Mark Trumper’s career in printing started with UARCO Inc. in 1977. (UARCO was acquired by the Standard Register Co. in 1997.) Mark held various positions in 6  geographic locations during his 10 years, mostly on the marketing and management side. He then started his own business called FMC Resource Management Company. The company grew to be one of the largest print distribution companies in the US. In 1996 Merrill Corporation acquired the company as a wholly owned subsidiary. Mark continued to be the CEO until his retirement in June of 2000. He is currently a board member for the Document Management Industries Association (DMIA) serving since 1994. Mark holds a BS degree in Management and Finance from St. Cloud University.

Mark, you have been very successful in past ventures. What expectations do you have for MaverickLabel.com?

MaverickLabel.Com's goal for the past 5 years is to be the premier short run custom label supplier to the trade, and end users. We plan on building a nationwide print on demand distribution network to leverage our high margin product sales through strategic alliances. We are developing ourselves into a leadership position that will allow us to meet the growing demand for very short run labels.

We have built the company so that we can execute rapid deployment of our leading edge production capabilities to meet specific demand as identified by strategic alliance partners and our own marketing team. We believe that e-commerce offers many cost benefits while still forging strong personal strategic partnerships. For an e-company, we still deliver a very traditional product. We have simply paired our leading edge production technology to a robust web-engine. That's what allows us to serve our clients faster and better.

What makes MaverickLabel.com stand out from other options?

Maverick is built on three leading edge components: Equipment, Software, and Web Integration.

Maverick uses  propriety digital equipment to manufacture very short run custom labels. Our offering is unique due to our process of dieless manufacturing - no dies costs, or setup fees - and our ability to produce orders in 24 -72 hours. So any shape,any color,any size can be accomplished using this technology. Instant Pricing is available on our web site through our unique on-line quoter. This means customers can price, order, view proofs, view order history and upload their artwork all from their desktop and receive the best pricing we know of. We want our customers to have complete control of their buying experience, coupled with world class service.

Tell us about your revenue and growth rate.

As a privately held company we do not discuss actual revenue, however I can tell you our month over month business is growing at a rate of approximately 35%. Our systems allow is to take very small orders and handle them extremely efficient. The key to our success is keeping our operations world class so we can continue to be the low cost producer.

What is the most important investment you have made in MaverickLabel.com?

The biggest and most important investment we have is the people. I believe in attracting and retaining the best and most experienced people in the industry. We have been fortunate to get these people who can see the vision. Technology is a our biggest ally. We continue to research and develop  best in-class of  e-solutions, to enhance our leading technologies. We know e-commerce is ever changing and strive to match the latest technologies to make our system very simple. Investments in technology will pay large dividends to enable us to keep our costs down and secure our leadership role in the marketplace. For Maverick, all of our investments have one litmus test; will they continue to allow us to offer the lowest pricing and the fastest turnaround available for the short run custom labels.

With the economy slowing and so much uncertainty, will you continue to invest in technology?

We intend to expand our investments in people and e-commerce solutions. Our biggest capital investment will be to shore up the back end of our production system. We will continue to add new web solutions to simplify the order experience, and add more customer care features.

You are betting on custom, low run label demand. Explain your view and how your vendors help in the process.

We believe that custom print orders will continue to be smaller in size - printed on demand - and lead times will continue to be compressed based on customers needs in the marketplace. Printers must be able to add much more value through services and new production-based solutions that stem from truly understanding their customers business- if they are to be successful.

We value the partnerships we have with vendors; they allow us to offer the services and materials that will make us the company that we all envision. Without their commitment to quality and on time deliveries, we wouldn't have had the success we have enjoyed.

What is your view of the ever changing e-print landscape?

We are still evaluating the ever changing landscape of the ePrint space. It seems to change on a daily basis as to business models and viability. We do have relationships with those whom we think will be the winners in the eprint space. I believe it will be a essential part of how we move order transactions into a common database. The issue of merchant commerce is still unclear on how transactions can be seamless to the end user. Our strategic relationships tend to be more with print-based companies migrated to the web, rather than web-based companies trying to migrate into the print channel.
 
Your primary sales channel is the printer. How do you support their business?

This business is growing because of our re seller market. We are private labeling our web site to allow our print partners to add our digital solution to their total print management offering.

They have relationships and understand their clients needs, Maverick brings one more piece of the puzzle for their total arsenal. We also realize that e-marketing is new for our alliance partners. One of the first objectives for Alliance partners was to develop a comprehensive Alliance Kit. This "Kit" provides our alliance partners with everything from hyper links,to telesales scripts, to leave behind flier artwork and direct mail campaign concepts. Most recently, we have initiated on-line training for our partners. We provide free training on their web interface, and the unique selling proposition that Maverick capabilities provided them with.

As you know, many of our subscribers are print buyers. Do you suggest they use multiple printers?

They should leverage as much print business with a supplier as possible. This will give them the service level and pricing they need, because they are now a client versus just a customer. There is a big difference in having a partner versus just a printer. The value of not reinventing the wheel on each order will save companies time and money, by reducing errors and not having to reeducate a printer time and time again.

As a board member of the DMIA, I assume you are in favor of print vendors joining an association.

If you are not a member of a trade association you are doing yourself an injustice. The knowledge and the networking opportunities are worth your time and money 10 fold. Find out which ones your competitors belong to and join. There is nothing better than to be around the industry's most successful people; in addition friendships and camaraderie will last a life time. A good trade association is worth it's weight in gold. In today's fast paced changing world having access to information is key to succeed in business today

Will trade magazines last in the new “Internet world?”

They still serve a need to inform and educate. However I believe that they will eventually all move on-line to increase the speed of information and reduce the cost of producing on paper. I think trade magazines will have to be even more niche focused than ever before. This is due to the mass amount of information that is being thrown at people today, they must be selective with the time they give to periodicals.

Thank you Mark. We wish you much success!