American Non Stop Label Corp.
930 S Wanamaker Avenue, Ontario, CA, USA 91761
www.americannonstoplabel.com


American Non Stop Label Corp. has been built on loyalty, hard work, a passion for labels, and a willingness to embrace change. George Loayza, president and CEO, established the company 35 years ago, and he has been working non-stop to ensure the growth and success of this California-based business.

Loayza came from a family with a rich business acumen, as his mother’s side of the family owned multiple companies. Therefore, entrepreneurship was in his blood. Loayza did not waste time, either, in following his ambitions. At the age of 23, he made the calculated decision to start a label printing company. Strong business relationships – core to his business philosophy – enabled him to get Non Stop Label off the ground.

Loayza entered the workforce with a role at an offset printing shop. While there, one of his accounts touted the benefits of the label industry – and even offered Loayza a job. The idea intrigued him, but he did not want to part ways with his current job, or boss, to whom he was loyal.

“The owner of the label company kept insisting that I come work for him, but I told him I was really happy where I was,” recalls Loayza. “Then I had an idea: I could work at the offset company from 8-12, take my lunch from 12-1, and then work at the label converter from 1-5. There was no conflict of interest, and I had the coolest boss. I started with that plan, but the moment I got into the label industry I fell in love with the business.”

After three months of working at both jobs, the owner of the label business advised Loayza to work with him full-time – citing greater financial opportunities. Loayza concurred, although he wanted to leave his first boss in the best position possible. Loayza made an agreement with him to train a new employee, and he even offered his services if needed in the future.

“Eight months go by at the label company, and I really wasn’t seeing what they were telling me was going to happen,” notes Loayza. “I had been selling, selling, selling and making no commission. I was already in love with the label business, though. I knew that this was what I wanted to do. So, I talked to one of the press operators, and we got together and started Non Stop Label.”

The formation of Non Stop Label coincided with a return to Loayza’s roots. “I went back to the offset company and said I would come back for $6 an hour but on one condition: I wanted to start my own company in labels, and I just needed to add one more phone,” says Loayza. “I would pay for the phone, and we started running production in a garage.

“My boss said yes,” adds Loayza. “Again, he was the coolest guy. You never want to burn a bridge. That’s one of the life lessons I’ve learned. I had the opportunity to build a company and not have to live off that new company to survive. I was not going to start a business while working for the label company, and I was not going to take any of their clients, either. I was going to start from zero.”

Growth came quickly for Non Stop Label. Loayza and his partner started with a Mark Andy 810 flexographic press and added two more employees while still in the garage. Growth necessitated a move, and the burgeoning company took its operations to an 800 square-foot facility in East Los Angeles. “We took another step and moved to Pico Rivera, which was a 2,000 square-foot facility. There, we kept growing, and we kept adding 1,250 square-foot buildings, opening up walls, where we created what was like a maze. At one point, we had nine 1,250 square-foot facilities and the 2,000 square-foot one, which gave us about 18,000 total square feet.”

Growth was not just organic, though. An industry colleague of Loayza’s, Bruce Wren, passed away, and Wren’s partner did not feel capable of running the company by his lonesome. “He wanted to sell the company, and he said, ‘I’d like you to buy it,’” recalls Loayza. “Initially, I wasn’t planning on doing it, since I was more thinking of buying a building at that time. However, I started to think about it, and we wound up making the deal.”

In 2008, Loayza acquired American Label. As a tribute to his friend, Bruce, Loayza merged the names of the two companies, establishing American Non Stop Label Corp. The company shifted operations to American Label’s location, which provided Loayza with 19,000 square feet.

American Non Stop Label has grown considerably since its early days. The company employs 33 people in a 35,000 square-foot facility in Ontario, CA. Much of its current success can be attributed to dedicated employees, a strong company culture, and Loayza’s continued passion for labels.

The company boasts a versatile book of business for clients in numerous end-use sectors, headlined by household cleaning products and food. American Non Stop Label also has a strong stable of equipment, which includes two Omet XFlex X6.0 flexo presses, a Durst Tau RSC E 13″ inkjet press that utilizes native 1200 dpi technology, a 22″ ETI Cohesio coater, a Nilpeter FA2500, an Aquaflex press, and two Arsoma presses.

“Every day we’re ready to embrace a new challenge,” states Loayza. “Our focus right now is to give our customers the best service we can, and now there’s no reason why we can’t give them the highest quality, because we have the technology.”

In addition to quality, customer service is paramount for American Non Stop Label. “Something positive about me is I don’t have to be right,” explains Loayza. “When one of my team members, who I consider my family, calls me out on something I did wrong, I thank them for it. Because who wants a mistake? They’re taking the extra time to say we should be going a better route. I don’t have an ego where I must be right. Since we are a team, we’re supposed to be working together to make the company better. The company comes first, and I’m underneath that. Whatever is best for the company is what we’re going to do – and that’s what we will continue to do in the future.”

Landing on Omet

A significant part of American Non Stop Label’s success has been a fruitful partnership with Omet. Following the acquisition of American Label, Loayza needed to streamline his equipment arsenal – as his new company came with a lot of equipment. Loayza assembled a team of six people to head to Labelexpo Americas in 2012 to explore the latest flexographic technology, with the goal of identifying its next press.

“We brought six people because we wanted everybody’s opinion on what our next printing press should be,” comments Loayza. “I was not married to one supplier, and every machine at that show would’ve been a huge improvement for us and where we were in our journey.”

American Non Stop Label made the rounds and investigated every major flexo press manufacturer.

“Before we get to the show, I had never heard of Omet, but we went with an open mind and we looked at every machine,” says Loayza. “Omet had a few offerings that impressed me, as well as everyone else. Every other press manufacturer had a wide TV screen showing the beautiful work they were running, and everyone was running beautifully. Omet was the only company that was not showing that. They had their huge registration mark on that screen. Omet would stop that machine, start running, and you could see just how quickly that machine would go back into registration. One of my operators loved the design of the press, and he said it was very operator friendly.”

American Non Stop Label has seen significant success with the press, as the company runs 55% of its work on the Omet XFlex X6.0. That success has prompted Loayza to install a second Omet XFlex X6.0, which began running jobs in August.

“In that moment at Labelexpo, we decided that was our next press. For us, it’s been a total success,” notes Loayza. “With Omet, we’ve had a great relationship.”

Loayza conducted his due diligence before installing the second press, too, which also comes equipped with UV LED curing from GEW and a BST TubeScan inspection system. “I did look at multiple manufacturers, because it’s my job to make the best move for the company. The second Omet press allows us to share tooling and plates, sleeves, magnetic cylinders, magnetic dies and so on. That was probably the second biggest advantage for Omet. The first reason was the great experience we’ve had with them. We’ve been very successful with the machine.”

Going digital with Durst

American Non Stop Label was not an early adopter of digital printing. In fact, Loayza was long skeptical about adding the technology to his business.

“I was one of these people who was completely against digital in the beginning,” he recalls. “I looked at every company, and I couldn’t make sense of it. It seemed to me that I was going to have to enter 10 digital orders to make up one flexo order. I started looking at the technology in 2016, but I would go into meetings thinking that I was never going to make a move in that direction.

“It was actually one of my team members who kept pushing me to take those meetings,” he adds. “He had a vision that we needed to get into this technology, and I thank him for it. I had lost a customer due to not having digital in 2018. So, I knew I had lost business by not having the technology. And I’ve also lost a lot of quotes because I was trying to quote flexo on something that’s totally digital. The time was right to investigate it.”

As with flexo, Loayza did his due diligence on digital. Durst had numerous factors working in its favor, from quality and speed, to its partnership with Omet, and the backing of flexo industry
veteran Ralph Boer.

“I’ve known Ralph for years, and when he walked in, my eyes and ears were open,” says Loayza. “Durst was running at 170 fpm, and the press was upgradeable to 265 fpm. Plus, the label jobs I could run on their press were much bigger and more extensive.

“Now that I have digital, I’m really happy I got it,” he adds. The perfect example is consecutive barcoding. Now we do that on the Durst press, all at once. We’ve run three serialized jobs and we’re about to start a fourth one. Previously, we couldn’t even bid on these types of jobs, or we’d bid on them and they would be too high. Digital also gives me the opportunity to service my largest accounts with their small runs. Even if I don’t make money on a given job, I want to make sure I take care of all my customers’ labeling needs.”

After installing the Durst Tau RSC E 13″ inkjet press in late 2022, American Non Stop Label began putting it through its paces in January of 2023. Loayza also invested in off-line finishing from AZTECH Converting Systems to further perfect the process.

“Everybody here is more comfortable with the technology, and I’m starting to see the combination of Durst and AZTECH really flourish,” notes Loayza.

Future plans

With American Non Stop Label showing no signs of slowing down, Loayza has a wish list for the future. Shrink sleeve labeling and RFID labeling are both possibilities for the company. Loayza has actively explored seaming technologies while also partnering with a company on the East Coast for RFID label runs.

“I want to keep my company relevant, and I’m going to follow technology as best as I can,” states Loayza. “But the move has to make sense and the company has to need it. There are certain times where the company doesn’t need the equipment, but you have to make that decision to offer it and take a chance. Because if you don’t invest in technology, my feeling is sooner or later you’re going to be out of business.”

As far as shrink sleeve labeling goes, Loayza loves the look the technology can provide for American Non Stop Label. “I’m not even thinking of the money; I’m thinking of the look shrink gives the product. That really inspires me.”

Loayza has always been one to accept change, too, making for a promising future. In addition to digital printing, American Non Stop Label was also an early adopter of PET liners.

Following the installation of the ETI coater, American Non Stop Label’s Jerry Tulak was steadfast in his belief that the company should switch from paper to PET liners. Loayza was swayed by the case for PET.

“Jerry wanted us to change to a PET liner, and I thought, ‘You’re running fine, why make a change if no one is asking for it?’” says Loayza. “He convinced me. It’s 100% recyclable and it’s much thinner than paper liners, and our customers will get 30% more labels, depending on the construction. Less warehouse space, less shipping costs, less rewind are all there for us because we’re putting more labels on a roll. When we’re starting off on the coater, we’re starting with a 60,000 linear foot roll. When we do a paper liner, it’s 38-40,000, so it’s better for us, too. Jerry kept ringing the bell, and it finally clicked for me because he was right.”

Loayza still has his eyes firmly set on growth. After acquiring American Label in 2008, he would again welcome a similar opportunity to expand the company. “I would love to acquire a company outside of California to provide more opportunities for our customers,” he comments. “And if a company that we acquire produces shrink labels, that would be all the better.”

With American Non Stop Label currently in a growth phase, Loayza has no interest in slowing down or taking a step back. His passion for the industry mirrors his early days in the business.

“Money is really important and it’s great to feel secure, but there’s also your vision and your dreams,” he states. “I’m going to be here as long as I can. I don’t want to retire, and I’m not interested in selling the company. I’ve got my 20-year-old daughter who joined the company less than two years ago, and she loves the business just like her dad.”