Passion for the Business

Ken Kidd caps off a career of more than 45 years in the industry with packagePRINTING’s 2011 TLMI Converter of the Year award.

One thing is certain, TLMI is loaded with industry leaders, people who have a passion for the tag and label industry and who, in many cases, have devoted their lives to it. They have other qualities in common, too—entrepreneurial spirit, strength of character, and uncompromising work ethic—just to name a few.

Ken Kidd, recently retired co-CEO of WS Packaging Inc., certainly fits this description. TLMI's 2000 Converter of the Year, Terry Fulwiler, who collaborated with Kidd to form one of the largest tag and label companies in North America, says that he could be a "poster boy" for TLMI. "Ken is the ideal type of member—he's run a company, created jobs, contributed to meetings and committees," he says. "He has devoted his life to the label industry." And maybe most noteworthy, Fulwiler calls him "one of the all-around nice people in the world."

Frank Gerace, the 2008 Converter of the Year recipient, describes Kidd as a quiet leader who has been steadfast in his support of the TLMI. "TLMI has no greater advocate," he says. "Ken has the gift of 'encouragement' and always has a positive, enthusiastic, and upbeat attitude regarding life, business, and reality. I can think of no one who better deserves or better epitomizes the qualities and values we ascribe to Converter of the Year than Ken Kidd."

Roots in the heartland

Ken Kidd's story is an American success story—in many ways typifying what is great about our country. He was born and raised in the Cincinnati area, the oldest of four children with two brothers and a sister. His work ethic and family values were learned from his parents—his mother worked for more than 30 years, while his father worked on farms and in factories.

Kidd spent many summers working on his grandparents' farm in Kentucky. "I learned what real work was—a good conservative-minded approach to work," he says.

Upon graduating from high school, he attended night classes at a local college for one year. Two early jobs helped prep him for his future success. He worked in the savings and loan business doing general work that helped him develop his skills working with people. He also worked for a small label company in the Cincinnati area, getting his feet wet in the industry. It was here that he got an early education in the business. He did just about everything—starting out in shipping and packaging, learning to run a printing press, and working in the office ordering materials and planning jobs.

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