BizTimes: What is your corporate philosophy? What sets you apart?
Keith Walz: “At KDV, we are reliable, trustworthy, and straightforward focusing on the best interest of our customers, employees, and community. This philosophy guided our brand refresh just over a year ago when we formalized our core values: care, craftsmanship, creativity, and collaboration. Everyone at KDV sets our corporate philosophy apart from those of other companies. Living our values seems to come naturally for our team and our customers reap the benefits!”
BizTimes: What opportunities do you see on the horizon for your industry?
Walz: “The pressure sensitive label market is very large with a fragmented and diverse set of suppliers. The shape of this market alone creates both opportunities and challenges. KDV is focused on enhancing our digital print production capabilities to offer customers enhanced quality, shorter lead times, and lower costs for short production runs, leveraging efficient production processes and scale to grow our foothold in end markets and acquiring other label producers with a similar culture and philosophy to extend our reach into new markets and geographies.”
BizTimes: Does your company have any new products, services to announce?
Walz: “This year, we anticipate leapfrogging a large portion of the market in both sustainability offerings and digital printing capabilities. Both areas are changing rapidly in the label industry, and we have been working diligently to support our customers and be able to help guide and advance their packaging. We have prioritized our sustainability resources to pinpoint label solutions that make meaningful, positive environmental impact while maintaining the value proposition we have established with the brands we serve. By the end of the year, we will have one of the most advanced digital presses in the industry and aligned it to, what we like to call, our unique production-powerhouse methodology. This significant advancement in our digital printing capabilities will synchronize value and quality gains for our customers.”
BizTimes: Where do you see your company in 5 years?
Walz: “I see us growing our reach and capabilities as a leader in the packaging industry while continuing to set the bar high for serving our customers. As we approach KDV’s 50th anniversary in 2024, our goal is to continue to grow. We have established an aggressive strategic plan that will see the business leverage its existing core capabilities to penetrate or expand into the food, pet, nutraceuticals, and consumer-packaged-goods (CPG) automotive markets. This will require the expansion of our sales and marketing efforts to drive organic growth, which will be augmented with strategic acquisitions.”
