Labels Thrive with Technology on Their Side

Labels hold their own as widespread applications become the norm and technology takes them in a new direction.

From their inception dating back to the 1700s, labels continue to hold their own in today's technology-driven society. These necessary business tools carry weight with bar-coded and other quick-run designs, and are used on everything from shampoo bottles to heavy equipment.

In terms of distributor sales in 2002, labels accounted for $218 million—a comfortable 10.1 percent of total market dollars, according to the BFL&S Top Distributor report of 2002.

In an attempt to find out just what keeps this booming industry booming, four executives provided valuable insight on the sometimes complex, but lucrative world of labeling.

Sales Report

Across the board labels showed stable to increasing sales in 2002. Cleveland-based Proforma generated $20 million in label sales, and continues to be extremely busy with the product.

In fact, Proforma reported the introduction of new labels and its collaboration with one of the largest label suppliers in North America, which is seeking business contracts with beverage, food and packaging companies. Greg Muzzillo, founder and CEO said, "We are just now introducing a market push for labeling in these industries."

Concurring with the report that labels experienced positive sales for 2002 is Bob Troop, CEO of The Shamrock Companies, Westlake, Ohio. He stated that labels accounted for 15 percent of his company's total sales in 2002, and anticipates their sales will remain stable in 2003.

While only 1 percent to 5 percent of label sales accounted for 2002 total sales at the Merrill Corporation, Monroe, Wash., Brian Wiedenmann, general manager, praised the product's overall performance stating that despite the low percentages, the company views label sales as a "small but stable portion of our sales with the potential for limited growth."