How Harry Wilkinson Found His Place in Label Manufacturing
This week, I sat down with Harry Wilkinson to talk about his experiences as a newcomer to the label production business and how he found his way around the complicated world of labels. Harry’s journey shows how the industry works and what new trends are coming up. He makes surprising finds and learns important lessons along the way.
It wasn’t so much labels that attracted me to Hine, initially… I was looking to leave the recruitment industry and needed a fresh challenge. When I was searching for jobs, it became very apparent that we live in such an industrious area and most of my friends and family are involved in some form of manufacturing, and it felt like the right decision for me to join a company with a rich history, where I could essentially start from the bottom and work my way up. Hine presented that opportunity, and after my initial research and interview process – I knew it was the right fit!
Massively so. Before you’re involved in any form of print company, you kind of skip through life not noticing print or labels, or really understanding their true purpose. Now, I have great respect for all forms of print.
I think as time’s gone on; nothing really surprises me anymore… But I think naively, when I first joined, I hadn’t really grasped just how much influence external factors can play on our daily operations. At University, you’re taught a rough version of raw material + process = money, but when you’re in the bubble, you see how things like substrate, inks, tooling, couriers, and everything else in between can affect any number of jobs, and really, there isn’t much you can do about it. I will add, thankfully, we have some excellent suppliers who do all they can for us.
Initially, the main challenge was technical understanding, or ‘print knowledge,’ as I’d never seen it before. To overcome that, I’ve spent time in all areas of the business to soak up as much information and knowledge as possible, and I continue to work closely with Tom Gould, and Bill (our CEO), who is undoubtedly the messiah of labels.
It’s easy for me to just say I’m driven and want to achieve the best in everything I do. I think the real reason I’ve established credibility is because I have a team around me that I am very grateful for and who I know I can trust to play their part in the customer’s journey. It’s very easy to sit in a room and sell Hine Labels, when I know the team will do whatever it takes to support me. It gives you the license to sell with confidence. I also continually ‘bang on about’ consistency, and it’s something I push in everything we do. Examples would be the social media output on LinkedIn has remained very consistent, therefore, we are seeing excellent follower/interaction results. We remain consistent in checking in on loyal customers and asking about repeat work, not just so we receive an order ‘earlier,’ but so it may help us manage the end-user’s lead-time expectations. The better we are as a supplier, the more credible and distinguished we’ll become.
There are so many key parts to bringing a label to life from concept to shipment. From a pre-press department perspective, you realise how intricate margins, edge lead & safe areas, etc., can be. From a printing point of view, you see how vital being proactive and being prepared goes a long way to building an efficient production flow. We can minimise lead time and help manage customer expectations better by ensuring the factory has everything necessary to get the job out the door in both a timely manner and without sacrificing quality.
It’s been a pleasure meeting with various people in the industry and, of course, working alongside some very experienced professionals. It has most definitely enhanced my understanding and knowledge and has certainly shaped my approach moving forward.
Peel and Reveal multi-layer labels are very exciting and something we’ve most definitely nailed here at Hine Labels with a brand new process. With the ever-growing legislation in various industries, we understand that end-users don’t want to sacrifice their brand image on the face of their label, so instead, legislative information is on a second layer, accessible if required. It’s a very good solution and one we’re happy to produce with confidence.
As a trade label supplier, we know that usually our customers aren’t the end users. So having constant contact with our customer means the message can be sent ‘down-the-line’ and hopefully manage expectations as best we can. Things go wrong in manufacturing, but we’re not scared of that. We’re honest and explain when issues occur and, of course, take the necessary steps to resolve them. That will undoubtedly set you apart, as it shows you care and respect both your customer and their end user, too.
Initially, as a Client Account Manager, my role was to support the customer service team to nurture existing accounts. From there, I have learnt how to produce estimates for digital print work through our MIS and, of course, grown into my new role as Business Development Manager, where my focus has now shifted to increasing the number of new accounts by implementing a new sales strategy to support our marketing efforts.
I would say, be confident in your existing knowledge from previous roles and education. As there are lots of transferable skills from an all-round business perspective. From there, you will have strong foundations to increase your technical knowledge and understanding. Surround yourself with experienced professionals and ask as many questions as possible. Before you know it, you will have the confidence to grow with your company or within the industry.
I see my future here at Hine Labels and hope, as the business grows, I follow. Taking on more responsibility operationally and driving the commercial side of the business. There is certainly a buzz at Hine, and I’m excited for what the short-term and long-term will bring for us all, as a team. Within the industry, I think you want to be known as a reliable, trustworthy professional—so if I can leave that mark, that would be great, too!
