DES MOINES, IA—Grace Label is a full-service narrow web label and packaging converter located in Des Moines, IA offering pressure-sensitive, roll-fed, and cut and stack labels; shrink sleeves; pouches; flexible packaging and more.
Domino caught up with the team at Grace Label to learn more about its business, the impact of digital printing during COVID and supply chain disruptions, and its partnership with Domino.
Steve Grace, president of Grace Label, described his company. “We feel we’re a really good company because we do what we say we’re going to do. We invest in our people, we invest in our equipment and we make sure that our customer come first. We’re a 40-year-old family printing business. A lot of the folks here have been here a long, long time. We were young. I had hair. We have several employees that are multiple generation. That tells you what I think it’s about.
“As a percentage, our largest market would be food and beverage. We also have a large growing market in craft beer, wine and spirits. One of our customers is children’s stickers. We did over 275 million labels for that company last year. The combination of adding equipment, adding capital, adding people has enabled a 40-year-old company to have a significant increase in sales.
“I don’t think we can pinpoint the exact moment we decided that we needed to go digital. Really, it came down to there were probably only three of four digital printers in the market that had the history. And as we assessed those, the Domino just stood out as… by far… the best choice for our company. And we had a great resource. I had a great relationship prior with Chuck Stone (senior account manager at Domino). That made the decision, and the entry into digital, much easier.”
Lou Thurston, account executive, said, “In the eight years that I’ve been with Grace Label, I’ve seen a significant investment by the company in print technology. It started out with some of the higher-end flexo presses and then we moved into the Domino press that helped us take it to another level. The results are just outstanding. We’ve seen our business grow 15 percent year over year. We would have never of had the opportunity had we not had the Domino technology. I couldn’t be happier.”
Thurston continued, “Since our business is in the food and beverage industry, customers found themselves in out-of-stock situations that they hadn’t in the past as a result of COVID, and the Domino helped us really get people out of a jam.”
Grace added, “Grace Label saw an increase in business, we saw an increase in demand. Our customers got busier. The Domino was able to turn around orders we had not had before. We were able to develop new customers. And right now during the supply chain disruption, the Domino is fantastic because we are able to put something on there, move it over from our flexo presses and we are able to adapt and keep our customers rolling.”
Thurston added that it’s even more than just the technology. It’s the support; it’s the partnership. “The Domino difference for us is that they are a true business partner. Domino has been excellent in their after-sales support, and we certainly do not feel like they are just a vendor. They have definitely become a business partner at Grace Label. Their people are here when we need them. Their technology folks are on the phone whenever we have questions. They help us think about our business in different ways… whether it makes sense to go digital on a job or whether we need to keep it flexo. They’re a true partner.”
Grace summarizes the impact of Domino throughout COVID and supply chain disruptions. “We’ve had digital now for two-and-a-half years. The Domino difference has really impacted Grace Label. And the Domino has been one of our best tools to be able to respond to our customers. I can’t imagine going back to a time without the ability to run the Domino.”