Installations News
Jet Label invests in platform redundancy

Jet Label & Packaging Ltd., described as Western Canada’s largest producer of labels and printed tape, has acquired duplicates of critical machinery and components to provide what the company describes as total platform redundancy at its primary manufacturing facility in Edmonton, Alberta.

The redundancy, explains Jet Label, is necessary to maintain customer satisfaction – in terms of diminishing delay due to scheduled or sudden machinery downtime – and to also grow revenue by double digits annually.

At its Edmonton production plant, Jet Label has doubled up on all equipment, including its twin HP Indigo presses and Delta die cutters. Other couplings include a pair of wide presses, eight-colour flexo presses, and rewinders for each press width. The company also is moving toward complete redundancy at its Coquitlam, British Columbia, facility, which it secured by acquiring United Label Company last year. 



“Although outliers rarely occur, we don’t want to jeopardize our customers,” said Darrell Friesen, Jet Label’s President & CEO, describing the redundancy move despite the robustness of modern press equipment. “Our customers do not worry about having all their eggs in one basket.”

Jet Label explains its commitment to total redundancy is a calculated risk, considering most printing-industry manufacturers typically make infrastructure investments based on anticipated business needs. “Our decisions in adding redundant equipment has been realized across platforms,” said Friesen, “with causes like unexpected downtime, unexpected operator availability to unexpected growth.

“Part of our commitment to total redundancy is an expectation of continued growth,” continued Friesen. “We’re willing to put the pieces in place as a landing zone for new business, a proactive approach that lends itself to in-person appraisals by prospective customers or, increasingly, cyber-tours.”

With manufacturing facilities in Edmonton and Vancouver, Jet Label produces labels and printed tape for what it describes as a diverse portfolio of customers, including grocery stores like Safeway and Sobeys, international forest product companies like Canfor and West Fraser, consumer product companies like Bee Maid Honey and Arctic Chiller, industrial application companies like Acklands Grainger, Gregg Distributors, and All Weather Windows.

Jet Label also supplies parking and boarding passes and baggage tags to the Toronto, Calgary and Edmonton International Airports. The Edmonton Police Service has also been a longstanding customer. In addition to Edmonton and Vancouver, Jet Label has sales and distribution operations in Calgary, Prince George, Kelowna, Surrey, Saskatoon and Winnipeg.