McDowell Label communicates success

Unsurpassed client communication and technical excellence have driven success at McDowell Label, writes Danielle Jerschefske

McDowell Label, winner of 13 World Label Awards and many other accolades, is a premium supplier of heat shrink sleeves, decorative labels and flexible packaging. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, the globally recognized company is in its 31st year of business – and it’s only getting better with age. The company achieved its highest annual sales in 2010, surpassed it in 2011, and is on pace YTD to ‘three-peat’ again in 2012.

McDowell Label positions itself as a partner to brand owners who want their products to make an emotional connection with the consumer. The company’s associates deliver this using leading edge technology, world-class combination printing and a relentless focus on innovation.

‘We target graphics-intensive categories and are deliberate about whom we want to do business with,’ says company president John McDowell. ‘We are very unique in the way in which we partner and serve our customers. We are not a vendor. We are not a job shop. We are an integral part of their brand identity; we occupy a seat at the proverbial table.’ 

At the same time McDowell has a strong commitment to sustainable production, having achieved TLMI’s Project LIFE certification.

Focused selling

McDowell Label’s business encompasses a wide range of regional, national, and international customers, with a strong presence in the nutraceutical, health & beauty and premium liquor markets (wine & spirit). The company links a low turnover of customers with its ability to retain experienced and motivated staff. Dave McDowell, founder and CEO, explains, 'We have a unique and disciplined culture of quality, one which fosters innovation and rewards ingenuity and creativity.’ 

Jay Luft, McDowell’s VP of technology, has authored multiple patents for labels. Pre-press manager Chris Brannon has been with McDowell for 16 years, bringing with him experience from an offset trade shop. His father was an illustrator for the converter in its early years. A knowledgeable team produces digital plates in-house. Each employee is cross-trained and has a valuable skill set.

The most recent addition to the management team, sales manager Bryan Cook, came to McDowell from a former customer in an industry-leading distilled spirits company. After being served by the team at McDowell as a customer, he says that he chose to work with McDowell, ‘because of the quality of the work being manufactured and the attitude that permeates the organization; it is pure craftsmanship along with a culture that is dedicated to stewardship, creativity, innovative technologies, and continual improvement. I wanted to be a part of what they’re building – a part of the team.’

McDowell Label has a focused, targeted approach to capturing new business. Explains John McDowell, ‘While the over-simplification of what we do is put ink on material, we serve as a branding company versus a printer. Our sales & marketing team, with all due respect, is as competent as any brand or category manager. We study and learn the essence of brands and the brand strategies of not just the companies we serve, but of virtually every one in each CPG category. Success in retail is incumbent on a brand’s ability to ‘out-graphics’ its competition, to incite an emotional connection with the consumer, which ultimately leads to the barcode getting scanned at the cashier again and again. We don’t speak about velocity-to-market, we demonstrate it; we don’t speak about opportunities, we create them.’

One key area of innovation for McDowell Label has been shrink sleeve labels, tied into a focus on delivering environmentally sustainable solutions. By using shrink sleeve labels with a UV barrier capability, brands can use any color glass or plastic containers – including materials using post-consumer waste – saving money and boosting shelf presence. McDowell is also working on low density (below .995), shrink label solutions with key downstream supply-chain partners, that float in a PET recycling system and can effectively be separated from PET flake.

Decoration techniques include iridescent and glow-in-the-dark inks for products like spirits, energy drinks, and nutraceuticals. Materials are chosen specifically to enhance differentiation.

McDowell Label has diversified into packaging in the form of pouches, but has no plans to enter the folding carton market any time soon. John McDowell says, ‘When it comes to sustainability, the first thing to go will be the box, a trend that can already be seen in the shift towards flexibles.’

Award winning production

McDowell Label’s arsenal of presses includes an MPS EP 410 and multiple Gallus EM 280 UV flexo presses loaded with multi-combination processes and multiple web paths. McDowell also employs a multi-substrate digital press with combination finishing technology that serves its prototype and short-run business. Of the 13 World Label Awards earned, the 9th World Label Award was produced on the oldest press in the house.

The company believes that digital will ultimately prevail, but not in the way the industry understands it now. Dave says, ‘We currently operate on a digital platform, meeting the graphic and brand criteria for excellence. But combination print elements will forever remain relevant. It ‘s what produces the printing effects required to give packaging that human experience.’

Controlled growth is a key strategy at McDowell. ‘We could easily be twice the size we are’, asserts Dave. ‘We’ve always been focused on growing internally before growing externally; managing our growth deliberately, with prudence. We are, very much, entrepreneurial and our focus is to be considered among the best, not necessarily among the biggest.’ Clearly, with an award case the size of Texas, pride and a strong will to stand true to its principles, McDowell Label is one team with the right strategy to deliver excellence.

History

Dave McDowell worked for Stan Avery for 10 years before the birth of McDowell Label. For thirteen years he acted as a labels broker before deciding to produce labels on his own, ‘to improve the clarity of the conversation between the brand and the manufacturer’. He began manufacturing in 1994. He was TLMI’s 2009 Converter of the Year and will serve as the association’s next chairman. John, the youngest of three brothers and self-described coach’s kid, entered the business in 1997. Both are graduates of Texas A&M and bleed maroon; hence the color of the company’s logo identity. Another son, Jeff, was a key HR acquisition for the company in 2011 and has been serving in a variety of responsibilities specific to managing the company’s growth.

McDowell Label is proud of its Texan roots. Texas became a republic after gaining independence from Mexico on March 2, 1836. It became, by treaty, the 28th US state in 1845. Dallas is one of the biggest cities in the world not on a navigable waterway. The city is a commerce hub receiving shipments direct from the coasts via railway. It’s also a NAFTA port.

Pictured: (L-R) Dave McDowell, John McDowell and Jay Luft

This article was published in L&L issue 5, 2012