December 15, 2011
To Our Valued Channel Partners:
As 2011 comes to a close, all of us at ITW Thermal Films would like to take a moment to thank you for your business and continued support.
This past year, the thermal transfer ribbon market went through tremendous changes, while challenging, these created positive opportunities for our industry partners. The global sourcing conditions of polyester (PET) coupled with the cost escalation of raw materials resulted in supply and demand adjustments throughout the supply chain, price increases, and a revitalization of our industry channel partners. Through it all, ITW Thermal Films was positioned to meet these challenges, and remained committed to creating customer-focused solutions to assure a future filled with opportunities and sustainable, profitable growth for our strategic partners.
Our 2011 achievements included:
- Valued Channel Partner Commitment and Support - We've been providing our customers with quality products, value-added services, technologies and solutions for 20+ years. A division of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW), a Fortune 200 multinational manufacturer, we have the financial strength, resources and assets in place to continue to grow, and evolve in this ever-changing marketplace. While this year focused all of us in the TTR industry, I'm pleased to report that ITW Thermal Films daily product supply availability set us apart from our competitors, as we shipped orders on-time, and never missed a shipment for any of our products due to PET capacity issues.
- Innovation Leadership - New formulas, like our P110W high speed white wax/resin for flexible packaging, B320 flexible resin which is ideal for a wide array of synthetic materials, along with our portfolio of Direct Food Contact Ribbons that are FDA compliant help you broaden your customer base, service growth markets that require higher margin wax/resin and resin applications, and allow you to maximize your profits.
- Extreme Solutions™ - A collection of value-added resources offered exclusively by ITW Thermal Films, we continue to expand our online database (www.itwextremesolutions.com) with market specific solutions that help you easily find the durable ribbon/label combination you need for your particular bar code printing application. If you have not visited Extreme Solutions™ lately, log on and see the latest extreme ribbon/label solutions we've added to our site including 3M™, Fasson®, Polyonics and others in association with ITW Thermal Films PrintheadSaver® products.
- ITW Thermal Films Ecommerce site (http://store.itwthermalfilms.com) - In January, we launched our Ecommerce store to streamline the ordering process and provided customers with an efficient and reliable way to place their PrintheadSaver® thermal transfer ribbon orders 24/7. In 2012, we will be adding TTR contiguous products to bolster your revenue opportunities. Look for new products in Q1 to add to your revenue stream!
There are some signs of modest long-term "settling out" on the polyester supply and raw materials front. However, ITW Thermal Films' outlook for 2012 is that we are still facing a tough operating environment, as demand continues to outpace the supply of thermal transfer ribbons. The affects of this continued trend will be felt throughout our industry, and why ITW Thermal Films fully understands the vital importance of change and innovation. To maximize our mutual growth objectives, we need to add additional focus to markets that offer strong growth opportunities. With our Extreme Solutions™ model, we are proactively leading and expanding our product range, ideas and solutions beyond wax (the historical and still important primary market segment) to include attractive new markets that utilize our wax/resin and resin formulations. This market segment focus extends our combined ability to create mutually beneficial business relationships with our distribution partners, and a strong future for all of us.
We look forward to working with you in 2012, and wish you a safe and happy holiday this year!
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