Sailing Toward Success

Tony Yemma was enjoying the coastal New England summer on his boat when he was introduced to the label printing business.

After living in Vermont for more than nine years and working in medical sales — a job that had him on the road approximately two weeks out of four — he was ready for a change. He boarded his sailboat and traveled down from Vermont’s Lake Champlain and arrived in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Yemma says he planned on spending that entire summer on his boat.

But an acquaintance in Newburyport was in the label business and kept asking Yemma to visit his plant, insisting it was something he could thrive in. Eventually, Yemma relented and decided to see a package printing operation in action for the first time.

Yemma explains that in his previous work, he became aware of the importance of labels, but after seeing a press producing packaging for a variety of markets, it began to dawn on him just how much opportunity there was in label printing.

“I looked into it a little further and started walking around in stores,” Yemma recalls. “I went to the hardware stores and went to the food store and I realized, ‘Boy, you can make a lot of money in this business.’”

Once the decision was made that this was a business Yemma wanted to be a part of, he joined his acquaintance’s company, spending about nine years there. Eventually however, Yemma got the itch to start his own business.

He had a lead from Styers Equipment Co., an organization that provides assistance in the purchasing and selling of used printing equipment, on a flexographic press located in a barn in the small town of Castleton, Vermont.

Yemma and a pressman he knew made the trip north to check out the four-color, 6.5˝ Webtron machine. They brought some printing plates along and about 20 minutes after arriving at the barn, they had the press up and running.

Yemma says he was impressed enough with the press that he made the decision to purchase it on the ride home. Once the deal was done, the press was delivered to a location in Ipswich, Massachusetts and LabelPrint America was born.

“I had a couple of young kids,” Yemma says. “One was two and the other was three. They’re 14 months apart. I laid the life on the line.”

Consistent Growth

In the 25 years that Yemma has owned LabelPrint America, the business has grown substantially. It now operates out of a 21,000-square-foot building in Newburyport with six Webtron flexo presses and a recently added Gallus ECS 340.

Though Yemma says the food industry is the most consistent market his company serves, over the years, he has been able to expand into the technology, nutraceutical, cosmetic and pet sectors. And with the new Gallus press on board, along with a new Kodak platemaking system, he says LabelPrint America has been able to add flexible packaging to its list of capabilities.

“It’s a different industry and there was a bit of a learning curve going from water-based inks to UV inks, so you have to compensate a little bit for that,” Yemma says. “At the same time, I think the industry has some very good growth potential.”

Service and Quality

While top-notch label and package printing is a priority, Yemma says that LabelPrint America also maintains some less visible, yet important goals. In addition to quality, the company takes pride in customer service, making sure that the vast majority of the time when someone calls, the phone is answered within two rings.

“That sends a signal out to the customer that we want you to understand that we’re here to take care of you,” Yemma says.

This culture has permeated itself throughout the company, Yemma says, giving credit to Robin Hamilton, president of LabelPrint America, who has been with the company for approximately 20 years.

Hamilton is not alone on the longevity front, Yemma explains, and says that the company’s mantra of service and quality wouldn’t be carried out as well as it has been over the years without the dedication of the staff.

“They do all the work and if it wasn’t for them, there wouldn’t be a LabelPrint America,” he says. “You don’t get there without all of them. They’re the ones that make service and quality happen.”