www.kdvlabel.com
www.kdvlabel.com

KDV Label got its start in 1974, in Karen and Dick Vaughn’s home garage in Waukesha, WI. The company has a rich history, characterized by bold strategic moves and strong commitments to environmental sustainability – long before it was a trendy a thing to do. For example, since 1994, KDV started bailing waste to create fuel pellets, thus eliminating the majority of its landfill waste.

The 1990s were a pivotal time in KDV history. It was at this time when the Vaughns’ son, Shane, who currently runs day-to-day operations as KDV’s president, came on board, working in production. At the time, KDV generated approximately $10 million in annual sales.

Over the years, in addition to the fuel pellets initiative, KDV reached one sustainability milestone after another. Among the efforts were investments in digital and solvent-free platemaking, a switch to energy efficient lighting, as well as upgrades in new cleaning technology.

Concurrent to its sustainability initiatives, KDV has continuously invested in itself from a printing and converting technology standpoint. In 2003, KDV completed the purchase of Vision Group International. This acquisition catapulted KDV into high-end promotional markets, as well as multiple substrate coupon and game piece sectors. KDV, with 14-color printing capability, became an AIB (American Institute of Baking) certified facility. The certification allowed KDV to run food contact items in a clean and safe environment.

In 2010, Dick and Karen Vaughn began to step away from day-to-day operations, paving the way for Shane to take over leadership duties.  Michael Langman, a longtime KDV employee and family friend of the Vaughns, introduced KDV to an opportunistic acquisition opportunity with his current employer at the time, iGraphics, based in Loveland, CO. KDV acquired iGraphics in 2016. Today, Langman is president of iGraphics, LLC.

KDV supports a diverse set of consumer end-use markets, including food, beverage, household cleaning and personal care, with PS labels, digital labels, unsupported film labels, and other specialty labels for a variety of applications. The company performs printing, laminating, slitting, inspection and other converting operations
utilizing a modern equipment set, including 18-flexographic presses, as well as digital assets. The machines can run up to 17″ wide, printing up to 14 colors. KDV utilizes presses from Mark Andy, Nilpeter, Aquaflex and Webtron.

KDV and iGraphics operate collectively as one business but exist as separate LLC legal entities, with total sales of approximately $50 million.

Last year, Karen and Dick Vaughn decided to retire, and in doing so, they found an ideal partner in Mason Wells, a private equity firm based in Milwaukee. Since 1998, Mason Wells has invested in numerous Midwest-based companies in the packaging materials and converting sectors while supporting family ownership transitions.
It was important to the Vaughns to have an ownership transition and partner for KDV that would allow Shane Vaughn to continue to grow the business and maintain KDV’s culture. 

“We are excited about the opportunity to partner with Mason Wells and continue on our growth trajectory while expanding our capabilities,” says Shane Vaughn. “With Mason Wells’ strong financial resources and broad support, we plan to strategically expand our current press capacity and label capabilities. The entire KDV management team will remain intact with the exception of my parents, who will be retiring. We remain committed to continuing KDV’s mission of providing world-class label quality, service and sustainable solutions that help reduce our customers’ total applied cost.”

“KDV is an excellent company that has received some of the highest customer approval ratings we have ever seen,” comments Jay Radtke, senior managing director at Mason Wells. “KDV’s management, employees and suppliers are all key factors that have allowed the company to consistently meet or exceed customer expectations and will continue to do so going forward. We believe that KDV is well-positioned to become one of the leading consumer-focused label businesses in the United States.”

KDV will continue to operate as it does today with no impact on customers, vendors or employees. And the company’s management team will remain in place and will continue to be led by Shane.

“KDV will continue its people-first focus with customers, employees and vendors while maintaining a legacy of providing first-class service and quality products,” comments Shane. “Over the next few years, we anticipate growing in our existing label markets, both organically and through acquisitions to expand into additional label capabilities requested by many of our loyal customers.”

Nothing is outsourced at KDV, which allows the company to be fast, efficient and responsive.  All of KDV’s current core end-use markets are growing and will be an area of focus going forward.  While the majority of KDV’s labels are pressure sensitive, the company plans to add additional digital and extended content label capabilities.

KDV currently employs 135 people. “Our customers are supported by a strong base of technically-skilled, innovative and dedicated employees committed to achieving quality results in an efficient manner. These individuals are capable of running multiple operations from start to finish, including setups and general repairs and maintenance on the presses and equipment. We’ve instilled a culture of lean, continuous improvement within the workforce and have adopted and invested in productivity-enabling capabilities. Our unrelenting focus on efficiency has created a competitive advantage in the marketplace, whereby it is difficult for the competition to profitably compete with KDV on price.”

KDV offers a wide range of flexographic and digital labels, including UV flexo, multi-layer constructions and foil labels. The company prides itself on its extensive, diverse capabilities, utilizing state-of-the-art converting equipment. Says Shane, “The strong asset base allows differing web widths and specific color capabilities to tailor production to the specific needs of customers. We use equipment that can consistently produce a very diverse product mix, from a simple one-color UPC code to a 14-color prime label to a 17″ repositionable label with printing on the adhesive and polypropylene lamination.”

Customers appreciate KDV’s versatility and commitment to quality and service. “We maintain direct relationships with almost all of our customers, who are typically facility-specific across all of the US and range in tenure from 1 to 30-plus years. We don’t lose customers, and we consistently receive top marks from them in terms of lead times, quality and customer service,” adds Shane.

The immediate future looks bright at KDV. The company seeks to be a national leader in consumer label converting, with sales of at least $100 million and multiple plants across the US over the next five years, focused on its current end markets and technologies. With significant investments planned in new equipment, sales resources, IT systems, personnel, sustainability initiatives and acquisitions, KDV is well positioned to profitably grow and maintain its excellent reputation with its customers. KDV’s size, second-generation leadership and culture make it a unique acquirer for label converters seeking to sell, and is certainly a Company to Watch.