Employee Spotlight: Arnold Crouse, Labels Material Planner
Hub Labels is excited to share our August Employee Spotlight, featuring Arnold Crouse, a labels material planner of 20 years and teammate for 40. I sat down with Arnold to ask him a few questions on his experience and relationship with Hub Labels.
Being with Hub for a solid 40 years, you must have an array of experiences. What are all the jobs that you’ve held throughout the years?
Arnold: I started out as a converter, moved to a printer and then shop supervisor once we moved to the building on Shawley Avenue in Hagerstown. I moved to shift supervisor when we started second shifts, and would alternate shifts with Dave Mosser. From there, I became the production supervisor before I began the role I’m currently in, which is a label material planner. I’ve been in this position for the last 20 years.
What are some your most memorable moments at Hub Labels?
Arnold: Definitely when I travelled to El Salvador in 1987. Bud Dahbura, our original founder at Hub Labels, asked me to help his cousin’s printing business by training their supervisor in San Salvador. I was there for 3 weeks learning their process. I was able to see what they were printing for their local businesses, like food products, carnival tickets, clothing, and more. It was fun and interesting to experience their culture and ways of living! Another time was back in mid 90’s when I was able to go to Milan, Italy with Thomas Dahbura, Bud’s son and our current president at Hub Labels. We went for a few days to learn about heat sensitive inks from a local ribbon making company and how they transferred their patterns & colors onto their ribbons. Again, learning Italian culture, as well as the basic principles of how to print on paper with these heat transfer inks was fascinating.”
What has been your favorite part about working at Hub Labels?
Arnold: Because of my various roles at Hub Labels, I have the background and experience to share with the departments and to give them the information they need to process orders for our customers. I also love the camaraderie and relationships I have built over the past 40 years at Hub Labels. We also do a lot of community projects and work with local non-profit organizations though volunteering such as United Way, Big Brothers & Big Sisters, and Adopt-a-Highway. I have participated in many of these programs and it is very fulfilling.
What has changed at Hub Labels since you started working here?
Arnold: Wow, many things! From how things were done 40 years ago, which was mostly by memory and learning and adapting, to the different printing technologies and software to track physical inventory, to processing orders and purchasing. It was exciting going to an all-in-one productivity software package called EFI back in 2014. Also seeing how printing presses have advanced over the many years I have been at Hub.
Read our previous employee spotlight featuring Mark Smith.