Industry News
Stop by weekly to catch up on the latest news about products and people in the marking industry.
News for April 3, 2009
Manufacturers of the Year, Past and Present
Three past and present winners of Marking Industry Magazine's Manufacturer of the Year award met in Aberdeen, Washington for a trip through the past and discussion of the future. Ron, Dave & Ken Windell of Grays Harbor Stamp Works, in its 93rd year, invited John Clark and Derek Persons of Stamp-Connection along with Tony Pezze of United Marking to tour their facilities and show them that the same craftsmanship that brought success to past generations of stamp makers is still viable in today's high-tech world.
"Meeting another company that takes pride in their work such as Grays Harbor inspires us to do better," says John Clark of Stamp-Connection. "And the success that all of our companies have shown during these tough economic times proves that a quality product and exceptional customer service still matter above all else."
The night started with a tour of the manufacturing process that Grays Harbor uses to turn out high quality rubber stamps and engraved products. The equipment, some well over 50 years old, is still going strong and is used on a daily basis. "You can't help but to feel proud working on the same benches and using the same equipment that our father and grandfather used to build the business," says Ken Windell. "The rubber stamp industry has been good to our family."
After the tour, the party found its way to a restaurant where lively discussions took place, ranging from the direction our industry is going to funny anecdotes of things that only happen in a stamp shop. "I think it's safe to say that we all feel very good about the direction our companies are going and the overall health of our industry as a whole," remarks Derek Persons. "Things are not as bad as they appear to some."
New Travel Stamp
Heri adds to its line of high quality, innovative stamping devices with the new Travel Stamp—a business card on the go. The stamp takes up little space and can contain as many as four lines of information. The New Travel Stamp is available in pre-inked, self-inking and do-it-yourself styles. Offer your customers something special to go!
For more information, contact heri Geräte-Produktions GmbH, Sommerberg 16-18, D-78078 Fischbach/Germany; +07725939312; Fax: +07725939350; E-mail: mail@heri.de; Web: www.heri.de
Stamp-Connection One of "100 Best Companies to Work for in Oregon"
Stamp-Connection of Gresham, Oregon, ranks 17th in the "2009 100 Best Companies to Work for in Oregon." Says John Clark, founder and president of the company, "Our employees play the biggest part in our success story. They will always come first."
Each year since 1994, Oregon Business magazine presents these awards. The aim of the project is to recognize and celebrate Oregon companies for their commitment to creating great places for their employees to work.
Stamp-Connection is one of the very few manufacturing companies on the list, which is made up largely of professional services such as law, staffing firms, finance, construction, technology and marketing/communications. Maybe just a little proof that our industry has a bright future.
To see the entire list, click here.
For more information, contact Stamp-Connection, 109 NE Roberts Ave., Gresham, OR 97030; 503/667-1133, 866-667-1133; Fax: 503/667-1552, 866/667-1552.
Safety, Facility and Equipment Identification Catalog
Brady Corp. announces the release of its S-27 Safety, Facility and Equipment Identification Catalog. Brady recognizes that companies are challenged to manage their internal resources, become more efficient and cost-effective, and to provide a productive, compliant and safer work environment while reducing liability issues. The company's vision for this catalog was to address directly customers' business concerns by focusing on key customer business issues, reducing customer inventory and bringing new products to the market quickly.
As a result, their new, lean 116-page S-27 Catalog focuses on issues such as Visual Workplace, Compliance, Lockout/Tagout and Slips, Trips and Falls. This reorganization makes it easier to understand Brady's differentiated products, processes and services.
Customers seeking a "one-stop shop" experience can source and order stock/custom products online instead of searching through 400-plus catalog pages. Brady's complete product offering will be on its website, www.bradyid.com. The company aims to make this channel an easy, enjoyable and productive experience for their suppliers and consumers.
For more information, contact Brady Corp., 888/250-3082; Web: www.bradyid.com
Electronic Recycling Specialists
Great Lakes Electronics Corp. specializes in the recycling and disposal of obsolete computer, telecom and networking equipment. The company is headquartered in Detroit, Michigan operating out of a 100,000 square-foot facility, and also has an 80,000 square-foot facility in Chicago, Illinois. Its client list includes organizations such as Ford Motor Co., Goodwill Industries, Best Buy and Comcast as well as government agencies such as the EPA, FBI and Secret Service. Processing an average of 350,000 lbs. of E-waste per week, GLE is one of the largest electronic recyclers in the Midwest.
- Great Lakes Electronics offers state-of-the art security destruction.
- GLE complies not only with all environmental laws and regulations that apply to its facility, but will seek ways to go beyond traditional compliance.
- GLE offers complete destruction of drives and storage devices with its in-house shredder.
- GLE follows, and requires all its downstream partners to follow, a strict "zero landfill" policy.
- Once materials are received, all proprietary labels, stickers and other forms of identification are removed, including any asset labels.
- GLE issues "Certificates of Recycle" and "Certificates of Data Deletion" to its customers upon the completion of processing.
To learn more about an asset recycling/recovery package for your organization's decommissioned electronic hardware, contact Great Lakes Electronics Corp., 30600 Northwestern Highway, Ste. 403, Farmington Hills, MI 48334; 888/392-7831; E-mail: information@recycleelectronics.com; Web: www.recycleelectronics.com