Label Logic Relies on the APR Safety Net
APR provides contingency support throughout a mission-critical equipment replacement.
Overview
Label Logic was established out of a garage in Elkhart, Indiana, in 1997 by Jeff and Karen Cripe. Over the past 24 years, the company has outgrown two facilities and built a strong team of more than 60 employees. Both driven salespeople at heart with a penchant for staying ahead of technology, Jeff and Karen have positioned the business for continued growth well into the future.
Customers range from Fortune 500 companies to small local businesses. Their primary focus is on printing quality custom labels for household cleaning, FDA-compliant food labels, automotive (Tier 1 suppliers), retail point-of-sale, horticulture nursery labels, and wine & spirits. Label Logic also has the ability to insert, print, and encode RFID tags and labels in-house.
Certifications and awards include UL, WBE (Woman Business Enterprise), and ISO 9001:2015. Label Logic has also been recognized as one of the 50 Innovative Companies to Watch in 2021 by The CEO Views magazine. The organization’s success story was built on customer service and always making the impossible happen. Every employee embraces the tenets of hard work, perseverance, and taking risks.
“The confidence that comes with having APR’s team of professionals behind me is something that I wouldn’t trade for the world. Having such proficient people in my corner makes even the greatest printing challenge suddenly approachable.”
Chad Urban
Art Director,
Label Logic
Challenge
Late in 2020, Label Logic had an older first-generation MacDermid LAVA plate processor which needed immediate replacement.
According to Chad Urban, Label Logic’s Art Director, “While APR was on my radar; it wasn’t until we visited their facilities for the first time that my eyes were opened to what a valuable resource they could be. At the time, we were endeavoring to obtain industry-standard color management certification. APR happened to be offering flexographic seminars around the same time, which allowed our team to learn relevant information in a fun and exciting atmosphere. After meeting their own impressive team of experts and witnessing their command of leading-edge technology, I knew that we wanted to be on Team Flexo’s roster.”
APR started looking for a replacement unit for Label Logic, but their old processor went down before another could be located and installed. Chad recalls, “It looked like we would be down for weeks. This would have left us unable to fulfill a large order for one of our biggest food customers, resulting in the shutdown of several of their production lines. The monetary losses would have been in the tens-of-thousands, but letting down the customer would have been an even greater and more unacceptable loss.”
Solution
APR provided a welcome safety blanket — providing contingency support, and made plates for Label Logic until their LAVA unit could be repaired. Additionally, they worked with the equipment manufacturer to “apply a bandaid” and keep the machine running until the replacement could arrive. While APR sales ensured that plates were quickly arriving at Label Logic, APR technical support worked on a Saturday to troubleshoot the problems of the old LAVA processor. Chad notes, “ I cannot stress how rare and valuable that level of support is to a company like us. We were able to get the equipment operational again, where it honorably served for the remainder of its lifespan.”
He adds, “While we had experienced miscellaneous equipment breakdowns and material shortages in the past, they never lasted more than a couple of days. Our contingency plans did involve outsourcing plate material to a couple of pre-approved vendors, but this came at a much greater expense and was often at odds with our internal deadlines. APR had a setup nearly identical to ours and upped the ante by offering to manufacture our plates at material cost, all while meeting the demands of our ever-changing schedule.”
Outcome
In February 2021, APR installed the replacement processor. According to Chad, “The installation and training process went very smoothly. It’s nice having installers that are familiar with the science behind the technology. This bridges an important gap in dialing in our specific settings and leaves us well-positioned to manufacture quality plates long after they have left.”
He adds, “I can confidently say that we are now producing the best flexographic plates than ever before. For the past several years, we have been increasing our investment in equipment and software to take our plates to the next level. However, it wasn’t until this latest installation of the LAVA that this vision has finally come within grasp. Where we were once struggling with consistency, we are now producing predictable, even results with regularity. This has directly resulted in an overall decrease of the number of unhappy pressmen in my office during working hours.”
With this level of outstanding sales and support, Label Logic now buys all of its plates from APR. Chad acknowledges that the decision to switch the business to APR ultimately boiled down to the organic support network that APR could offer. He states, “With them, we have names and faces that we can trust for specialized areas of the industry. This has drastically changed the way that I view workplace or technical challenges, and you cannot put a price on that!”
In addition to the processor and MacDermid plates, APR has provided Label Logic with a light finisher and exposure unit, assistance with color management certification, SpotOn Color pressroom color management software, and SupplySentry self-refilling inventory management resources.