Some people are driven by certainty - what they know. Others are driven by possibility - what is yet to learn. For alco print finishers of Tulsa, OK, it's a combination of both. Drawing confidence and strength from what it knows, alco embarks on a journey driven by the possibilities of change. In business for over 25 years, alco print finishers continues to look for opportunity around every corner and is eager to begin the next quarter century with plans to reposition itself in a changing marketplace.

   From folding/gluing, mounting, die cutting, and bindery work to UV coating, screen UV coating, and yes, film laminating, Alco concentrates on its strength and strives to be the best at what it does. Sharing information has been the key to Alco's growth over the years, and it is exactly this type of open-exchange that has helped keep the company in-tune with emerging markets trends and technologies.

  Embracing Change from the beginning in what Mike Wilbins, President and CEO, welcomes. His father, Dick Wilbins, started the company after realizing an opportunity to purchase the process for a laminated wall plaque business in 1976. Deciding to set-up shop in Tulsa, he moved from Chicago and opened American Laminating, Co. of Tulsa. Mike joined his father in 1979 and has continued to grow the business to what it is today.

   In the decade of the 90's Mike grew the business from a small 2,500 sq. foot facility, to a 25,000 sq. foot facility. The amount of equipment is impressive and covers all aspects of 'finish' work. Alco has a flood coating machine, three automatic two-sided laminators, two single-sided laminators, two coaters, some semi-automatic mounting equipment, a custom mounter, an automatic Lamina, two platen die cutters, two Autofeeds film laminators, a single sided EcoSystems laminator and an annual sales of $3,000,000.

   alco's website is becoming the industry's standard for information about the print finishing industry. "We are creating an industry information site instead of an Alco promotional piece", stated Wilbins. "The more information that is out there, the more credible we'll be. It is imperative that finishers all speak the same language, so that everyone is getting the same information on how to do things."

   For alco print finishers, getting out of the day-in and day-out trade business and in front of more end-users is the direction of the future. "Nowadays, every job's a nightmare. There are no lead times anymore; there's never enough overs; margins are down; and I haven't seen a dry sheet in ten years", exclaimed Wilbins. Still, for alco, it's about taking those jobs that are tough and making them work. Whether that means coating on top of metallic inks or getting jobs to run with bad adhesion, it's the problem-solving aspect of the business that adds spice to the day-to-day operations.

   To alco print finishers, change is not only inevitable - it's exhilarating! As Wilbins so intuitively concluded, "There's always something behind door number three."

alco print finishers, inc.
10219 East 49th St.
Tulsa, OK 74146

800.521.2526
918.664.3348 fax