Pre-covid, the label industry was thriving. Increasingly, brand owners were emphasizing packaging as a vital component to differentiate their products from the competition and digital printing had injected a bevy of creative opportunities and functionalities.
But when Covid hit, converters faced a multitude of challenges. While sales spiked in some product categories like personal care, health, household, supplements and food, others like retail fashion and fragrances understandably declined. For printers in markets that fared well, material shortages, increased production, lockdowns, trucking delays and staffing caused significant issues, especially for mid-sized businesses without a global packaging parent company to help them meet the moment.
“For example, Overnight Labels has a stable of HP digital presses and wider-web units to print flexible packaging, a format that has seen increased demand throughout the pandemic. Our New Jersey neighbor, Label Graphics, has multi-ply label capabilities, which have also been in high demand due to a surge in supplements and other health-related products. These partnerships were a win-win for everyone, especially clients who were buried in supply chain issues and were thrilled that packaging was not one of them.”
At the same time, Dunes Point Capital had been monitoring the enormous growth the label converting industry had been experiencing. The private equity group’s philosophy emphasizes differentiated organic growth and operational transformation. With most of their acquisitions, owners become stockholders and continue to head up their companies.
“We all started with just one press and had experienced tremendous growth over the years,” said Don Earl, president of Overnight Labels. “But with so much M & A activity we needed an investor to help us get to the next level to compete with the “mega” label companies that were forming.”
“We’ve all been approached by larger packaging firms and private equity but didn’t want to become small fish in a big pond. Both myself and my colleagues’ dream scenario was to partner with investors who could help us expand and still maintain our role within each of our companies,” Spina added.
“We also wanted to ensure that the transition for our clients would be seamless and that any changes would only enhance our client relationships,” said Ali Kahn, the general manager at Label Graphics.
So, in February 2021, Premium Label and Packaging Solutions (PLPS) was formed to merge the best of both worlds: Maintain the advantages of a small business with a focus on service, a commitment to craftsmanship and an emphasis on quality; balanced with the ability of a large organization to purchase state-of-the-art equipment, hold a large inventory of materials, and leverage the power of this partnership with multiple locations and a large stable of presses.
Dan Kroger, VP of Sales at PLPS, says, “Each location has a particular expertise in one or more complex areas of packaging. A number of them are well-known in the beauty and personal care industries and have worked with both global and independent brands including Rusk, Redken, Matrix, Carol’s Daughter, Sally Hansen, Victoria’s Secret and Colgate.” Locations include:
Overnight Labels: Established in 1987, the company has two Long Island, NY facilities, and has expertise in several areas including pressure sensitive labels, shrink sleeves, flexible packaging, and specialty finishes. It also provides package prototyping services.
Label Graphics: Founded in 1979, Label Graphics Manufacturing produces pressure sensitive labels, shrink sleeves, and laminated tubes. They offer both flexo and letterpress printing and are experts in plow folds, multipage booklets and peelback labels.
Luminer: Since 1989, Luminer has specialized in combining adhesive coating technology with narrow web flexographic printing and converting expertise. The company has two facilities, and is a leader in extended content labels (ECLs) for clinical trial and other pharmaceutical applications. It also provides post-print production services including offline folding and gluing, kitting, product packaging and collation.
Recent acquisitions include HP Mile and its subsidiaries, Privateer, and Label One.
Some of the company’s sustainable product offerings include:
Tree-free stock
Recyclable and Compostable Shrink Sleeves, Multi-packs, and Neck Bands
Compostable and Recyclable Flexible Packaging
Water-based Inks with limited VOCs and Washable Inks
Luminer just expanded into a new 60,000 square-foot building with plans for purchasing new presses and equipment to expand their booklet label business. Label Graphics will also add to the company’s stable of equipment, which will allow them to increase capacity and improve lead times. Overnight Labels opened a second location and purchased an HP 25k. This high-tech digital press is designed to work with flexible packaging lamination and pouch-making equipment, so it optimizes production efficiency and allows the company to lower minimums and lead times.
“Quantities for flexible packaging are typically 5,000 for roll stock and 10,000 for bags and pouches. We can offer minimums as low as 2500, which levels the playing field for emerging players especially in the beauty and personal care industries,” said Earl.
But when Covid hit, converters faced a multitude of challenges. While sales spiked in some product categories like personal care, health, household, supplements and food, others like retail fashion and fragrances understandably declined. For printers in markets that fared well, material shortages, increased production, lockdowns, trucking delays and staffing caused significant issues, especially for mid-sized businesses without a global packaging parent company to help them meet the moment.
Complimentary Collaborators
“We’ve always had friendly ties to several like-minded printers who could complement our capabilities when customers needed packaging outside of our core offerings. It was Luminer’s way of extending our services in order to compete with larger packaging companies. Our clients benefited especially over the last few years because we were able to offer faster turnaround times, competitive pricing and maintain the exceptional customer service and label quality they had come to rely on,” said Tom Spina, president of Luminer Converting Group.“For example, Overnight Labels has a stable of HP digital presses and wider-web units to print flexible packaging, a format that has seen increased demand throughout the pandemic. Our New Jersey neighbor, Label Graphics, has multi-ply label capabilities, which have also been in high demand due to a surge in supplements and other health-related products. These partnerships were a win-win for everyone, especially clients who were buried in supply chain issues and were thrilled that packaging was not one of them.”
At the same time, Dunes Point Capital had been monitoring the enormous growth the label converting industry had been experiencing. The private equity group’s philosophy emphasizes differentiated organic growth and operational transformation. With most of their acquisitions, owners become stockholders and continue to head up their companies.
“We all started with just one press and had experienced tremendous growth over the years,” said Don Earl, president of Overnight Labels. “But with so much M & A activity we needed an investor to help us get to the next level to compete with the “mega” label companies that were forming.”
“We’ve all been approached by larger packaging firms and private equity but didn’t want to become small fish in a big pond. Both myself and my colleagues’ dream scenario was to partner with investors who could help us expand and still maintain our role within each of our companies,” Spina added.
“We also wanted to ensure that the transition for our clients would be seamless and that any changes would only enhance our client relationships,” said Ali Kahn, the general manager at Label Graphics.
So, in February 2021, Premium Label and Packaging Solutions (PLPS) was formed to merge the best of both worlds: Maintain the advantages of a small business with a focus on service, a commitment to craftsmanship and an emphasis on quality; balanced with the ability of a large organization to purchase state-of-the-art equipment, hold a large inventory of materials, and leverage the power of this partnership with multiple locations and a large stable of presses.
Premium Services with a Personal Touch
While other label converter mergers and acquisition strategies have been based on geography, PLPS’s approach is to add locations based on expanding the company’s capabilities and areas of expertise. With this model, PLPS can support clients with an extensive suite of products throughout an entire project from package prototyping and market testing to full production runs and post-print services.Dan Kroger, VP of Sales at PLPS, says, “Each location has a particular expertise in one or more complex areas of packaging. A number of them are well-known in the beauty and personal care industries and have worked with both global and independent brands including Rusk, Redken, Matrix, Carol’s Daughter, Sally Hansen, Victoria’s Secret and Colgate.” Locations include:
Overnight Labels: Established in 1987, the company has two Long Island, NY facilities, and has expertise in several areas including pressure sensitive labels, shrink sleeves, flexible packaging, and specialty finishes. It also provides package prototyping services.
Label Graphics: Founded in 1979, Label Graphics Manufacturing produces pressure sensitive labels, shrink sleeves, and laminated tubes. They offer both flexo and letterpress printing and are experts in plow folds, multipage booklets and peelback labels.
Luminer: Since 1989, Luminer has specialized in combining adhesive coating technology with narrow web flexographic printing and converting expertise. The company has two facilities, and is a leader in extended content labels (ECLs) for clinical trial and other pharmaceutical applications. It also provides post-print production services including offline folding and gluing, kitting, product packaging and collation.
Recent acquisitions include HP Mile and its subsidiaries, Privateer, and Label One.
We’re Not Blue About Being Green
“Sustainable packaging is also another area of focus for us,” says Kroger. “Every PLPS location is dedicated to reducing their impact on the environment and makes individual contributions in the areas of recycling, waste reduction, and finding alternative options to using materials that are harmful to the environment. “We are also vigilant in researching the newest sustainable packaging advancements.”Some of the company’s sustainable product offerings include:
Tree-free stock
Recyclable and Compostable Shrink Sleeves, Multi-packs, and Neck Bands
Compostable and Recyclable Flexible Packaging
Water-based Inks with limited VOCs and Washable Inks
We’re Just Getting Started
Since Premium Labels & Packaging Solutions formed, the company has already made significant strides.Luminer just expanded into a new 60,000 square-foot building with plans for purchasing new presses and equipment to expand their booklet label business. Label Graphics will also add to the company’s stable of equipment, which will allow them to increase capacity and improve lead times. Overnight Labels opened a second location and purchased an HP 25k. This high-tech digital press is designed to work with flexible packaging lamination and pouch-making equipment, so it optimizes production efficiency and allows the company to lower minimums and lead times.
“Quantities for flexible packaging are typically 5,000 for roll stock and 10,000 for bags and pouches. We can offer minimums as low as 2500, which levels the playing field for emerging players especially in the beauty and personal care industries,” said Earl.
