Crush 2019

Launching its operation with
only three employees, the
Great Little Box Company
Ltd. (GLBC) opened its doors in
1982 with their 5,000-square-foot
plant in Burnaby, British Columbia.
With a focus on customer service
and a talent for innovation and
advancement, the GLBC was able
to navigate the difficult economic
environment of the 1980s and begin
a long tradition of growth and
expansion.
As the company expanded through
the years, more space was required.
Since 1984, the company has moved
six times, with the last bringing
them to their current location on
Mitchell Island, encompassing a
250,000-square-foot facility. In
conjunction with these moves, the
GLBC opened additional sites in
Victoria and Kelowna between 1992
and 1998. The company even opened
a sister company, the Everett Branch
of the Great Little Box Company Inc.
The GLBC now provides services to
customers all across Canada.
In addition to the head office
expansions, GLBC expanded into
other markets in the region through
the opening of three sales and
distribution offices. The first branch
to open was in Victoria in 1992,
followed by the 1998 expansions of
the Kelowna branch in June, and
the Everett Branch in August. With
the three branches and the head
office, GLBC effectively services
customers in B.C., Washington, and
now Alberta. Focusing on labeling,
the GLBC knows that every customer,
company, and client is going to look
for something unique.
“When it comes to shape and size
of labels, there really isn’t one trend
that stands out,” says Ryan Hollis,
product manager. “Every winery or
distillery has a unique take on how
The GLBC the ability to hot-stamp multiple foils, emboss, cold foil, coat, and spot varnish all in
single pass.
a label should look. This is why I love
the industry, it’s always changing.”
While the GLBC provides numerous
services to its customers, one of
the most comprehensive is the
manufacturing of labels. As a printer,
it is important for the GLBC to work
closely with the designer in order to
make their vision a reality.
“There is nothing worse than taking
on a job that exceeds your press
capabilities,” says Hollis. That is why
the GLBC has invested in machinery
that can handle a wide range of
today's concepts and designs. They
have taken the best of both worlds by
printing labels digitally and having
full decorative finishing capabilities.
These days, every printer has a digital
press, but what defines the GLBC in
this industry is their focus on the
finishings. ”We have the ability to
hot-stamp multiple foils, emboss,
cold foil, coat, and spot varnish all in
single pass.”
When it comes to sustainability, the
GLBC is at the forefront of their field.
By digitally printing labels, they are
able to lower their environmental
footprint. The power consumption is
approximately 25 per cent lower than
traditional offset label press as they
don’t need to run high-powered UV
curing lights. More importantly, the
set-up material waste is substantially
lowered and there is no need to
register and mount costly print
plates.
Hollis says that one of the greatest
challenges in the wine industry is
delivering labels on time, since there
can be a very small window to label
the bottles.
“Many wineries do not have their
own filling and labeling equipment.
They will bring in a mobile bottling
company and these company’s
schedules fill up fast, therefore,
missing the appointment is not an
option,” says Hollis. “We are proud of
our on-time delivery. This is tracked
and followed very closely throughout
our company.”
The GLBC has its eye on the future,
and is very excited by some of the new
and amazing things happening in the
industry.
“My personal favourite is augmented
reality,” says Hollis. ”This allows you
to take your smartphone, hold it up
to the label and the image will come
to life. A great example if this is the
Walking Dead Wines or 19 Crimes. If
you have not yet seen this technology,
you will very soon. The ability to run
variable print is also something that
is very interesting and is gaining
momentum, however, this process can
only be done digitally. For example,
we can run one varietal with multiple
variations in a single print run.”
GLBC is proud to work with many upand-coming
wineries and continually
innovates to ensure they are a strong
industry partner that will continue to
help the industry thrive. o
31