Label & Narrow Web reports: Baldwin expands product portfolio to better serve label market

L&NW sits down with Joe Kline, president and CEO, who explains how the company has prioritized the label and narrow web sector.

Baldwin President and ceo Joe kline

Fueled by more than 100 years of product development, Baldwin Technology Company has its sights set on “unlocking the potential” of the label and narrow web industry as it prepares for the future. Baldwin has established a diverse product portfolio, featuring capabilities that include surface cleaning and UV curing and drying, to inspection and corona treatment.

As part of Barry Wehmiller, acquisitions have played a strong role in Baldwin’s development. The first acquisition under new ownership took place in 2014 when Baldwin acquired Web Printing Controls Inc. This acquisition was followed by several other key additions, including Air Motion Systems, Ahlbrandt, PC Industries, and QuadTech.

Baldwin’s Vision System segment was subsequently formed in 2018, uniting PC Industries, Web Printing Controls and QuadTech. Under the leadership of Joe Kline, president and CEO, Baldwin has sought expansion in multiple areas of the print market – specifically, label and narrow web.

“The label and narrow web market is becoming a bigger focal point for Baldwin because of how our product offering has evolved over the past five or six years,” Kline tells L&NW. “We are excited about our opportunity to grow in the label and narrow web market, and I’d expect us to increase our investment through new products and stronger engagement with the end customers, as well as industry associations focused on label and narrow web.”

Baldwin has established support for label converters in various segments, many of which might be new revelations. The products have been designed to help converters in a multitude of end-use markets, especially those that are seeing strong growth.

“We have the ability to provide very sophisticated inspection for security and pharmaceutical applications with our Guardian PQV system’s object-based inspection approach,” comments Kline. “Its unique capabilities offer tremendous value for applications that require absolute perfection. Additionally, we acquired Ahlbrandt Systems in 2017 which gives us primary manufacturing capability of leading-edge corona surface treatment solutions to bring the technology to the US market in a bigger way.”

Baldwin appointed Kline to his position in early 2020. The move followed the 2019 appointments of four Baldwin business segment presidents: Rich Bennett at AMS Spectral UV, Tomas Anderbjer at Baldwin Precision Applications, Vince Balistrieri at Baldwin Vision Systems, and Matt Shishikura at Baldwin Japan.

Since taking over, Kline has emphasized collaboration with its customers. The company has also become an active member in TLMI, with a focus on serving as an ambassador for the print industry.

“Customer engagement is the core to developing products and solutions that create value for specific customers or the wider end market,” says Kline. “Baldwin has strong engagement with multiple facets of the print market, from OEMs, to end users, to other partners in the value chain with whom we engage to benefit from their perspective and voice to deliver products and solutions that help our customers grow and improve their operations.”

Baldwin, which is headquartered in St. Louis, MO, USA, has emphasized automation and sustainability with its newest product enhancements. In order to turn data into useable intelligence, Baldwin has developed AMP, a vendor-neutral software program to help printers run more efficiently.

“Everything Baldwin does centers around automation to help improve productivity in print and other industrial processes,” explains Kline. “This inherently also helps customers achieve their sustainability goals through waste reduction, energy saving and reducing VOCs.”

By diversifying its product portfolio in recent years, Baldwin has emerged as a reliable resource for numerous solutions. Instead of contacting several companies for various needs, Baldwin has brought these technologies under one roof.

“We are a one of one company, with an equipment portfolio that literally touches every part of the printing process, from surface treatment to the substrate, to curing what is printed, to helping measure color and detect defects in the print process, to automatic cleaning of the press,” states Kline. “We understand the print process and the challenges our customers face. We can help provide solutions that can help overcome market challenges like rising material costs, supply chain issues, and labor challenges while also helping our customers achieve better quality and productivity.

“No one else touches every piece of the process the way we do,” he adds. “In 2023, we will be launching an educational initiative to help the industry prosper as a whole. Look for resources focused on the label and narrow web market from Baldwin in the near future.”