www.imprimus.com
www.imprimus.com

The formation of a new label converting powerhouse is poised to leave an indelible mark in North America. Headed by Nizar Elias, the newly established Imprimus Labels & Packaging features six renowned label printing companies joining forces under one roof. Going forward, Western Shield, All-American Label and Packaging, Lotus Labels, DAC Labels, Label Print Technologies (LPT) and The Label Smith will operate as Imprimus.

The new name pays homage to the company’s commitment to quality products and quality experiences – with the translation of “imprint” and “imprimatur,” meaning “a person’s acceptance or guarantee that something is of a good standard.”

Imprimus enters the ring with every intention of contending with the industry’s biggest players. Capitalizing on the trend of mergers and acquisitions, Imprimus is delivering local service on a nationwide scale.

“By building on my prior experiences of running larger companies we embarked on our journey to build a customer-focused label company that has a local presence with proximity to our customers with the delivery of a world-class customer experience,” explains Elias. “Our M&A strategy has focused on founder-operator companies with a similar cultural ethos that would help expand our footprint and growth trajectory. We operate in a niche space where we can offer the high-touch exceptional service expected from a small and locally-operated company, and can provide a national footprint and customer-driven experience. The Imprimus mission is about elevating that customer experience beyond what they’re expecting from other companies in this field.”

Elias’ goal has not been to add just any company, but rather the right companies that fit into a certain culture. “We have been patient and methodical in our M&A quest to find the right fit culturally,” Elias adds. “We weren’t in a hurry to just add on from an M&A perspective. We were more selective in deciding if the move made sense for us, for the quality of both the customers and the employees. We wanted to make sure we had the right cultural fit before we acquired the company, and we really just followed our customers in terms of building our footprint.

“We’ve maintained the original brands and led with that philosophy,” he continues. “We’ve provided more of the backend capabilities for those operations. We’re really big, too, on maintaining employees that have been in the business and fostering their longevity. The average tenure in our facilities is somewhere between 18-20+ years, and we like that aspect of our business. And that attracted us a lot more to companies that have built businesses where employees have stayed with them throughout their journeys.”

The new company can offer faster turnaround times and more expert guidance when it comes to product design, marketing and what label works best for a given project. Imprimus also has the advantage of better connecting with each of its brands – and customers – around the country.

“We are able to match and deliver the most challenging type of label with our extended capabilities, including roll-fed offset to make really unique labels,” adds Elias. “We are best known for our work in the spirits and wine industries, as well as health and beauty, and food industries. Brands rely on Imprimus for our state-of-the-art digital presses, specialty finishes like foiling or embossing, or variable data printing. They know we can produce high-quality, complex labels.

The wheels have been in motion for the establishment of this new brand for some time, but it was officially announced in July 2023. Elias, who has helmed Western Shield for the last nine years as CEO, envisioned this growth trajectory for the new company. Elias boasts impeccable leadership qualities that make Imprimus poised to make an immediate impact on the industry. Elias, a growth-oriented executive and principled leader, has displayed a successful track record of growing and rebuilding challenging businesses into profitable operations. His experience includes strategy development and deployment, as well as technical sales and business development across multi-site operations in the US, Europe, Japan, and China. He is also proficient in Lean Enterprise System, operational excellence, Lean Manufacturing, and various other product development and business processes.

“As an engineer by trade I have a technical background, but my first introduction to the industry was marketing and sales,” explains Elias. “I never really thought of labels as technical until I really got to understand the business. I must admit, I really fell in love with the industry after I got to know it. And I think my background was perfectly suited, having a business mindset but also having the technical ability to dive into the customization of labels.

“We continue to invest in our equipment to expand our capabilities in the shrink and pouches packaging,” he adds. “On the digital platform, we have some of the top-of-the-line solutions to meet wine and spirits design requirements. We serve wine companies on the East and West coasts.

Imprimus boasts a wide range of capabilities in its production facilities that are strategically located throughout the country in Brea, CA; Dublin, CA; Mogadore, OH; Dallas, TX; Houston, TX; and Memphis, TN. Under the new umbrella, Imprimus will leverage the expertise of each company to offer customers a wide breadth of solutions in numerous categories, from pressure sensitive label printing to shrink sleeves and flexible packaging to folding cartons.

Elias had to navigate the creation of a new company while dealing with unprecedented industry challenges, from the pandemic to extended supply chain disruptions. With those obstacles in mind, the process of establishing Imprimus really took hold over the past year.

“I don’t believe anyone, in business or anywhere in the world, was prepared for something like Covid-19. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime type of event, and there is no playbook or prior experience that can prepare you for how to weave through it,” comments Elias. “Candidly, we took it one day at a time and stayed focused on our core values and our customers’ needs. We felt it was the time to work more closely with suppliers and employees to make sure the customer was served the same way they were expecting prior to Covid, and we were just keeping that mindset.

“From an M&A standpoint, some candidates were more receptive,” he adds. “It made the acquisition process easier in one sense while harder in others. It was harder to be face-to-face and having continuous meetings with potential candidates. On the flip side, that once-in-a-lifetime event made some sellers who were on the edge of deciding to sell or not really think if it was the appropriate time to sell.”

Since the birth of Imprimus, Elias has hit the ground running. He is already in the process of upgrading and overhauling equipment across all six locations, and incorporating labels for digital printing, folding cartons and booklets into the company’s product portfolio, resulting in 10 times revenue growth. The company holds an ISO certification, and considers itself a one-stop partner for its customers – whether it is guiding design, presenting various packaging options, doing small test runs, and helping them solve challenging issues as they relate to the complete packaging and labeling of their products, like requiring different label materials such as foils or weather-resistant substates needed for performance and durability.

Imprimus has added equipment from a wide range of suppliers, including Mark Andy, Nilpeter, and Omet on the flexographic side to HP, Screen, and Durst on the digital side, to name a few.

“From my perspective, we have been equipment agnostic,” states Elias. “We follow the data and see what the best fit would be for the type of work our companies have. We try to maximize our output based on the data. Unlike a lot of other industries where people have better mouse traps than others, the label manufacturing space – be it for equipment or consumables – has a number of major suppliers who are all really great. Our partnership is great with all of them.

“As we focused on delivering high-quality products and continuously adding capacity and capabilities, we invested heavily to renew existing and aged equipment to improve quality and increase productivity,” adds Elias. “This has been especially prevalent post-acquisitions, where often founders have deferred maintenance of their existing equipment. We often invested quickly to improve quality and customer experience. This also aligned well with our sustainability initiative as we reduced waste and energy consumption.”

Efficiency and sustainability are also imperative for Imprimus, and the qualities are interwoven into the fabric of the company. Elias has prioritized sustainable initiatives that will better impact the environment while also boosting the bottom line. For example, Imprimus’ new facility in Brea is fully solar, and the Houston facility is nearly fully-equipped with LED capabilities.

“The onus is on all of us within the manufacturing process to do our part, no matter where you fall in the chain,” says Elias. “We are working to transform our facilities to use all solar or LED, which does take a significant amount of time. We are constantly measuring and working to reduce and eliminate waste as part of our commitment to operational excellence. The tactics are still evolving, not just for us but our industry in general. We continue to invest in new equipment that will help reduce energy consumption and reduce waste. We also rely on our partnerships with our suppliers to deliver sustainable solutions to our customers.”

Imprimus will be calculated in targeting future growth, which will come both organically and inorganically. “We’ll continue to be true to building that high-touch experience for our customers,” says Elias. “We’re always on the lookout for potential acquisitions for companies that fit our philosophy.”