August 8, 2018
By Korri Kezar, Dallas Business Journal
A Canadian manufacturer of printed custom labels is establishing its U.S. headquarters in DeSoto.
LabelCraft, headquartered in Toronto, has purchased a 38,000-square-foot industrial building at 2112 Jo Drive, where it will perform full-scale production of its environmentally friendly label product.
The company made its first foray into the region last year with its acquisition of Duncanville-based First Choice Labels. LabelCraft is using that purchase and its DeSoto hub to build a presence in the U.S., where it currently has no other facilities.
The company already has 10 workers in the area, but plans to grow to 25 employees at its new North Texas facility within a year. Some will work in office administration, but most will be skilled laborers running printing presses.
“Texas is a very business-friendly state and it’s easier, even though you have a lower unemployment rate, to find skilled workers,” LabelCraft’s CEO Brian Tomlinson said of the company’s decision to build its U.S. headquarters in North Texas. “We have a challenge in the Toronto area to find skilled people who want to work. We don’t have that problem here.”
Long-term, Tomlinson added that LabelCraft plans to continue expanding locally, with plans to build a larger facility in five to 10 years. That will help the company continue to meet demand, and allow it to supply to other label facilities and companies.
