Partnering with Clients to Provide Financial Blueprints

September 7, 2015 - BRIAN PLANALP ,ComSpark

You might never have heard of Innovative Labeling Solutions (ILS), but you’re probably familiar with their work. That Coke campaign with names on its bottles and cans? That was ILS. They do most of Rhinegeist’s and MadTree’s labeling too, along with 250 other craft breweries and 350 wineries around the world. Prominent in industries as diverse as promotional marketing, industrial products, beauty care and, of course, beverages, ILS is an industry leader in digital printing technology for labels and flexible packaging. 

But it hasn’t always been. ILS faced the financial hurdles all startups and small businesses face when it was founded in 1996 by a family partnership. Co-founders Jay Dollries, president, and Steve Wolf, vice president, discovered banks they approached offered inflexible solutions, but ILS had little choice. Surprisingly few banks can support commercial lending arms that service small-market clients, and the banks that do rarely prioritize those clients’ interests. Until a business can manage eight-digit loans, options are limited. The relationship that subsequently formed between ILS and its bank of choice was ultimately functional, but far from the partnership Dollries and Wolf desired... 

Read the full article at COMSPARK