That could easily be the philosophy of any of the 50,000 customers that have relied on Weber Marking Systems to supply their labels and labeling systems in virtually all corners of the globe, says Ed Boyle.

But in this case it's also the rationale of Brad Weber, president of the Arlington Heights, IL-based converter, for making Mark Andy, Inc., its sole supplier of new flexographic printing presses. Today, 70 of the 90 presses that the 71-year old converter operates worldwide are Mark Andys, the first installation was a 6.5" three-color Model 810 press in 1975.

Says Weber, "‘When I speak to other label converters, and they talk about using presses from a variety of different label press manufacturers in their plants, I honestly don't know why. We've grown up with Mark Andy and stayed with them, and that's given us a big advantage."

Weber cites the benefits of working with a single press manufacturer as easily as he can list the locations of his company's 13 manufacturing locations in 10 countries around the world: the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Germany, Thailand, Denmark, Ireland, Turkey, Netherlands and France.

"For one, we don't have to inventory multiple parts," explains Weber. "And our employees become experts – each one of them all over the world – on running and maintaining Mark Andy's. It's also a lot easier to train operators on one press type, so we consider ourselves lucky to have the consistency and continuity of one press manufacturer."

In fact, Weber has only purchased one new press that wasn't a Mark Andy: a 10-color, 16" ProGlide press from Comco International, (now a Mark Andy subsidiary) that was installed in 2000. Quips Weber,"Six months after we bought the Comco press, Mark Andy saw that and bought the company!" That Comco ProGlide press was installed at Tape & Label Engineering, Weber's St. Petersburg, FL, subsidiary, to print on unsupported film, an increasingly popular substrate for labels.

The 78,000-square-foot Tape & Label facility employs 92 people and converts prime labels for such high-volume markets as bottled water, health and beauty, and pharmaceuticals. At its Southern U.S. subsidiary, seven of the 12 Mark Andy presses are 10-color.

One of that facility's latest innovations is a new series of resealable prime labels, called ReseaLabels (trademark), that are designed to provide up to six times more printing space than a normal label. Converted on an eight-color, 10" Mark Andy 4150 press, this new construction provides ample room for printing product use information, ingredients, or mail-in offers, without sacrificing product identification.

Any portion of the label can be peeled back to reveal more product information underneath the label or on the back of its top layer. The top panel(s) can then be resealed for repeated use. Full color graphics can be printed on the front and base panels, plus text can be printed on the backside of the top panel.

Depending on the specific application, any portion of the label can be designed to be peelable and resealable. The construction is also suitable for both round and flat-sided containers. Resealable labels can be applied using standard automatic labeling equipment for pressure-sensitive labels, including all of Weber's label applicator systems.

Ironically, Weber initially purchased Tape & Label Engineering, which was already an experienced color process label converter when it was acquired 22 years ago, to help enhance the company's prime label capabilities at its Chicago-area plant. Ultimately, however, the St. Petersburg location has operated as an independent facility, with its own markets, product lines and customer base. For example, while Weber utilizes UV and UV flexo equipment at its main facility, the wholly owned subsidiary has rotary screen printing capabilities and can produce booklet labels like ReaseaLabels.

Weber began adding UV printing and drying capabilities on its Mark Andy presses some 10 years ago to improve the durability, light fastness and abrasion resistance required by diverse markets from bottled water to engine parts. The company also coats about one-third of its label stock on a 31" Kroenert coater/laminator with hot melt adhesive capabilities.

While Weber remains one of the largest prime label converters in the United States, 70 per cent of the labels the company produces at its 320,000-square-foot Arlington Heights headquarters use three colors or less, and a great many are blank. Most of those labels are thermal-transfer imprinted with variable information at the customer's site using printers produced by a variety of OEMs and sold and serviced by Weber.

The facility houses 28 Mark Andy presses, including Models 820, 2200, 4120, 4150 and 4200 printing two to nine colors and widths from 7 to 20". One of its 10" four-color Mark Andy 4120 presses incorporates an ion deposition unit to print variable information like barcodes and consecutive serial numbers in-line.

A worldwide presence

Another major reason that Weber has made Mark Andy its sole supplier of new presses is that the press manufacturer ‘is truly worldwide source…providing service worldwide.’

When Weber had a minor start-up problem with a new press at its Bangkok, Thailand, plant, Mark Andy flew a technician from St. Louis, MO, to correct it in less than 48 hours. Notes Weber, "I don't think any other press manufacturer could have pulled that off."

While a mere handful of North American label converters serve customers beyond its borders, a majority of Weber's customers are outside the United States. And so are its facilities. Realizing that labels are fundamentally a ‘local’ commodity, Weber has purchased or built plants in growing market segments around the world, and employs over 900 people.

"In 1980, we formed a partnership with Bluhm Systeme, then our German distributor," Weber recalls. "Eckard Bluhm, the firm's managing director, introduced us to important international markets, and has helped us grow our business each and every year."

According to Weber, that relationship has been the model Weber Marking Systems has followed in developing additional ventures throughout the world. "The keys are our partners in those countries," Weber points out. "And we trust their instincts and advice on what each local market requires."

One of its longest-running facilities, located in East Lothian, Scotland, recently celebrated its 30th Anniversary. Currently, that plant operates seven Mark Andy presses: three 3-color Model 820; a 6-color with UV varnish Model 2200 plus an 8- color unit; and 5-color and 8-color Model 4120.

Five years ago, a member of the British Royal Family, Princess Anne, took part in a gala 25th Anniversary celebration at the 30,000-square-foot Scotland facility, which employs more than 90 people from the small town. Notes Weber, "When royalty shows up, it's very special. We were very honored."

Many of the company's other international facilities began as distributorships for its thermal transfer and label application equipment and grew to become printing operations with a substantial customer base. For example, Weber sent members of its experienced production staff over to Bangkok to help a local distributor launch what has become Weber Thailand. "We probably gave them a five-year head start over what they could have accomplished on their own," says Weber. That facility currently operates three 10" presses: a 10-color Mark Andy 4150 UV press, an eight-color Model 2200, and a three-color 830 press.

"That's just another reason why we're a very unique company compared to our peers," he continues. "There are estimated to be more than 2,000 label companies in the U.S., and 99.9 per cent of them don't have any sales or manufacturing over a border. We're in Europe, Asia, Turkey, and France. We're already overseas because of the equipment we manufacture, and the software we write and develop in the United States. So when we go somewhere to set up a label operation, we already have established relationships."

'No job too small'

In spite of its tremendous growth and worldwide presence, Weber has maintained a true entrepreneurial spirit: No job is too large or too small, too simple or complex, notes Randy Stake, manager of Marketing Communications. "Anything you can use a label for, we produce it, whether it's a down-and-dirty blank label or a beautiful point-of-sale, multi-color label. Foods, pharmaceuticals, secondary labels for use on cartons, all sorts of things."

Simply by preprinting large runs of base labels with acompany's generic information – i.e. shipping details, designs and logos – and then offering equipment from the likes of Zebra, Sato and Datamax that is designed to custom-print variable information on each label, Weber allows its customers to greatly reduce label inventory and maintain product integrity.

"That's really how the company was built," explains Weber. "If you manufacture 1,000 different products, and each one has a different part number and description, you used to have to go out and buy 1,000 different labels, and the label converters will charge you for the individual plates and graphics. You also have minimum order quantities, and then you have to store all those labels, which become obsolete if you change your product or it doesn't perform because it's been on the shelf a few years. This is a really simple solution to all those problems."

In the process, Weber has become the largest re-seller to end-users of thermal transfer ribbons in the world, with annual sales of $14 million – more than the label sales of most
converters.

Weber also recently purchased Geset, a German manufacturer of specialty applicators, to further improve its internal product line, and has more than 60 full-time field service engineers to maintain its products around the globe.

"This is really the concept that we've sold throughout the world," Weber says of his versatile labels. "And that's one of the reasons we've been so successful. Plus, we're experts at everything. We've got the full breath of not only labels and labeling equipment, but we can produce everything from a hotstamp with a hologram on it, to a scratch-off with an ink-jet
printed number underneath it, to an award-winning 10-color process label."

"We've got everything that you could imagine," adds Randy Stake, "so we can sell you what you need, rather than what we think you need. We can do it all."

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This article appeared in the Oct/Nov 2003 issue of Labels & Labelling magazine.