Kurz hosts TLMI’s fourth annual LLT Excursion

Kurz, a supplier of versatile foil transfer products, hosted TLMI’s fourth annual LLT (Label Leaders of Tomorrow) Excursion. Nearly 50 attendees gathered at the Kurz’s Huntersville, NC, USA, location for two days of education, live tours, and networking opportunities.

LLT features emerging leaders – regardless of age – within TLMI that are looking to expand their knowledge and skills in the label industry.

“This is a key event for the year for TLMI, where we really try to create an environment for networking,” said Mike Barry, commercial director, Domino Digital Printing North America, and one of the leaders of LLT. “We have a really great agenda at a great facility here at Kurz. The whole point of this event is to provide an opportunity for those in our industry companies newer to their careers. We don’t have an age range, as it is more where you are in your career and providing time for networking with likeminded individuals.”

Kurz, the host company, is a 125-year-old family-owned business with a global presence. Kurz boasts more than 50 locations worldwide, with 5,800 employees – and 500 based in the US. The company’s technologies serve the print and packaging, plastics, machines and applications, and security industries.

“We create a transfer product applied to a medium that is transferred through heat, pressure, and time,” noted Allan Quimby, head of marketing, Kurz. “The average person engages with Kurz over 200 times a day and they don’t even know it. We decorate and we love it. We have very high standards for how we manufacture and what we manufacture. There really is no company like us that produces our breadth of products through so many applications.”

During the Excursion, Kurz detailed the benefits of TLMI membership and events like this. “When I joined a company in 1989, they said, ‘We believe in trade associations.’ You’re going to get involved immediately,” stated Michael Aumann, director of sales, Kurz USA. “This is how you’ll get to know our customers, our peers, and the industry. This is where I’ve made my friends, or when I have a big question I pick up the phone and call one of my association colleagues. I’ve learned a lot by being involved every single year. I’ve been involved a lot with TLMI over the last five years since I joined Kurz. It’s been deeply enriching to my career.”

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The role of print and packaging

As part of the event, LLT conducted a dedicated panel featuring a wide range of industry experts. The panel addressed some of the most pressing topics in labels and packaging, which will impact the future workforce.

From a technology standpoint, technology has improved to places it’s never been. “The cycle at which the equipment accelerates is really getting tough to manage,” remarked Aumann. “The challenge for so many companies is technology is turning over so quickly. Think about printing inkjet on flexible packaging 10 years ago, you couldn’t. And now it is really emerging.  The technology today separates you from your competitors.”

In addition, competition on the shelf is incredibly fierce. According to Kurz, the time in which to engage a customer on a crowded shelf has shrunk from 12 seconds to three seconds. Therefore, the print must stand out to consumers.

“Unembellished print is fairly standard,” commented Brian Damitz, Midwest sales manager, Kurz Transfer Products. “If it’s not something different or special, it’s just not cutting through the noise. What other processes or wrinkles are you adding that’s different than what’s out there to help you stand out?”

Not only must quality stand out, it must occur in incredibly challenging environments. Not only are brand customers more demanding, the latest industry trends are taking place in a complex global backdrop.

“We want to be driven by our customers to do things that will help them, but we don’t want to be customer-led,” explained Aumann. “There are a number of challenges. Your lead times need to resemble Amazon, and you have to print it for less than you did last year. Your business also needs to be sustainable, in that it will be around for the future.”

“The amount of uncomfortable conversations you’re willing to put yourself in and talk through the better, as those are related to how far you and your company will move along,” added Damitz. “You have to embrace that as soon as possible.”

Exploring AI

In analyzing the next generation of print and packaging, Antonie Reinhart, marketing manager at Kurz USA, provided a deep dive into the digitalization of the search and buying process, with a specific focus on AI.

“Buying has become digital, self-directed, skeptical, and proof-driven,” said Reinhart.

“We need to provide clarity and understanding early on in the discovery phase. It’s a big change, and we need to be considerate of that.”

According to Reinhart, 94% of business buyers report using AI during the buying process. Meanwhile, Gartner data shows buyers are 1.8 times more likely to complete a high-quality deal when digital tools and sales reps work together. For example, buying is no longer a single decision-maker but consensus work. And for complex purchases, more people shape the decision, and 69% turn to sales reps to validate AI-generated insights.

“Sales is shifting away from being an information provider to someone who provides confidence and validation – and understanding where we fit in customer’s journey,” added Reinhart. “The next-generation buyer may be young, but the biggest change is that every buyer is surrounded by more inputs, more stakeholders, and more scrutiny. And the next-generation buyer is not asking for more information, they are asking for more confidence.”