827 Lincoln Ave #6, West Chester, PA USA 19380
www.apogeeindustries.com

Apogee Industries boasts a rich history that dates back more than 60 years. As the company undergoes a transition to a new ownership group, led by Richard Reyes and Brian West, the experiences of the original owner continue to mirror those of the new investors. Both the old guard and new guard have emphasized a family business built on a strong workplace culture.

Marty Hayes established Apogee Industries in 1961. He had been working in insurance before making the calculated gamble to open what was initially a canvas and awning company. Upon purchasing a diecutter to handle a project for the Franklin Mint collection, Marty soon realized the equipment could be used to diecut labels.

Marty’s son, Dave, began working at the company in the mid-1970s as a high school student. He then joined the company full time following his college graduation. Dave and his wife, Elaine, ultimately took over Apogee Industries in 1999 after Marty had passed away.

“Marty was really adventurous,” recalls Elaine. “He and his wife were expecting their fourth child when he came home and announced he was quitting the insurance business and starting his own company. He was a natural-born salesperson, but I don’t know if many people took risks like that in the 1960s.”

Dave and Elaine presided over the company for more than 20 years, building the foundation that has paved the way for significant growth at the Pennsylvania-based label converter.

“The experience of owning and running a company sure grows you as a person,” says Dave. “Owning a small company tests you and tries you, but it grows you. You have to take your lumps and be patient – patient for the
rewards too. It takes some time, but steady plodding brings prosperity.”

In September of 2021, Reyes and West made a similar calculated gamble. Coming from the corrugated industry, the two partners aspired to form their own company. With Dave and Elaine eyeing retirement, the perfect opportunity presented itself.

“We kind of had the same scary feeling as Marty when starting out,” says Reyes. “It’s a gamble, but they laid the foundation for success, so it wasn’t too big of a gamble. It was scary and exciting all at the same time.”

Reyes spent 25 years working for Pratt Industries, where he accumulated a wealth of knowledge in flexographic printing, albeit for the corrugated market. West, meanwhile, had extensive experience on the plate side, as he sold printing plates and cutting dies.

Reyes and West hit the ground running, as they deftly navigated the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing supply chain constraints. They passed the test, though, as the company has doubled its growth over the past 16 months. Since the transition, Apogee has also expanded to a second location in Joplin, MO, where West has assumed the helm.

“I did not come from the label industry, but I did come from the flexographic printing side,” says Reyes. “Brian and I had this idea of wanting to do something on our own as we were exploring the next stage in our lives. We looked at the opportunity and the numbers, and it’s been a great investment. The learning curve has been fast and furious. We had to compress Dave’s knowledge into a six-month session. Ultimately, we were learning a lot of information in a short amount of time, but Dave and Elaine have been great with the transition.”

Apogee operates out of a 12,000 square-foot facility in West Chester, PA, and a 6,000 square-foot space in Joplin. Reyes and West captain a team of 30 employees, many of whom have made the transition with the new owners.

“We have great employees,” states Reyes. “Dave and Elaine built a great team and we’re trying to build upon that, helping our employees achieve the goals they want to while also helping the company reach the goal of getting bigger and better at what we do. We really don’t grow or get better without our people. Taking care of our employees and taking care of our customers is what’s important to us.”

Apogee is firmly entrenched in a growth phase, with Reyes and West exploring additional ways to grow the business. While Apogee offers solutions for multiple end-use markets, the beverage industry has been the key driver. While juice has historically been the main beverage, the company has seen its business grow into the dairy side. In addition, Apogee provides labeling solutions for industrial markets and badges.

Apogee will often make labels that adhere to cable modems and boxes, and the company also specializes in steel labels that can withstand numerous conditions. Meanwhile, Apogee produces badge solutions for numerous major tradeshows in North America. Additionally, the converter will sell blank badges to suppliers for their events. With the return of in-person events, the badge industry has started to flourish once again.

In the future, Reyes and West are analyzing future avenues for growth. While the company has multiple flexographic printing presses, they understand that digital will play a role in continuing to meet all their customers’ needs. According to Reyes, the company is investigating digital hybrid presses as their next investment.

“Our customers love the great print quality that our flexo printing provides,” says Reyes. “Digital printing definitely has its place for the smaller and mid-size runs, and we’re not blind to that fact. We’re exploring digital hybrid technology right now, and probably in the next year we’ll be purchasing a digital hybrid press.”

A smooth transition

Dave and Elaine have been instrumental in fostering a seamless transition to the next ownership group. According to Reyes, they have been hands-on in providing education. Plus, Elaine continues to work in Apogee’s accounting department, which has been of great help to the new owners.

“Dave and Elaine have been great with the transition,” states Reyes. “They’ve walked us through the heart of Label Manufacturing 101 – ultimately understanding how the labels are made to how we’re producing and how we can improve. Coming from the manufacturing side, we’re always looking for efficiencies and how we can separate ourselves.”

For ownership, Reyes and West have both prioritized building a strong culture and giving back to the employees. Reyes has leaned on his Texas upbringing to promote a great workplace culture, as he will often transport his grill in the back of his pickup truck to cook for employees in Apogee’s parking lot.

“The culture has been a big focus through the transition,” remarks Reyes. “We’re people-driven here. When we can relate to the people, the volume and technology will take care of itself. When you start listening to people and giving them a voice, the productivity increases. In listening and communicating – making it a two-way conversation – it opened the road to better productivity and more efficiency.”

Apogee has also received strong support from many vendor suppliers, not only in driving  growth but in navigating the challenges of the past few years. Mark Andy and Rotoflex have provided equipment support, as the three presses in Apogee’s Pennsylvania location all come from Mark Andy. UPM Raflatac has offered significant help in keeping the company stocked while many converters struggled to source materials. FLEXcon has also been supportive with various projects for Apogee, most notably with a solution for steel labels.

“When we entered the business, we were in the middle of Covid and then the supply chain got rough,” explains Reyes. “It was getting more difficult to procure materials, but we tried to stay ahead of the curve. UPM Raflatac has been a great partner and helped keep us stocked with material, which was especially huge for our juice business. Dairy stock was kind of a struggle for everybody, but we managed through that and worked with customers on different opportunities with different materials. UPM really stepped up for us.”

The implementation of Label Traxx MIS software has been key during the transition. Stephen Dudley, plant manager, and Chris Abdala, scheduler, have been instrumental in training, organizing, and leading the team with the software update.

“We started with the computer systems, since we had three,” says Reyes. “We’ve converted the previous setup into one system in Label Traxx, and that’s part of our migration now. We’re in the process of really driving information for floor reporting, so we can understand our true run rates and efficiencies. It’s been as smooth as the process can be, and Brian really spearheaded this project. The move to Label Traxx is saving us time because we’re not duplicating information from one system to another system. This has been something that’s really helped us.”

The new ownership group’s efforts have not been lost on the employees, either. “Brian and Richard are really trying to streamline the business, which is great, because for me I can see my output and understand how I can be better to help the company grow more,” says Bryan Ashley, press operator. “Whatever we need, be it equipment or processes, Brian and Richard we’ll work to implement it.”

Family atmosphere

Starting in 1961, Apogee has been built on a family atmosphere. More than 60 years later, that still rings true. For Reyes, family also played a pivotal role in his decision to invest in the company.

“My family was excited when I decided to invest in a business and go out on my own,” he says. “It’s been something I always wanted to do and was aspiring to. My family was very supportive of the decision, and that goes back to the family atmosphere of the company. First with Marty and then with Dave and Elaine, this was a family business, and we want to keep it that way.”

The same holds true for West, as his wife and son have also been hands-on in building Apogee’s Missouri-based location.

Reyes and West own Legacy Label, the parent company of Apogee Industries. They chose the name Legacy Label because they want to leave a legacy for their families. This also made Reyes and West attractive buyers for Dave and Elaine.

“We always tried to be three things: family, friendly, and flexible,” explains Elaine. “Since Dave grew up in the business, the family atmosphere was always important to us, and that’s something that you can see Richard and Brian are really thoughtful of.

“That’s one of the key things we were looking for in a buyer,” she adds. “We wanted someone who would treat our employees the way we had treated them. We didn’t want the company to just be packaged up, sold, and moved away.”

Reyes and West have emphasized that family atmosphere from the moment they agreed to purchase the company. “I was not looking to be the person that comes in and fires everybody and overhauls the business, which is what many investment groups do,” explains Reyes. “We weren’t looking for that. We were looking for a business to grow and keep in the family, and ultimately pass along to our children. We want to have sustainable growth and something that grows in our family.”

Reyes’ family is just as enthusiastic about the company’s prospects. “My family was excited about it, and all of them want to be a part of it someday,” he comments. “My wife will come in to help out, and my youngest daughter works in manufacturing. She works in the corrugated box industry in customer service. I think she wants to join the company someday, but right now she wants to make it on her own. Kudos to her. Right now, she’s developing from the customer service side to the sales side, and we’ll see where her future goes. My other daughter and son-in-law will be joining the company in the coming months, too, where he will help in our accounting department.”

Networking

The family atmosphere at Apogee has extended to its diverse range of partners. One such partner has been the FLAG (Flexo Label Advantage Group) network. Dave and Elaine initially saw the benefits of FLAG, and Reyes and West have maintained the partnership since acquiring the company.

“When you’re a small company and it’s just you and your husband, you don’t have a broad sense of running a business and a board of directors, with people coming from other places, to rely upon,” explains Elaine. “FLAG gave us a little bit of that. We’d get together and learn about the problems everyone in the industry has faced – and some have solved them. So, we gained access to that knowledge base that you get from that interaction. Plus, it’s a safe place to interact with fellow industry members, where you can share concepts, problems, and solutions.”

Apogee has long been an engaged member of the FLAG community. Dave and Elaine have actively participated in peer groups, where they tackled issues ranging from human resources and workforce development to supply chain sourcing.

According to Reyes, the benefits include education, buying power and the ability to create new relationships. “The leverage FLAG membership gives us for buying power and discounts has been a big benefit,” he notes. “It allows us to compete with other companies and helps keep a level playing field with some of the bigger players with more buying power. FLAG levels out the field for us and helps us be even with other vendors who are not FLAG partners because we have a baseline to go off of for negotiating.”

The FLAG network has been key in Apogee’s ability to further procure equipment, too. Most recently, Apogee acquired an upright rewinder from Rotoflex from a fellow FLAG member. “We’re trying to utilize all the benefits of the network,” says Reyes.