WESTERN STATES ENVELOPE & LABEL'S UNIQUE CAPABILITIES DRIVE PROFITS

Business Forms, Labels & Systems Magazine - October 2006
Advancing from fourth to third place this year, Western States Envelope & Label, Butler Wis., is the only label manufacturer with The Mark Andy DT. President and CEO Mark Lemberger said the press has had a huge impact on his company's label sales. "This piece of equipment gives us the ability to produce extremely high-quality printed and die-cut labels on demand. The digital UV ink jet print engine combined with the laser die cutting station avoid the time and expense required to make plates and purchase dies for conventional equipment," he explained.

"Our label sales continue to grow at a 25 percent annual rate as customers take advantage of our unique ability to produce low-cost, high-quality, custom- printed labels with a short lead time."

The company is currently in the midst of an aggressive label sales initiative, making distributors aware of the competitive advantage available to them, and providing educational resource materials and tips for successful label sales.

"We just published the Label Resource Guide, a comprehensive tool providing a wealth of information about labels and label stocks. It's the ultimate primer on how to create the perfect label," Lemberger added.

In addition, profits are getting a boost from the F.L.Smithe SR envelope folding machine with inline ESP (enhanced servo press) flexographic printing press that the company recently purchased. "This machine is the most advanced envelope folding and printing machine ever built," Lemberger commented. "It's loaded with servo technology for quick set-ups and high-speed operation, and the ESP press takes flexo printing for envelopes to a new level. Four-color process printing on coated stock is now much quicker and more economical."

Ongoing improvements in its manufacturing processes also help to keep Western States Envelope & Label at the top of the ranking. Lemberger noted that the company's Kaizen philosophy-based lean initiative has helped in developing quick response manufacturing techniques that significantly reduce lead times and improve efficiencies.

He went on to say the biggest problem facing independent distributors today is the constant pricing pressure being applied by the large consolidators of printing operations and distributorships. "Many of these large entities try to commoditize our products and services," observed Lemberger. "We must constantly bring new value to the table to differentiate ourselves. Distributors need to align themselves with suppliers who can help them to build customer relationships based upon value and performance, as well as competitive pricing."

Originally from Business Forms, Lables & Systems® October 2006 © Copyright 2006, North American Publishing Co., Philadelphia PA 19130
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