Matthews, founded in 1850 and incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1902, is a provider
principally of brand solutions, memorialization products and industrial technologies.
Brand solutions include brand development, deployment and delivery (consisting
of brand management, printing plates and cylinders, pre-media services and imaging
services for consumer packaged goods and retail customers, merchandising display
systems, and marketing and design services). Memorialization products consist
primarily of bronze and granite memorials and other memorialization products,
caskets and cremation equipment primarily for the cemetery and funeral home
industries. Industrial technologies include marking and coding equipment and
consumables, industrial automation products and order fulfillment systems for
identifying, tracking, picking and conveying consumer and industrial products.
The SGK Brand Solutions segment provides brand development, deployment and
delivery (consisting of brand management, printing plates and cylinders, pre-media
services and imaging services for consumer packaged goods and retail customers,
merchandising display systems, and marketing and design services). With the
acquisition of Schawk, Inc. ("Schawk") in fiscal 2014, the Company
significantly expanded its product offerings and capabilities related to brand
development and brand management serving the consumer packaged goods and retail
industries. The primary packaging industry consists of manufacturers of printed
packaging materials such as boxes, flexible packaging, folding cartons and bags
commonly displayed at retailers of consumer goods. The corrugated packaging
industry consists of manufacturers of printed corrugated containers. Other major
industries served include the wallpaper, flooring, automotive, and textile industries.
The principal products and services of this segment include brand development,
deployment, delivery, brand management, pre-media graphics services, printing
plates, gravure cylinders, steel bases, embossing tools, special purpose machinery,
engineering assistance, print process assistance, print production management,
digital asset management, content management, and package design. These products
and services are used by brand owners and packaging manufacturers to develop
and print packaging graphics that help identify and sell the product in the
marketplace. Other packaging graphics can include nutritional information, directions
for product use, consumer warning statements and UPC codes. The primary packaging
manufacturer produces printed packaging from paper, film, foil and other composite
materials used to display, protect and market the product. The corrugated packaging
manufacturer produces printed containers from corrugated sheets. Using the Companys
products, these sheets are printed and die cut to make finished containers.
The segment offers a wide array of value-added services and products. These include
print process and print production management services; print engineering consultation;
pre-media preparation, which includes computer-generated art, film and proofs;
plate mounting accessories and various press aids; and press-side print production
assurance. The segment also provides creative digital graphics services to brand
owners and packaging markets.
The segments sales are also derived from the design, engineering, manufacturing
and execution of merchandising and display systems. These systems include permanent
and temporary displays, custom store fixtures, brand concept shops, interactive
media, custom packaging, and screen and digitally printed promotional signage.
Design and engineering services include concept and model development, graphics
design and prototyping. Merchandising and display systems are manufactured to
specifications developed by the segment in collaboration with the customer.
The Company works closely with manufacturers to provide the proper printing
forms and tooling required to print the packaging to the users specifications.
The segments printing plate products are made principally from photopolymer
resin and sheet materials. Upon customer request, plates can be pre-mounted
press-ready in a variety of configurations that maximize print quality and minimize
press set-up time. Gravure cylinders, manufactured from steel, copper and chrome,
can be custom engineered for multiple print processes and specific customer
print applications.
The SGK Brand Solutions segment customer base consists primarily of brand owners
and packaging industry converters. Brand owners are generally large, well-known
consumer products companies and retailers with a national or global presence.
These types of companies tend to purchase their graphics needs directly, and
supply the printing forms, or the electronic files to make the printing plates
and gravure cylinders, to the packaging printer for their products. The SGK
Brand Solutions segment serves customers throughout the world, with principal
locations in the United States, Europe and Asia.
Major raw materials for this segments products include photopolymers, steel,
copper, film, wood, particleboard, corrugated materials, structural steel, plastic,
laminates, inks and graphic art supplies. All such materials are presently available
in adequate supply from various industry sources.
The SGK Brand Solutions segment is one of several providers of brand management,
brand development and pre-media services and manufacturers of printing plates
and cylinders with an international presence. The combination of the Companys
businesses in North America, Europe and Asia is an important part of Matthews
strategy to become a worldwide leader in the graphics industry by providing
consistent service to multinational customers on a global basis. Competition
is on the basis of product quality, timeliness of delivery and price. The merchandising
and display business operates in a fragmented industry consisting primarily
of a number of small, locally operated companies. The segment competes on the
basis of reliability, creativity and ability to provide a broad array of merchandising
products and services. The segment is unique in its ability to provide in-depth
marketing and merchandising services as well as design, engineering and manufacturing
capabilities. These capabilities allow the segment to deliver complete turnkey
merchandising solutions quickly and cost effectively. The Company differentiates
itself from the competition by consistently meeting these customer demands,
providing service to customers both nationally and globally, and providing a
variety of value-added support services.
Memorial products include flush bronze and granite memorials, upright granite
memorials and monuments, cremation memorialization products, granite benches,
flower vases, crypt plates and letters, cremation urns, niche units, cemetery
features and statues, along with other related products and services. Flush
memorials are bronze plaques or granite memorials which contain personal information
about a deceased individual (such as name, birth date, and death date), photos
and emblems. Flush bronze and granite memorials are even or "flush"
with the ground and therefore are preferred by many cemeteries for easier lawn
mowing and general maintenance. The segments memorial products also include
community and family mausoleums within North America. In addition, the segments
other memorial products include bronze plaques, letters, emblems, vases, lights
and photo ceramics that can be affixed to granite monuments, mausoleums, crypts
and flush memorials. Principal customers for memorial products are cemeteries
and memorial parks, which in turn sell the Companys products to the consumer.
Marking systems range from mechanical marking solutions to microprocessor-based
ink-jet printing systems that integrate into a customers manufacturing, inventory
tracking and material handling control systems. The Company manufactures and
markets products and systems that employ different marking technologies, including
contact printing, indenting, etching, laser and ink-jet printing. Customers
frequently use a combination of these methods to achieve an appropriate mark.
These technologies apply product information required for identification and
traceability, as well as to facilitate inventory and quality control, regulatory
compliance and brand name communication.