most recent acquisition was K-Roll, a label manufacturer and distributor located in Toulouse, France.
With a large inventory of materials, numerous presses, and the help of its dedicated employees, Weber Marking Systems is positioned to continue its growth and success. The company has a long history in the package-printing industry, and it continues to forge new paths with emerging technologies and markets. "The emergence of RFID technology is a perfect example," says Stieber. "We'll grow into that just as we grew into bar codes and so many other things."
And Weber Marking Systems will continue to expand as a top tag and label converter.
By Joy English - Assistant Editor
