05.18.20
A specialist in water- and solvent-based flexo inks for the corrugated, narrow web, flexible packaging and folding carton markets. American Inks & Technology Ltd. (AIT), Portage, MI, has been focused on flexo inks since its start in 2005.
AIT has changed a lot in the past decade, expanding its product line to include solvent inks and coatings in 2011, adding more territory sales representatives in 2015 and completely remodeling its headquarters in 2018. In 2019, AIT redesigned its website, including online ordering and swatch/project submission requests. However, other things haven’t changed, including the company’s single-minded emphasis on service.
“What makes AIT different from the competition is service, plain and simple,” said Brady J. Garrison, senior account executive for American Inks & Technology Ltd. “If we grow too fast or take on business that doesn’t fit our model, we run the risk of losing sight of what’s made us successful. “
One way AIT helps its customers is by adding sales representation in territories that are a one-day ship point.
“When a customer calls with a need, we want them to know we’ve got an expert that’s ready and able to help them, immediately,” added Garrison. “You’re never going to call and be told, ‘I can’t get over to see you because I’m traveling four states away.’ That’s not our model and it never will be. You call us, we answer, and we’ll be there to help in 24 hours, if not sooner.”
AIT believes its commitment to service, value, quality and integrity gives them a competitive edge over the competition.
“We are very close with our customers and have very short ship times, and are willing to work through issues in real-time,” said laboratory manager Chris Grabe. “We work with many different vendors and are constantly evaluating raw materials to stay cost-competitive, and think smart in relation to cost when formulating our inks. We have stringent quality standards and are committed to the continuous improvement of quality issues. With government-mandated regulations for the labeling of products and SDS requirements, we are working closely with regulatory experts to ensure that we are reporting accurately and being transparent with our customers, creating regulatory reports for customers who need them.”
Technology is also critical at AIT. The company recently invested in some highly specialized, custom-developed technology to better maintain customer profiles, track and project order patterns and most importantly, measure and maintain stringent color matching and quality control procedures and records.
“This technology not only helps with our processes and procedures, but it dramatically cut down on the time it takes to match standardized colors and to QC outgoing batches and incoming raw materials,” Garrison said.
AIT’s ability to customize inks for its customers is one of the keys to its success.
“There aren’t many companies, especially medium-sized ink companies like us, that manufacture solvent inks and coatings,” Garrison observed. “One of our customers said it best, ‘The big guys want to fit us into a box. We want someone to make a box that fits us,’ and that’s what AIT did. We recognized that the large companies want to sell you drums and totes of off the shelf product lines, take it or leave it... and that simply doesn’t work for some converters.
“We recognized that in order to compete, the small and medium-sized printers and converters need to have the same level of service and support as these big companies, so AIT stepped up and began filling that void in the marketplace,” added Garrison. “And boy are we glad we did; solvent inks are one of the fastest-growing segments of our business. Whether you order one gallon or 20 totes, you are going to have a designated service rep, and you are going to get ink that is custom made for you and your application, made to order each and every time.”
“Quality, service, value, and integrity are the core principles on which AIT was formed and still operates by today,” added purchasing manager Kristen Langley. “Our customers are not just numbers in a queue. We manufacture ink to order for each customer’s specifications to ensure they will be receiving a quality product when they need it, every time they need it.”
With everything going on in the world, service is even more important now.
“It’s now more than ever that people are going to rely on a partner to support them in gaining a competitive advantage in the marketplace, to come up with solutions to strengthen the bottom line and to be there when they need product or support fast. That’s what we’ve built a reputation on and that’s what we plan to continue to do,” Garrison said. “We want to be there when you need us most. That’s what makes partnering with AIT so valuable.”
American Inks
& Technology Ltd.
8975 Shaver Road
Portage, MI 49024
Tel: 269-345-4657
bgarrison@aminks.com
www.aminks.com
Specialties: Water- and
Solvent-Based Flexo Inks
AIT has changed a lot in the past decade, expanding its product line to include solvent inks and coatings in 2011, adding more territory sales representatives in 2015 and completely remodeling its headquarters in 2018. In 2019, AIT redesigned its website, including online ordering and swatch/project submission requests. However, other things haven’t changed, including the company’s single-minded emphasis on service.
“What makes AIT different from the competition is service, plain and simple,” said Brady J. Garrison, senior account executive for American Inks & Technology Ltd. “If we grow too fast or take on business that doesn’t fit our model, we run the risk of losing sight of what’s made us successful. “
One way AIT helps its customers is by adding sales representation in territories that are a one-day ship point.
“When a customer calls with a need, we want them to know we’ve got an expert that’s ready and able to help them, immediately,” added Garrison. “You’re never going to call and be told, ‘I can’t get over to see you because I’m traveling four states away.’ That’s not our model and it never will be. You call us, we answer, and we’ll be there to help in 24 hours, if not sooner.”
AIT believes its commitment to service, value, quality and integrity gives them a competitive edge over the competition.
“We are very close with our customers and have very short ship times, and are willing to work through issues in real-time,” said laboratory manager Chris Grabe. “We work with many different vendors and are constantly evaluating raw materials to stay cost-competitive, and think smart in relation to cost when formulating our inks. We have stringent quality standards and are committed to the continuous improvement of quality issues. With government-mandated regulations for the labeling of products and SDS requirements, we are working closely with regulatory experts to ensure that we are reporting accurately and being transparent with our customers, creating regulatory reports for customers who need them.”
Technology is also critical at AIT. The company recently invested in some highly specialized, custom-developed technology to better maintain customer profiles, track and project order patterns and most importantly, measure and maintain stringent color matching and quality control procedures and records.
“This technology not only helps with our processes and procedures, but it dramatically cut down on the time it takes to match standardized colors and to QC outgoing batches and incoming raw materials,” Garrison said.
AIT’s ability to customize inks for its customers is one of the keys to its success.
“There aren’t many companies, especially medium-sized ink companies like us, that manufacture solvent inks and coatings,” Garrison observed. “One of our customers said it best, ‘The big guys want to fit us into a box. We want someone to make a box that fits us,’ and that’s what AIT did. We recognized that the large companies want to sell you drums and totes of off the shelf product lines, take it or leave it... and that simply doesn’t work for some converters.
“We recognized that in order to compete, the small and medium-sized printers and converters need to have the same level of service and support as these big companies, so AIT stepped up and began filling that void in the marketplace,” added Garrison. “And boy are we glad we did; solvent inks are one of the fastest-growing segments of our business. Whether you order one gallon or 20 totes, you are going to have a designated service rep, and you are going to get ink that is custom made for you and your application, made to order each and every time.”
“Quality, service, value, and integrity are the core principles on which AIT was formed and still operates by today,” added purchasing manager Kristen Langley. “Our customers are not just numbers in a queue. We manufacture ink to order for each customer’s specifications to ensure they will be receiving a quality product when they need it, every time they need it.”
With everything going on in the world, service is even more important now.
“It’s now more than ever that people are going to rely on a partner to support them in gaining a competitive advantage in the marketplace, to come up with solutions to strengthen the bottom line and to be there when they need product or support fast. That’s what we’ve built a reputation on and that’s what we plan to continue to do,” Garrison said. “We want to be there when you need us most. That’s what makes partnering with AIT so valuable.”
American Inks
& Technology Ltd.
8975 Shaver Road
Portage, MI 49024
Tel: 269-345-4657
bgarrison@aminks.com
www.aminks.com
Specialties: Water- and
Solvent-Based Flexo Inks
