Domino honors legacy of Tom Staib

‘Tom was our customer, our business partner, our friend,’ said Bill Myers, marketing manager at Domino. ‘He was well known and highly regarded. You could find him often at industry events presenting to and networking with other label manufacturers, sharing information and best practices. Tom was extremely passionate about his family and his employees. He was very proud of DWS Printing’s over 150-year heritage, its exciting future, and utilizing technology to be a leader in the industry.’

DWS Printing’s primary focus is the food and beverage sector, with a strong presence in the craft beer market. Staib, who wanted to have the option to print shrink sleeves digitally, added digital printing to its arsenal, allowing for quick and efficient production of label jobs requiring several SKUs and versioning.

Through much research, DWS Printing’s digital journey was celebrated with the purchase of the MPS EF SYMJET hybrid press at Labelexpo Europe 2017 and installed in January 2018.  In-house application of the shrink sleeves onto cans complemented the operation, with the packaging division being managed by Tom’s son TJ, the fifth generation at DWS Printing. A new facility in Austin, TX, in fall 2020 was underway, led by the investment in a second MPS-Domino hybrid press for that location.

‘I received a text message from Tom last September 2020 which included a photo of the Domino press that had just arrived at the Austin facility,’ added Myers. ‘He wrote, “It’s getting exciting, Bill.” We were in the process of creating a video for DWS Printing that included footage of Tom, Andy, and the DWS team at the Long Island facility. And with the expansion into Texas, we set up time-lapse cameras in Austin to show the second MPS-Domino hybrid press installed. And then, in early October, I received the news about Tom.  I communicated my sincerest condolences to Andy, and I contacted the production company to stop the video project.

‘In February 2021, I saw a post on LinkedIn by Andy that read, “Carrying the DWS torch in Austin, Texas” with a photo of him and several DWS Printing team members at the new facility. Painted on the wall above them in large letters, it read #TomStrong. It made me smile, and it gave me the idea to create a video as a tribute to Tom honoring his legacy and the DWS family, with a glimpse of the company's exciting future. I believe that someday we will revisit finishing the original video we started, but for now, this one just feels right.’