Steinhauser celebrates 115 years

This new campaign, according to the company, ‘uses Steinhauser’s Instagram page as a way to highlight its history and impact, and also emphasizes the importance of humble beginnings, the fight to stand up through tough times and the keys to success and survival.’

Steinhauser is no stranger to tough times. In 2009 the company made the difficult decision to transition away from commercial print and sold its offset equipment to focus on labels and packaging. That year Steinhauser purchased an HP Indigo 6000 digital press to complement its 10-color Comco Proglide flexo press. A few years later the company upgraded to an HP Indigo 6600, and in 2017 it replaced that with an HP Indigo 6800. 

‘We can do anything on that press and the quality is just amazing,’ said Tara Halpin, Steinhauser CEO and fourth-generation owner. ‘No one can tell the difference between flexo and digital and that was very important to our customers.’

Flexo turned out to be a worthwhile investment for Steinhauser. While 80 percent of its customers’ jobs are digital, 80 percent of revenue comes from flexo. ‘Flexo changed our business for the better,’ said Halpin. In 2019 Steinhauser installed a new flexographic press, a 12-color MPS EF 530. This significant investment has produced exponential growth. July 2020 was the biggest sales month in company history, despite the ongoing pandemic. 

Community
Addressing the company’s Covid-19 efforts, Halpin said: ‘Everyone is pitching in to help those who need it. I feel so blessed to be able to operate my business with no layoffs and I want to be able to do whatever we can to help our team, their families, our customers and our community.’ In addition to traditional orders, Steinhauser partnered with a local brewery that converted to making hand sanitizer to meet local shortages and printed 10,000 labels. 

For both internal operations and business in the midst of Covid-19, ‘communication is of utmost importance,’ says Halpin. ‘Staying in contact with customers, suppliers and industry peers is essential to ensuring packaging and label producers continue to operate. The label and packaging industry is a close-knit community, and now is the time to maintain a supportive culture.’

This team culture and community focus has become a cornerstone of Steinhauser. After a tumultuous period in the company’s history, Halpin had a renewed focus on cultivating a better workplace culture and caring for the community. As a result of these efforts, Steinhauser, a woman-owned company, is now a three-time recipient of the Printing Industries of America Best Workplace in the Americas award. Steinhauser was also the first company named a ‘Label Leader’ by TLMI.

Halpin credits a large part of this cultural change to Steiny Snax, monthly meetings where all 40 employees come together to share updates. Communicating openly to the team on a regular basis helps everyone to feel included and shares the vision, mission, and values of the company. Steiny Snax have continued during the pandemic, with outdoor, socially-distanced meetings. 

While the pandemic is delaying an in-person celebration of the 115-year anniversary, Steinhauser is not letting the accomplishment fall by the wayside and is celebrating through the ‘timeline’ campaign. When asked about the future of Steinhauser, Halpin says: ‘I want all Steinhauser employees to be as happy as they can be: to be fulfilled, have a great living, develop personally and professionally, and help our customers and our community.

‘For Steinhauser, culture is always king and family is always first.’