New Creation Labels & Packaging
1750 Enterprise Way, Suite 109, Marietta, GA 30067 USA
www.nclps.com

New Creation Labels & Packaging (NCLPS) is a new company with a rich history. About 25 years ago, Robin Houston, Tim Appling and Jim Overstreet – the ownership team at NCLPS – all worked at the now-defunct Label America. But when Pat Patrick, who was a two-term president of TLMI and the owner of Label America, decided to retire, Houston, Appling and Overstreet were forced to move on.

Patrick sold the company to Label Art, and all three ended up leaving for new ventures. Houston went to Logmatix and Appling went to Atlanta Label. Overstreet opened his own company as a broker and distributor. “A few years later, Tim ended up at Logmatix with me, and Jim became one of our biggest customers, and we were all really happy again,” says Houston.

After about 15 years, though, the owners of Logamtix decided to retire and sell the company. Houston, Appling and Overstreet took that moment as a chance opportunity. “We thought if we’re ever going to do it, now’s the time,” explains Houston. “We got together and we had absolutely nothing, not even a paper clip. We put together this idea of opening our own label company, and it was really good. We started off with a folding table and some chairs in the conference room and no heat in the building. We ordered our presses, and that was how we started.”

NCLPS shipped its first order in 2014, relying on the relationships they had cultivated from their Label America days. “We knew how to make labels, that was for sure, and that was the easy part,” says Houston. “Figuring out everything else; all the business requirements and how to set this company up so that it would work for the long term was the harder part.”

NCLPS has utilized its local resources to turn the company into the success story that it is today. The company sought help from the Small Business Development Center in Kennesaw, GA, which is run out of Kennesaw State University.

The initial operating space stood at 10,000 square feet, but NCLPS recently expanded to a 15,000-square foot space in March 2017. Currently there are 14 employees and NCLPS recently launched a new website.

NCLPS serves a wide range of markets, printing prime labels for BBQ sauce, cupcakes, muffins, spices and more. Their labels have even been used for home improvement goods such as nuts and bolts. In addition, logistics labels comprise a large portion of the business, which the customer might never see. These labels can include variable data and are often used in warehouse or distribution centers.

As part of NCLPS’ expansion, the company recently purchased a Colordyne 3600 Series AQ – Retrofit in order to enter the digital printing market. The Colordyne retrofit – purchased through Mark Andy – is used in combination with a Mark Andy 2200 8-color press.

The retrofit allows NCLPS to operate a flexo digital combination inline on press, including diecutting and laminating. “For us, we’re a small company and relatively new, so the thought of going out and buying a brand new million dollar flexo digital hybrid press was daunting,” says Houston. “The price point of the Colordyne was very attractive for a company our size, and it allows us to get into the digital market at a minimal capital investment.”

Houston attributes much of her company’s success to the help of its vendor partners. In addition to Mark Andy and Colordyne, NCLPS works closely with its material suppliers, which include Avery Dennison, Spinnaker Coating and UPM Raflatac. RotoMetrics has always been instrumental in helping the company with its diecutting capabilities.

“I don’t know how people start up without the support of those vendors,” says Houston. “When you’re brand new and cash flow is tight – and you’re trying to figure everything out – you don’t know how to get everybody paid and how to get your customers to pay you. Having vendors who are willing to extend terms and give you sample materials and work with you on new projects is critical.”

According to Houston, the ability to print digitally will greatly enhance NCLPS’ business. “I think that being in the digital world is not optional anymore,” she says. “At least not for companies that are in the markets we’re in and serving the customers that we serve. The vast majority of our customers expect it at this point. We do see digital encroaching on the lower end of flexo. That’s been going on for a long time and as technology improves, we just see that more and more. The general public has come to expect more personalization. They want the ability to buy in smaller quantities that’s personalized, and it’s not your traditional business that’s long run flexo.”

Houston, Appling and Overstreet have emphasized the importance of culture, taking a page from their time at Label America. The goal is to create an atmosphere where people want to come to work every day. “One of the things we like to say is we want to be your customer’s favorite vendor, a vendor’s favorite customer, and the place where everybody wants to work,” says Houston. “If you get those three things right, everything else will work out because those are the big ones. It’s very important to us to create a culture and an environment where our employees come to work every day and it’s not a drag.”

Like much of the industry, Houston is concerned about the aging workforce and where to acquire burgeoning talent. NCLPS has taken an active role in this regard. “I recently reached out to a lot of groups here locally,” says Houston. “I connected with a group called Communities in Schools that specifically works with kids that are at risk. And you mentor these kids and give them the best possible chance to go to college or get out in the workforce. We talked about it and what’s going on in our industry and what a great career being a press operator could be for someone. That’s a great career, or working in sales or customer service or purchasing. There are lots of opportunities in our industry, and people just don’t know about it.”

NCLPS recently hired a summer intern to work in the office and get a feel for the industry. According to Houston, that included working with Label Traxx, building spreadsheets and working in shipping. The company has also started a job shadowing program, where high school students can come into the NCLPS facility and learn what careers are available to them.

“I’d like to see the industry give apprenticeships or helper positions to younger people to expose them to the career opportunities that we have to offer,” says Houston. “It’s the lifeblood of our industry. If we don’t actively pursue these younger people, they’re going to do something else. It’s already hard to find a good press operator and that’s only going to get harder and harder if we don’t start addressing the issue.”  – Greg Hrinya