Community Spotlight: Bay Tech Label

Bay Tech Label has called St. Petersburg its home since 1986, when Karl Nurse and his partner Jody Unger set out with just one other employee to provide labels, tags, and flexible packaging for everything from beer to medical devices. Over the past 31 years, the company has seen great success, serving thousands of clients and currently employing a team of nearly 45 people.

Although it’s not something people often think about, many manufacturers have a highly dependent relationship with the label industry. The collaborative nature of St. Petersburg and its ever-growing manufacturing sector make it the perfect home for Bay Tech Label. In fact, Pinellas County has the second highest concentration of manufacturing companies in the state, and the number of manufacturers in the regions continues to grow.

With this increasing demand for labels and packaging in the region, as well as clients around the nation, Bay Tech Label has made a name for itself in the label industry over the past three decades. They have experienced growth in 30 out of 31 years of operation, and while their industry’s growth rate is around 2.5% annually, Bay Tech Label has seen a consistent annual expansion of around 7%. This company has set itself apart from competitors through its adaptability and expertise, leading them to receive FTA National Printing Awards in four out of the five past years.

Amongst its 2,500 competitors in the labeling industry, Bay Tech Label has the largest range of materials available for use, and nine different presses each with their own niche for slightly different work. Their facility has the capability to efficiently manufacture shorter runs of unique label products, which is a growing industry demand. Additionally, Bay Tech has the only label printing press in a clean room in Florida for medical and other sensitive packaging, allowing them to serve pharmaceutical clients with reduced risks.

All of these competitive advantages stem from the company’s emphasis on constant learning, both through the implementation of new technology and specialized employee training. Bay Tech’s leadership is willing to try new things, even knowing that some will fail, because they understand that is crucial to the longevity of businesses in their industry. This learning-centered mentality is shared by neighboring businesses in St. Petersburg, many of whom also strive for continual innovation and implementation of cutting edge technology in their industries.

Bay Tech leadership’s desire to keep expanding their knowledge and expertise has spread throughout the whole company. Their team is a family, each member focused on helping one another learn and grow both as individuals and professionals. Relationships with bosses and coworkers are personal, and everyone works to make sure that the personal needs of each individual can be met. “This is a classic family owned business in that it is personal,” shared Karl Nurse, co-Founder of Bay Tech Label. “We remain deeply rooted in our community and expect a long and bright future.”

Helpful and collaborative tendencies extend beyond the company culture into the larger community of St. Petersburg, too. Nurse has been heavily involved in community work for the past 30 years, and is finishing his service on the City Council as 2018 comes to a close.

Moving forward, Bay Tech hopes to see 10% growth in 2018 as they continue to implement productivity systems that allow them to maintain a competitive edge in their ever-changing industry. Karl Nurse cited controlling costs while remaining on the front end of technological changes as a key factor for the company’s future success. Employees are training to assume larger roles in the business, and in the long term the company’s leadership hopes to grow the next generation of employees into employee owners. With their eyes set on continued growth and an exceptional ability to adapt to new technology, it seems that Bay Tech Label has a prosperous future ahead of them.