Sam Allen and Jim Bailey got their business off the ground in Dansville the same year the Wright Brothers flew - 1911. The company moved to Caledonia in 1913 to take advantage of the four rail lines in place at the time, and has been here ever since. Allen-Bailey, which employs 101, manufactures custom-printed, blank paper and synthetic tags and labels.
"If you've seen a package of tags for sale in a local office supply store or even Wal-Mart, chances are, we produced it," said Richard G. Phelps Jr., partner and director of marketing. "But we produce so much more than those blanks. We make them for more than 6,000 companies in many industries - steel, wire, automotive, concrete, hospitality, fire extinguisher and others across the US. Even luggage tags for the Four Seasons Hotel in Kona, Hawaii. We produced 27 million shellfish tags in 2010. There is one shellfish tag on every container of shellfish sold in a restaurant, retail store, etc. in the United States. They serve an important traceability purpose."
What's New at Allen-Bailey
Allen-Bailey celebrated its 100th anniversary on June 11. Despite the recession, the company has been able to grow its top line, improve profitability, consistently share profits with employees, and hire more people. Phelps said that while staffing is sufficient right now, Allen-Bailey is "striving for more sales to increase the size of the company in all respects."
Challenges
The biggest challenge, according to Phelps, is finding new employees with a strong, mechanical capability to run its presses and stringing and wiring machines. "We work with New York state to help screen candidates as well as private firms to recommend people to us," Phelps said. Despite its proximity to Rochester, very little business actually comes from Rochester. "We are trying to change that," says Phelps. "There are ‘part & process identification pieces' as well as packaging supplements which directly involve a printed tag or label. And, it is our task to make our considerable capabilities known to the other successful businesses in Rochester."
Rochester Business Alliance Member
Allen-Bailey has been an RBA member for almost 20 years. "The RBA is a marvelous HR resource. We ask questions of them, we present situations we are dealing with, we ask for recommendations and advice. The RBA has a wonderful depth of knowledge we call upon. We also utilize the RBA for training of our employees in time management, how to be a supervisor, etc. Again, they do a great job!" Phelps said.
Contact Info
Richard G. Phelps, Jr.
Partner & Director of Marketing
3177 Lehigh St.
Caledonia, NY 14423
Phone: (585) 538-2324
www.abtl.com
By Kevin Donahue, director of membership and business development
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