from The Oak Ridger, Oak Ridge, TN, September 9, 2003
Advanced Labelworx, an Oak Ridge company that makes pressure sensitive labels, has become a "woman business enterprise", after the company's president, Lana Sellers, led a group of senior management in buying out the shareholders. Sellers said the ownership change provides a couple of benefits. First, she said that the minority classification will lead to more work orders, something she hopes will assist the company in gaining Department of Energy contracts here in Oak Ridge. Secondly, Sellers said that the new ownership team could take more of an aggressive approach. "We can guide our own destiny and take more of a long range look," Sellers said.
Sellers said that the former majority shareholders were older and always concerned about a short-term return on their investment. "We now have the luxury of looking three years and five years ahead," she said. Parker Hardy, president of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, said that he did not know about the change in ownership, but said that Advanced Labelworx has been a successful company in Oak Ridge and if the change helps the company, then he is glad to hear about it. Sellers said there is a lot of Oak Ridge business that her company is not getting. "There's some large employers right up and down Bethel Valley that I'd certainly hate to see go elsewhere for what we sell," she said. "Hopefully, our sophistication might mesh with what they are looking for and we can keep our dollars in Oak Ridge. Advanced Labelworx is located in Bethel Valley Industrial Park. In August 1998, the company assumed control of the Knoxville-based Tennessee Tape and Label, which was formed in 1971. The company also owns an Anderson, S.C., facility, which was created in 1968.
