History
Our Mission
Spear will provide global labeling solutions through the development of innovative material, manufacturing and application technology.
Company Overview
For over 25 years, Spear, headquartered in Cincinnati, OH USA, has been the world’s leading innovator and supplier of film pressure-sensitive labeling systems. Our labels can be found on many of the leading beverage, food and personal care items throughout the world, including brands for companies such as Anheuser-Busch, Bacardi, Diageo, Heineken, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft, Pepsi, Procter & Gamble and SABMiller.
Spear’s history began in 1982 when Charles Spear purchased the flexographic division of Volts-Thomas Printing, a division that he and a partner had founded ten years before in 1972. Initially, the company operated from a building close to downtown Cincinnati. In 1990, Spear moved to a new, purpose-built facility of 72,000 square feet in Mason, Ohio.
Due to the increased importance of packaging and the growing utilization of labels to influence consumer purchases, the demand for clear pressure-sensitive labels grew dramatically after Spear introduced the technology in the mid 1980s. Our early label developments focused on the personal care sector, where clear labels were used to decorate HDPE bottles containing hair care and other bathroom products. By the early 1990s, the glass industry began to show interest in this form of decoration and the clear film pressure-sensitive label for the beverage market was born.
Continued growth in the global demand provided the opportunity for Spear to take another major step as a company – the creation of Spear Group Holdings Limited in September 1999. The creation of the group provided the financial resources for Spear to join forces with Gar-Doc of Milford, New Hampshire and create Spear USA.
At the same time, Spear acquired Global Labels of the United Kingdom and established Spear Europe in a new 60,000 square foot facility in Cwmbran, South Wales.
The global market for film pressure-sensitive labels continued to
expand, but no region was increasing faster than at home in the United
States. Spear’s rapid market growth led to the acquisition of
our Fulton, New York facility from Sonoco Flexible Films in December
2003. Where Spear’s existing facilities focused on narrow-web
print processes such as flat-bed screen, rotary-screen, UV Flexo and
combination printing, the Fulton plant provided wide-web gravure printing
for high volume opportunities. In three short months, the Fulton facility
was converted from printing un-supported flexible film structures to
film
pressure-sensitive labels.
Spear underwent another significant expansion in 2007 with the addition of wide-web gravure printing in our Wales facility and the creation of a Greenfield production facility in South Africa that includes narrow-web and wide-web gravure printing. The South African facility offers roll-fed and wet-glue paper label products, in addition to Spear’s traditional pressure-sensitive labels.
In June of 2008, Spear purchased Anheuser-Busch’s printing company, Precision Printing and Packaging, in Clarksville, Tennessee. The addition of this facility into the Spear family added cut-stack/wet-glue capabilities to the Americas, along with the ability to metalize our own paper stock.
Spear now operates 29 printing presses in six facilities with operations in the United States (4), the United Kingdom and South Africa. Our customers can be found in 59 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Continued global expansion is leading Spear to evaluate the development of future production sites in Mexico, South America and Southeast Asia.
Throughout Spear’s history, a major contributor to the success story has been our constant pursuit of innovation and an obsession with being first to market with new products. Close working relationships with a number of major customers in the beverage, food and personal care industries has stimulated a long series of success stories and “firsts”. Our innovative efforts continue at break-neck speed. Recent developments include the creation of a pressure-sensitive label stock for returnable beverage bottles, proprietary thin-film label constructions and, in conjunction with Kraft Foods and Sonoco, the development of a patented flexible film wrapped and labeled cookie tray.
Spear is dedicated to providing “system solutions” to labeling needs through expertise in label design, production, application, performance and comprehensive technical support through the Spear SYSTEM™. This system approach has led to key product development and supply relationships with the leading material and application equipment suppliers in the pressure-sensitive label industry. Material exclusivity, proprietary product performance and pricing advantages are all of Spear’s system supplier network.
Good environmental stewardship has become a priority for Spear. Our Spear Earth™ efforts aim to minimize our impact on global resources and include the development of a proprietary liner recycling system, the introduction of production matrix recycling that has the opportunity to eliminate up to 50% of Spear’s current land-fill waste, the creation of pressure-sensitive label materials capable of being recycled with P.E.T. bottle resins and the production of PLA (corn based) labels. In addition, Spear has begun the process of certifying our facilities to the ISO-14001 environmental standards.
Film pressure-sensitive labeling remains the current and future focus of Spear’s product mix. However, our commitment to providing global labeling solutions has led us to add wet-glue paper and roll-fed labels as supporting product lines.
Corporate Timeline
- 1972 — established as the flexographic division of Voltz-Thomas
- 1982 — incorporated as Spear in Cincinnati, OH
- 1985 — developed the first pressure-sensitive
prime label in partnership with Procter & Gamble for
plastic health and beauty containers - 1991 — introduced clear pressure-sensitive labels to the beverage industry
- 1999 — established Spear Group Holdings,
developed green-field production site in Cwmbran Wales,
purchased key US competitor (Gar-Doc, Milford, NH) - 2004 — purchased
wide-web gravure facility in Fulton, NY from Sonoco and established
joint venture,
Illo-Spear, with Illochroma, Brussels, Belgium
- 2005 — developed first “wash-off” pressure-sensitive label, Thermo Wash®
- 2006 — purchased all the assets of IlloSpear from Illochroma
- 2007 — green-field production start-up in Johannesburg,
South Africa. JV,
wide-web gravure expansion in the Wales facility
- 2008 — purchased Precision, Printing and Packaging from Anheuser-Busch
Operation Locations
Clarksville, TN USA
Fulton, New York USA
Mason, Ohio USA
Milford, New Hampshire USA
Cwmbran, Wales UK
Boksburg,
South Africa
