“We're a one-stop shop for labels, digital and flexographic printing, folding cartons, Smart Shrink™ shrink sleeves, complete graphic design/photo studio and more—all done in-house. There’s no outside sourcing,” said Brad C. Brown, the company founder. “We call ourselves the 7-11 of printing; you walk in, you get everything you need.”
Tired of the corporate life he’d been leading, Brown started his company on the side in 1995. “I always wanted to have my own business. I worked for a large corporation, and they sold our division; I didn't want that to happen again,” he said. “I wanted to make some changes: be more customer service oriented, have faster lead times, and really cater to the customer.” All American Label didn't become a full-time endeavor of Brown's until 1999. Since then the company has grown steadily, with plants in Tenn. and Calif. and a total of 57 employees in both locations, servicing customers worldwide. Each day All American Label produces more than 5 million labels, and ships to five continents around the world.
Customer service is the overriding priority for Brown. “Whatever it takes, we get it done for the customer. It's quality, it's quick and it's a good price,” he said. “We grew by servicing our customers with whatever they needed to make their package or product stand out to their potential customers. We take care of the customer from start to finish. From the owner to production personnel, we give our cell phone numbers to customers for 24/7 access, just like 7-11.”
Brown adopted the motto “More Than Just Labels”™ to describe his policy of providing whatever products and services his customers need. To that end, the company not only does label printing but also shrink sleeves, including shrinking to the bottle for prototypes or even full production runs. Need a folding carton? No problem—they’ll print and fold your carton or sleeve, all in-house. Need warehousing for JIT (just-in-time) shipping, or to run higher quantities against releases throughout the year? All American Label does a one-price guarantee for its customers, in order to be “More Than Just Labels”™ at a more than fair cost. The company's attitude has attracted clients from industries as varied as food, gas and oil, pharmaceutical, electronic computing, environmental and waste management, packaging and containers, health and beauty and garden supplies. Simply put, All American Label caters to all industries worldwide.
All American Label uses digital plates for label and package-printing projects. These plates are generated from a computer file instead of traditional photographic processes. If you don’t have art and need help designing, let All American Label photograph your product and design a label that will jump off the shelf to your potential customers. Once again, it’s all part of comprehensive service done fully in-house, with “More Than Just Labels”™ as the driving force to keep customers happy.
Like most businesses, All American Label experienced a few challenges thanks to the economic downturn. “Price increases definitely hurt,” Brown said. “We saw price increases on raw materials, and it was a challenge for us to make sure that we could keep our customers' prices down.”
But the company benefited from the recession as well, gaining more projects in the aftermath of the economic slump. That’s because the products they label typically end up on retail shelves, and since consumers are doing more bargain food shopping than going out to restaurants, they sell more labels. “People are staying at home and buying more food, instead of going out or on vacation,” Brown explained. “The container of macaroni salad or the sandwich you might buy—it's got a label on it. So we sell more in the end,” he said.
But for Brown, profit is not the bottom line. He prides himself on creating a family atmosphere at his business. In order to engender a collaborative atmosphere, no one has a title on his or her business card. And employees answer the phone in person instead of using an automated greeting system. “How many times do you get sick and tired of calling the bank and hearing voicemail or automated robots? We don't even have voice mail,” Brown said. That way, clients can always reach someone whenever they have an issue.
Whether you need a label, a sign, folding carton or shrink sleeve, All American Label will provide you with everything you need. From photo shoots to design creation to a finished product, you’ll always be treated to real customer service 24/7 at either their Dublin, Calif. or their Memphis, Tenn. location.
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