Packaging and labeling are key parts of brand design and Multi-Color Corp. is a Cincinnati-based company whose high-tech labeling supports more than 330 well-known consumer brands for more than 650 customers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Central and South America. Founded in 1916, Multi-Color has been an innovator in the often-overlooked product labeling industry, developing the in-mold label, a technology in which the label is adhered to the product during package-molding process. You can see the technology in use in products such as Tide and Arm & Hammer detergents, Mobil motor oil and Olay lotions. Multi-Color continues to advance labeling technology, investing $16 million in its North American manufacturing sites in 2007 alone to acquire a state-of-the-art facility and three new presses. It invested more than $3 million during the year in information technology systems to support its growth. The year also saw it make its largest acquisition ever, of Collotype International Holdings, a purchase that added $9 million in sales to its balance sheet.
CEO Frank Gerace calls 2007 "a transformational year for our company. We redeployed and refocused our resources...expanded into new markets and geographic regions with our acquisition of Collotype International, while continuing to generate double digit earnings growth." Multi-Color has been listed on the FSB 100, Fortune's list of America's fastest-growing small public companies based on percentage growth in earnings, revenue, and stock performance. In 2005, it was ranked by Forbes as one of its 200 Best Small Companies in America. In 2007, Multi-Color was added to the Small Cap Russell 2000 Index by virtue of its overall valuation, and it completed a 3-for-2 stock split.