Business Management - Industry Trends

TLMI's 2012 Label Awards contest showcased the industry's finest, with Napa, Calif.-based Collotype Labels USA taking the ultimate award as Best of Show with its offset-printed Le Pich, 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon wine label. The North American Innovator Award went to Whitlam Label Company for its flexo-printed Evidence Bag entry; and the The Innovator Award in the International category went to Germany-based Schreiner Group for its Pharma-Comb Void Label.

While dedication to customer service can be a superficial cliché in the corporate mouths of companies merely content to pursue business as usual, Consolidated Label's commitment to the customer is the bedrock and driving principle of its corporate universe and operating philosophy.

At the annual Global Food Safety Conference last February, packagePRINTING caught up with Robert Prevendar, director of supply chain food safety for NSF International's Global Food Safety Division, to get his perspective on the impact of food safety standards for package printers and converters.

Joining a trade exchange offers printers the ability to subsidize both fixed and variable operational costs, attract and maintain cash business, and raise capital. Exchanges are seeing strong growth each year and new exchanges are being launched every day. Companies are starting to see their trade exchange as another necessary business tool. If you're not already an exchange member, it may be a business opportunity worth pursuing.

With sales revenue in the $10 to 20 million range, Sherburne, N.Y.-based Mid-York Press considers itself a market leader among short-run package printers. Mid-York's goal is to increase its business by 50 percent, while retaining 50 percent available capacity.

One thing is certain, TLMI is loaded with industry leaders, people who have a passion for the tag and label industry and who, in many cases, have devoted their lives to it. Ken Kidd, recently retired co-CEO of WS Packaging Inc., certainly fits this description.

Entrepreneurs seem to have a lot of traits in common, but several traits especially stand out to me—hard work, passion, and the willingness to "bet the farm."

There is a wide variety of ETL constructions, some incorporating a high-degree of creativity and complexity. Valley Forge Tape & Label (VFT&L) has an extensive background in ETL production.

Despite all the challenges, companies in the folding carton segment have been able to post some positive results. For the most part, these have occurred due to management actions taken to reduce costs and focus on core businesses—actions that are necessary during recessionary periods.

“Although ranked number one in annual sales volume, overall market share, and export volume for many consecutive years, COFCO Great Wall Wine set out in January 2009 on a strategic label redesign that would help elevate the Great Wall brand to an even higher level of emotional connection with consumers,” said Qin Ping, branding manager for COFCO Great Wall.