Behind The Label is our employee spotlight series, highlighting the people who help bring the labels to life. In each feature, we share the stories of the individuals whose dedication, expertise, and teamwork help us serve our customers every day.

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Every label that leaves Grand Rapids Label goes through a path from raw material to finished product. The materials need to be slit. The presses need to be running. The orders need to be sequenced in a way that accounts for due dates, capacity, and everything in between. Much of that coordination runs through our production scheduler Shane Hall.

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Shane's Background

Before Shane found his way to GRLabel, he spent 14 years installing bleachers in various gymnasiums throughout the country. It was enjoyable work, but it kept him away from home more than he wanted. When the opportunity at GRLabel came along, it offered an opportunity to spend more time with family.

He started out in the Machinery and Systems department as a service technician, spending seven years repairing in-house printers and applicators. That background gave him a hands on experience in how the equipment actually works.  He carried this knowledge with him when he transitioned into customer service for five years before moving into his brief role as a training coordinator, and now in his current role as Production Scheduler.

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The Role

Shane's job is to orchestrate production. He schedules orders, coordinates material, and determines who's running what press on any given day. It sounds straight forward until you're the one doing it.

"There are a lot of variables that go into actually getting to a finished product. Due dates, material constraints, capacity, you're working with pretty much every department to make it happen."

What people don't always see is the constant navigation happening behind the scenes. A shift in material availability ripples into press assignments. A due date change forces a reshuffle. Shane adapts quickly to these changes every day, and the shop floor runs more effectively because of it.

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Shane's Impact on His Team

Shane's highly visible role has also had a noticeable impact on his teammates. Below are just a few comments from team members across departments regarding how Shane has impacted them:

"He does things the right way. He also isn't afraid to bring in a good sense of humor to the workplace" - Ron Kozal (Estimating)

"Shane is hard working & dependable. He's a great culture builder that everyone feels they can trust" - Campbell Crosby (Sales)

"Even on the busiest days, Shane's lightheartedness has a way of keeping an energy in the workplace" - Sam DeBoer (Customer Service)

"Shane never hesitates to put the company or others before himself" - April Hall (Customer Service)

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Milestones & Turning Points

One of the defining moments of Shane's career here was witnessing GRLabel's focus shift toward production efficiency through learning how to remove wasted time and streamline how the product gets made. The Kaizen event of 2015 stood out to Shane as a turning point that pushed both him and the company toward a better version of itself.

For Shane, being part of that evolution from service tech to customer service to scheduler means he's seen the operation from nearly every angle. With such a broad exposure across the company, he's noticed one commonality on how to be successful at GRLabel. Being a team player:

"Don't be too focused on yourself. Be a team player. Think about how your role impacts the scope of team success and stay open to learning."

When asked what he was most proud of in his career at GRLabel, it came from his time in customer service in never having a line down situation for any of his customers he was representing.

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Outside the Office

When Shane isn't at GRLabel, there's a good chance he's at the cabin up north. Either 4 wheeling the trails on the property during summer weekends, or on the snowmobile in the winter.

Shane’s dream job is to be a basketball coach. Not a college or NBA coach, but rather a developmental high school basketball coach to drive home the fundamentals.

It’s also nearly impossible to have a conversation with Shane before it eventually shifts to the state of MSU basketball. A lifelong MSU basketball devotee, he was eager to list off some of his favorite all time Spartans including: Cassius Winston, Drew Neitzel, Travis Trice, and Denzel Valentine.

Lastly, if you really want to learn something about Shane that may surprise you, he is on a personal mission to bring back BD's Mongolian BBQ to Michigan. For Shane, it wasn't just a restaurant. It was a way of life. A place to celebrate personal milestones. It stood as a symbol of simpler times.