It all started with boxes and box seats.

Back in the mid 1990s, before he was President, CEO and co-owner of Jet Label, Darrell Friesen sold boxes for a living. More specifically, packaging boxes and supplies. Business was… fine. Those of us who work with Darrell are well aware of his gift for gab, a hallmark of a solid salesman.

One night, Darrell went to a baseball game, to see the AAA Edmonton Trappers, a Miami Marlins affiliate. Whether the home team won that night is far less important than what was overheard in the stands. “A few rows away, someone was discussing his desire to invest in local businesses, in the greater Edmonton area,” recalls Darrell.  “My ears pricked up immediately.”

Friesen's experience in the box business had given him insight into the dearth of label manufacturers in Western Canada. After fighting the urge to make a sales pitch right then and there – over peanuts and Cracker Jack – Darrell took a route that, today, would be unheard of: he searched the white pages for the would-be investor.

He found him. And after more than 30 meetings over two years, Darrell had a check in his hand. “A 24-month-long overnight success story,” Darrell says.

Jet Label was officially in business.


Humble Beginnings
Darrell’s office was a really, really nice…

… closet.

The year was 1998, and Darrell was sharing a workspace with a local copying company, taking turns operating a lone press and a couple of rewinders whose size pushed his desk toward – and then into – a cloakroom. Still, over a million dollars in business came in that year – nothing extraordinary, but quite promising considering the company’s modest means.

Growth was slow but steady. The business gained two more investors – silent partners – by 1999. And two years later, in  April 2001, a not-so-silent partner bought out the initial investors (except Darrell, of course).

“That was the moment when production manager Rod Froment became co-owner Rod Froment,” jokes Darrell.

It was also a landmark year for business: In 2001, Jet Label began servicing some three dozen stores in the Sobeys/IGA group, producing meat, deli and bakery labels for the national food retailer. The deal kept the company’s lone four-color stack press running regularly, providing a reliable source of business and income from an established, predictable customer. People always buy food, and food always needs labels.

From there, another sector really took off – Forestry. Jet Label quickly became known for its prowess producing labels for the ends of 2x4’s, as well as those for lumber overwrap packaging. Spurred by the North American housing boom of the early 2000s, the company signed several contracts with major US and Canada-based construction supply companies.

Growth in the Forestry industry seemed, well, evergreen. By 2007, 80% of Jet’s business was forestry, and business was booming. And then… pop goes the bubble.

“Forestry fell off a cliff,” recalls Rod. “Everyone just stopped building houses during the Great Recession.” By Christmas Eve 2008, each of Jet’s 150 mill customers was experiencing downtime.

“That simply doesn’t happen,” Rod says. “It’s so unprecedented that no amount of disaster planning could have foreseen it.”

Faced with the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, Darrell and Rod knew that they would have to either change course or go out of business. Said Darrell, “That’s a pretty easy choice."


From Recovery to Renaissance
For label manufacturers, changing direction means changing equipment. So Jet bought an eight-color flexo press and a six-color, 19” wide flexo press – a major infrastructure investment. The company also opened a new sales office with an eye toward re-growing its food business.

By 2010, Jet’s food processing business saw some gains. Deals were signed with Cargill Meats, JBS Foods and Sunrise Poultry – who remains Jet’s largest customer to this day, testament to the loyalty Jet evokes in its customers. Once again, the consistency and predictability of label orders provided a stabilizing boost.

At the same time, Jet Label was taking the leap into digital printing. With the purchase of an HP Indigo WS6600, Jet became the first label manufacturer in all of Canada to utilize the nascent technology. A second digital press followed in 2012, as did other investments including another semi-rotary diecutter.

Forestry came back, food continued to grow, and suddenly Jet was ready to take a next a big step forward – or three.

First, in 2012, Jet Marking Systems was founded to help customers in need of service and maintenance to desktop thermal printers, vision systems and label applicators. Today, Jet Marking Systems is further expanding into the burgeoning RFID equipment segment, and has service reps across Western Canada.

Second, in late 2015, Jet acquired Challenge Label of Kelowna, which at the time was already in receivership. The equipment from that purchase allowed Jet to expediently enter the wine and specialty beverage label markets, which, in order to be competitve, require hot foil and other unique-to-sector finishing and embellishment solutions.

And third, In 2017, Jet acquired United Label in Vancouver. Jet kept the United Label facility along with all of its personnel and converting equipment.

The United Label acquisition was a significant milestone for the company. Explains Darrell, “Bringing United’s employees and production site under the Jet Label umbrella was one of our proudest moments. We expanded our footprint and our family in one fell swoop, which is doubly gratifying.”

That brings us to today – to nowhere near the end of the Jet Label story. With 84 employees and $25 million in annual revenue, the company is enjoying year-over-year growth often measured in double-digit percentages.

With customers in more than a half-dozen sectors – from food and forestry to pharma and transportation – Jet Label stands as Western Canada’s largest label manufacturer, and has come a long way since those boxes and box seats.