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Shurtape Technologies, LLC, Acquires Pro Tapes & Specialties, Inc.

-Transaction poised to accelerate growth for both companies through increased investments in manufacturing capacity, sales efforts and marketing activities-

HICKORY, NC – (December 5, 2022) – Shurtape Technologies, LLC, an industry-leading producer of pressure-sensitive tapes, today announces the acquisition of Pro Tapes & Specialties, Inc., a tape manufacturer and converter that services a variety of markets, including graphic arts, library and school supply, precision die-cutting and fabricating, contract and custom converting, retail and general industrial. The culmination of a nearly two-decade partnership, the transaction brings together two companies that share a relentless commitment to exceptional product quality and innovation as well as industry-leading customer service.

“For almost 20 years, Shurtape and Pro Tapes have maintained a unique and highly successful sales and marketing alliance, and this acquisition represents the next logical step in our journey together,” said Vuk Trivanovic, CEO of Shurtape Technologies. “Now working together more closely than ever, we expect to accelerate our combined growth by delivering even greater value to our customers through strategic investments in manufacturing capacity, IT capabilities and sales and marketing initiatives.”

Founded in 1977 to service motion picture and theatrical production firms in New York City, Pro Tapes quickly became one of the largest manufacturers and innovators of premium tape products designed specifically for use in the Arts & Entertainment industry. Today, the company offers a full spectrum of converting capabilities and end-to-end manufacturing solutions, servicing customers and markets in countries all over the globe.

“We are excited about the future and look forward to the growth that this continued partnership makes possible for our businesses, employees and valued customers,” said Ed Miller, President of Pro Tapes & Specialties. “Together, we remain dedicated to delivering unmatched innovation, service and quality to the industries we serve and look forward to providing our customers with a broad range of product options and enhanced service capabilities to meet their ever-evolving needs.”

Pro Tapes will become a subsidiary of Shurtape Technologies and continue to operate its facility in North Brunswick, N.J. The management teams and employees at both Pro Tapes and Shurtape will remain unchanged, ensuring there will be no disruptions in communications, service, product development or sales coverage.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

For more information on Shurtape Technologies, visit ShurtapeTech.com. For more information on Pro Tapes, visit ProTapes.com.

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SHURTAPE TECHNOLOGIES, LLC

Based in Hickory, N.C., Shurtape Technologies, LLC, is an industry-leading manufacturer and marketer of adhesive tape and consumer home and office products, with facilities in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico, Peru, United Arab Emirates, China and Australia. Together, our subsidiaries serve numerous markets, including industrial/MRO, building and construction, packaging, electrical, stucco, HVAC, professional paint, automotive, marine, aerospace, arts and entertainment, graphic arts, sound control, medical, DIY, home and office, and retail. In addition to specialty adhesive solutions, Shurtape Technologies offers products under recognizable brand names such as Duck^®, FrogTape^®, T-Rex^®, Painter’s Mate^®, Shurtape^® and Kip^®. Learn more at ShurtapeTech.com.

PRO TAPES & SPECIALTIES, INC.

Headquartered in North Brunswick, N.J., Pro Tapes & Specialties is a tape manufacturer and adhesive tape converter with over 45 years of experience. Founded in 1977 to service the motion picture and theatrical productions in New York City, Pro Tapes quickly became one of the largest manufacturers and innovators of premium tape products designed specifically for use in the Arts & Entertainment industry. Today, the company offers a full spectrum of converting capabilities and end-to-end manufacturing solutions servicing customers and markets in countries all over the globe. Learn more at ProTapes.com.

The post Shurtape Technologies, LLC, Acquires Pro Tapes & Specialties, Inc. appeared first on Pro Tapes®.

How Pro Tapes® Empowers Employees to Give Back

Our Community Out-Reach & Empowerment (C.O.R.E) program encourages employees to make meaningful contributions to the communities they reside in, as well as the communities that Pro Tapes® operates in.

Through the Pro Tapes® C.O.R.E program, we engage our employees in company-sponsored initiatives that align our company’s core values with activities that give back to our community.

1. If an employee volunteers their own time, we will award them with Paid Time Off.  This way, an employee can participate in a cause near and dear to their heart.
2. Sometimes, you don’t have the time to volunteer. Monetary donations are a great alternative for supporting causes that mean something to you.  Pro Tapes® matches employee monetary donations, up to $500 annually.
3. Pro Tapes® organizes and participates in various local events (Back-to-School Supply drives, Adopt-a-Family Holiday events, etc.).  Most of our employees live near our facility, so it’s important for us to give back to these communities.

To learn more about the C.O.R.E. program, please visit here.

Careers at Pro Tapes®

If you are interested in working for a community-centric organization where you can make a difference, please reach out to us at hr@protapes.com.

The post Three Ways Pro Tapes Gives Back to the Community appeared first on Pro Tapes®.

With the Entertainment Industry recovering from the effects of the pandemic, touring, events, and film productions are re-opening around the world. There is a renewed, even increasing, demand for adhesive tape expendables.

But with recent supply chain crises and raw material shortages, the management team at Pro Tapes® understood that we would need to invest in new and improved solutions to remain a dependable supplier.

That is why Pro Tapes® leadership has recently invested in technology and productivity across our company in order to continue supporting our global distributor network to the best of our ability.

In today’s blog post, we’ll take a look at some of the investments Pro Tapes® has pursued so that we can continue to support our distributors and the Entertainment Industry at large.

Expanding our Manufacturing Space to Stay Ahead of the Supply Chain

Since 2008, Pro Tapes® has been headquartered in North Brunswick, New Jersey in the US. We currently operate out of a 150,000 sq. ft. facility. This facility is equipped with a complete series of state-of-the art converting and custom packaging equipment.

With the uncertainty on lead times of all raw materials, many suppliers have struggled to keep key items in stock when their customers most require them.

That is why Pro Tapes® has recently invested in an additional 25,000 sq. ft. of warehouse and manufacturing space. This investment is part of our strategy to better weather the peaks and valleys in the current global supply chain.

When you offer Pro Gaff® in 21 colors and hundreds of SKU’s, you require a sizable inventory level on raw materials and finished goods! The investment in additional space will allow for greater inventory levels on all of our key raw materials.

Our most popular tapes – including Pro Gaff®, Pro® Console, Pro Glow®, and Pro® Spike to name a few – are all in stock and ready to ship.

Improving our Packaging and Converting Technology to Add Value for Distributors

Pro Tapes® has also invested in new, high-speed automated packaging lines. These new lines can greatly speed up the process of packaging our Pro Gaff® in the most popular sizes.

Now, we are also packaging Pro Gaff® shrink wrapped with a scannable UPC label. This new packaging setup adds values for our distributors, who can display our tape straight out of the case and while staying presentable.

The scannable UPC labels also allow our customers that sell online to use our GS1 registered UPC numbers to sell our high quality items easily and in an organized fashion.

These investments in our converting technology are custom made to fit our unique needs. To learn more about the converting capabilities Pro Tapes® offers, check out this virtual tour of our headquarters.

Investing in our People

Pro Tapes® continues to invest in the future to ensure we can meet the demands of our customers. We are continuing to hire more customer success representatives, IT personnel, machine operators and warehouse personnel.

Improvements to our IT Infrastructure

Additionally, Pro Tapes® has invested in upgrading our IT and computer systems. Information technology, when managed properly, lowers the costs of every financial aspect of the company.

Our online security was and still is a priority and will continue to be one. It is imperative that we protect our data and intellectual property, as well as our customers.

Pro Tapes® is Here for You.

The show must go on. We at Pro Tapes® are committed to supporting our distributors to the best of our abilities.

The investments we’ve reviewed today are helping us minimize increases in raw materials in every aspect of our business. This is how we at Pro Tapes® thank our valued customers for their business.

If you have any questions, you can reach out to me any time at dennism@protapes.com.

The post Pro Tapes® Supports the Entertainment Industry with New Investments appeared first on Pro Tapes®.

#1: Pro Tapes^® Focuses on People

At Pro Tapes & Specialties^® we pride ourselves for being in a “sticky” business. We’re at the core of finding solutions, adding value, and building relationships within the pressure sensitive tape industry.

Throughout our various departments, we center our goals and initiatives on employee and customer engagement. We believe both employees and customers come hand-in-hand. You must be continually improving upon both in order to provide excellent service.

Pro Tapes^® Customer Obsession Guides Our Employees

“If you’re not serving the customer, your job is to be serving someone who is.”

A banner with the above slogan hangs in our warehouse and production facility. It serves to remind our employees that even if they are not in a customer-facing position, their work ultimately is! We challenge our employees to think creatively and develop innovative solutions to make a product or process better.

It’s not the only quote we love to turn to for guidance! Take this one for another example:

“Customer Service is not a Department, It’s an Attitude”

This quote hangs near our Sales & Customer Service offices. It’s a daily reminder to approach every customer interaction by focusing on service, experience and satisfaction!

We’ve made substantial investments over the years to enhance our service to our customers. These investments include our Customer Relationship Management Software, implementation of Electronic Data Interchange, and Advance Shipment Notifications to our customers with tracking information.

Annually, we send out a customer satisfaction survey to measure five key areas: sales, communication, flexibility, delivery and quality. We communicate the results of this survey across departments, with improvement objectives and action items outlined.

Pro Tapes^® Invests in & Inspires Our Employees

Pro Tapes® is one of the best places to work because we invest in our employees. By giving our employees the resources to grow, we empower them to excel within their roles. We believe that investing in and empowering our employees ultimately leads to a better customer experience.

That is why Pro Tapes^® regularly provides our employees with opportunities to attend training programs and earn certificates. Here is a sampling of some of the training we provide across different departments:

• Forklift Re-Certification (every 2 years)
• CPR & First Aid Training (every 2-3 years)
• ESL Training
• Fire, Safety Training, Back Safety Training
• Time Management Training
• Performance Review Training
• Management Training
• ISO Auditor Training
• Customer Service Training
• Product Knowledge Training
• Accelerated Process Improvement Training
• Microsoft Certifications
• Product Management Certification
• Google Analytics and AdWords Trainings
• Other Computer Skills & Software Training, such as: email Etiquette, Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM, Windows, Microsoft Office, SAGE 500 ERP, etc.

#2: Leadership that Promotes Communication, Innovation and Quality

Pro Tapes^® is one of the best places to work because our leadership promotes a high quality working environment. Our goal is to build relationships, aim for strategic growth, and continually improve on quality and manufacturing efficiencies.

Quarterly, our leadership hosts Town Hall meetings. During these meetings, they provide transparent communication to all employees on company news, enhancements and financials. They encourage employees to ask questions and openly share any suggestions for improvements.

Pro Tapes^® leadership has also developed a team that meets quarterly to develop, plan and promote building, equipment, workplace and fire safety, and disaster recovery.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pro Tapes^® leadership founded a Small Business Advisory Network. This advisory network helped connect small businesses to sources of information to help them safely and quickly recover from the economic impact of the shutdown.

#3: Emphasis on Community & Giving

Pro Tapes^® is one of the best places to work because of our C.O.R.E Caring program. Through this program, employees can make meaningful contributions to the communities that Pro Tapes^® and its employees reside in.

The Pro Tapes^® C.O.R.E. Caring Program was founded in 2014. Like a “core” that provides the strong center for a roll of tape, our “C.O.R.E.” stands for the values of Community, Out-Reach, Responsibility and Empowerment within our business.

Our C.O.R.E Caring program allows us to engage our employees in company-sponsored initiatives that align our company’s core values with activities that improve and enrich our community.

Through this program, we also commit to a culture of being friendly to the environment and maintaining the highest corporate citizenship standard. We aim to protect the health and safety of our employees while also positively impacting community in which we operate. We also maintain a strong sense of social responsibility through our financial support of and active involvement in many local charitable organizations.

At Pro Tapes^® I’m challenged every day to work smarter and be a valued part of a successful team. I’m not just a number on a piece of paper; here at Pro^® I have the opportunity to make a real impact on our organization!

The post Three Reasons Why I Believe Pro Tapes is One of the Best Places to Work appeared first on Pro Tapes®.

Click Below to Watch our New Video Tour:

Pro Tapes and Specialties® is a worldwide leader in manufacturing and specialty converting with over 42 years of experience. We offer a full spectrum of converting capabilities and end-to-end manufacturing solutions for our customers.

Pro Tapes’ facility is FDA Registered and ISO 9001 certified. We follow strict quality guidelines to ensure the highest quality products.  We frequently partner with national retail brands to produce their finished product lines.

Our high-volume slitting department consists of ten wide web slitters with the capability to slit up to 79-inch widths. Some with completely automated inline wrapping and packaging equipment. Pro Tapes® s also has four fully automated lathe slitters that have the ability to slit large outer diameters up to 28 inches.

Pro Tapes & Specialties®  offers finished goods on all three industry standard core sizes and pride ourselves in minimizing waste – in most cases go far beyond our customers’ expectations and what other converters can provide. With several state-of-the-art slitters, Pro Tapes® has capacity to slit very high-volume jobs.

We invite you to take this virtual tour of Pro Tapes® s and we hope to host you for an in person tour in the near future, but until then, please feel free to contact us with any opportunities we can assist you with.

The post NEW Video Tour of Pro Tapes® Facility and Contract Converting Capabilities appeared first on Pro Tapes®.

Without putting the appropriate employee safety measures in place well in advance of (successfully) reopening your business, you’re destined for failure before you get started. Let’s face it, a big part of a successful reopening will be overcoming the psychological effects of this pandemic.

Many folks are scared & anxious to head back out into the world after months of being quarantined, and the last thing you need is an employee becoming ill the first week back on the job.

With that in mind, here are 10 safe-operational “Best Practices” you should consider implementing before you re-open your business:

#1: Assess your Workers’ Individual Risk Factors

Old age, presence of chronic medical conditions (including immunocompromising conditions) pregnancy; these are all factors to consider. Implement Controls necessary to address those in higher-risk categories, such as making arrangements for at-home working accommodations or physical spacing in order to isolate your high-risk employees from your lower or less at risk employees.

#2: Consider Flexible Worksites and Flexible Hours

Employers should explore whether they can establish policies and practices, such as flexible worksites (e.g., telecommuting) and flexible work hours (e.g., staggered shifts), to increase the physical distance between employees in order to avoid clusters of employees working in close physical proximity, or reducing the overall number of employees in the building at one time.

#3: Reconfigure Your Operational Layout

Consider reconfiguring your operational layout to create the appropriate physical distance between workstations, equipment & assembly lines. Where ever possible, eliminate areas that lead to employee clusters for prolonged periods of time. Eliminate the use of time-clocks that require physical touching, or excess employee congregating in one central area.

#4: Start Each Day with a Wellness Check

Establish Daily pre-work wellness checks. As each employee enters the building at the start of each business day, their temperature should be taken and recorded to insure they are not running a fever. A template form should be created to include a checkbox system indicating if your employees are experiencing any problematic symptoms (Score throat, chills, headache, stiffness or soreness, etc.)

#5: Maintain (And Improve) Good Housekeeping Practices

Maintain regular housekeeping practices, including routine cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces, equipment, and other elements of the work environment. When choosing cleaning chemicals, employers should consult information on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-approved disinfectant labels with claims against emerging viral pathogens.

#6: Promote Personal Hygiene (with PPE)

Create a work environment that promotes personal hygiene (and provide the resources if necessary.) For example, provide personal protective equipment such as gloves & masks, no-touch trash cans, hand soap, alcohol-based hand rubs containing at least 60 percent alcohol, disinfectants, and disposable towels for workers to clean their work surfaces. Provide the proper resources for the clean & safe disposal of all used PPE.

#7: Incorporate Health Training and Education

Incorporate health training & educational resources as part of your on-going training programs. Increasing employee awareness as to how viruses are spread and how to monitor for early warning signs of illness in themselves & fellow employees will help provide for prompt identification and early intervention of outbreaks.

#8: Encourage Sick Employees to Stay Home

Revise human resource policies to encourage sick employees to stay home when feeling ill. Provide a level of flexibility in the use of paid time off, or increase the availability of PTO in the case of illness. Provide the same level of flexibility when it comes to providing paid time off to care for sick family members or address child care concerns in the event of illness.

#9: Develop & Promote Open Lines of Communication

Develop & promote open lines of communication across your organization. Work within the privacy protections afforded your employees with HIPAA laws, but openly communicate news of any outbreaks within your organization. Develop a system that allows for speedy & accurate dissemination of information in the event that one of your employees becomes infected or has been exposed to someone who has been infected. Be able to rapidly trace all inter-employee contact within your organization, so that you can quickly notify & isolate any of your employees who may be contagious.

#10: Invest Upfront in Preventive Health Maintenance

By providing for extra paid time to allow for pre-work wellness checks, or allowing for extra paid break time to encourage proper hygiene practices like hand washing & proper disposal of used PPE, you’re actually saving money by preventing a very costly outbreak. It’s important to remember that the cost you’re investing on these up front preventive measures, will pale in comparison to the cost you’ll incur if you experience a wide spread breakout. Remember, without our heath we have nothing.

The post How Do I Safely Re-Open My Business? 10 Guidelines for Re-Opening in a Covid-19 World appeared first on Pro Tapes®.

Year Five will be a special year for our partnership, as we help the Minding Our Business program expand to include business mentoring and business networking to their already robust entrepreneur training curriculum.

Since its inception at Rider University in 1997,

Minding Our Business has been successfully providing at-risk youth in historically underserved communities in New Jersey with education and training about business, money management, and entrepreneurship. To date, the Minding Our Business program has served over 5,500 young men and women with training opportunities.

Pro Tapes® guiding principles are built on maintaining a strong sense of social responsibility. The serious issues that we, as a nation, face today are a reflection of an economy that has allowed too many Americans to fall behind. In order to build a more inclusive economy, we must provide more educational opportunities for low-income communities and people of color, but also provide access to the businesses that would most benefit from this education.

The educational opportunities offered by the Minding Our Business program are truly unique.

They go beyond the traditional business-based lessons involving accounting, marketing, and finance.

The expanded Minding Our Business program offers access to business networking, access to internship programs, and the ability to hone interviewing skills. Understanding how to build & operate a business are indeed valuable skills to process, but understanding how to gain access to the business arena is a game changer. Having the skills and knowledge are only a part of the equation; knowing how to gain access to the business arena is the total package.

Pro Tapes® is excited about the possibilities our 5^th year of partnership with Minding Our Business will create.

Many companies are looking for ways to help affect positive change, and I know of no better way than to help to build a more inclusive economy.

I would encourage other corporations to join us in supporting programs like Minding Our Business, they do fantastic work and could use your help. Visit their website here to learn more.

Update: NEW Entrepreneurial Enclave Podcast!

Pro Tapes® is proud to be a sponsor of MOB’s new podcast; plus, we’re featured in the first episode!

Click HERE to listen to the first episode and subscribe!

About “The Entrepreneurial Enclave:” Are you always coming up with ideas? Do you marvel at successful business owners? Do you hate being told what to do? Ever take things apart just to see how they work? Are you a dreamer? If you’ve answered yes to ANY of these questions, this podcast is for you. Welcome to the Entrepreneurial Enclave with Kevin Wortham. The podcast that focuses on building, maintaining, pivoting, planning, and investing in you – The Entrepreneur!

The post Pro Tapes® Expands its Partnership in 5th Year with Youth-Based Entrepreneurship Program, “Minding Our Business” appeared first on Pro Tapes®.

An Update:

[May 27th, 2020] Response to the Pro Tapes Small Business Advisory Network has been fantastic! If you’d like to have access to valuable insight and resources to help accelerate your business recovery drop us an e-mail: www.probusnet@protapes.com

We’d love to connect you to the help you need.

“Business Leaders Lean on personal networks for advice on safely reopening”

In this article by William Boston for The Wall Street Journal this week, we learn that “ex­ec­u­tives look­ing for the best way to virus-proof their business are in­creas­ingly turn­ing to one group for ad­vice and feed­back: fel­low busi­ness lead­ers.”

“…Sup­port net­works of business owners and ex­ec­u­tives have emerged as a source of support, as well as a resource for information. Built on top of preex­ist­ing business relationships, mem­bers swap virus-proof­ing recipes, establishing best practices, dis­cuss pol­icy changes, and pon­der the longer-term im­pact of this pandemic, such as managing remote employees.”

Boston, William, “In the Covid Era, CEOs Repurpose Their Personal Networks to Talk Virus.” The Wall Street Journal

Pro Tapes® has established its small business resource network to help pool and share the collective informational resources of our customers, suppliers and long-time business associates. We look forward to using this network as an exchange in which our network members can readily access and contribute useful information that helps accelerate the economic recovery of all of our businesses.

Our aim is to connect small businesses to sources of information that will help them safely and quickly recover from the economic impact of the Covid-19 shutdown.

Access to information & resources will include operational safety, cash management & finance strategies, sales & marketing strategies and sourcing of material & services.

If you are interested in participating please drop us an email at ProBusnet@protapes.com

The post Announcing the Pro Tapes® Small Business Advisory Network appeared first on Pro Tapes®.