Twenty-five years is a long time. Do you remember turning ten and how excited you were to be at an age with double digits?! Turning 10 and reaching double-digits is exciting, but not nearly as exciting as reaching the QUARTER CENTURY MARK! Some may see that a bit differently, but here at EIM we are delighted! A whole quarter of a century… wow… that’s pretty incredible, right? In the past 25 years EIM has certainly changed, grown and experienced quite a bit… but not just within the company, throughout the world as well. A lot can—and does—happen in a quarter of a century. We have all experienced major events, milestones, good times, bad times, and once-in-a-lifetime moments, so we thought it would be fun to share some of these milestones with all of you!
We’re so excited to see what the next 25 years have in store for us and who knows, maybe at the CENTURY mark we’ll be sharing this type of information with the world again! …Maybe even other worlds too!
| What’s Happened Over the Past 25 Years? | ||
| The Year | EIM | The World |
| 1987 | EIM is incorporated and buys first flexographic press | Black Monday is remembered when the Stock Market crashed in October |
| 1988 | Business growth requires more space so EIM moves to an industrial complex on Emerald St. in Keene, NH | Doppler Radar is invented |
| 1989 | Labels and printing ribbons are tested for chemical resistance and we become a noteworthy source of durable labels | The fall of the Berlin Wall brings down the “Iron Curtain” and ends the Cold War |
| 1990 | EIM and its customers begin extensive testing for ultra low temperature, cryogenic labeling | The Internet goes public thanks to the worldwide web (www) & HTML |
| 1991 | EIM buys second flexographic press | The nicotine patch is approved by the FDA |
| 1992 | Labels are developed for clinical pharmaceutical trials | MTV introduces ‘The Real World’ reality TV show |
| 1993 | Growth continues with expanded manufacturing space | Beanie Babies are released |
| 1994 | XyRepel® and XyResist® become the company’s first registered trademarks | The year without a World Series… Major League Baseball is on strike |
| 1995 | EIM introduces single color, variable printing services and sheet-form laser labels | Debit Cards are invented. eBay is founded |
| 1996 | Owner, Paul Henkel, engineers a new high temperature polyimide | Stamps cost .32 cents. Dolly, the first cloned sheep, is born |
| 1997 | Zebra® printers are added to our product line | F.W. Woolworth Company closes after 117 years in business |
| 1998 | Printed and Laminated 4-color barcode labels are introduced as “Super Durable Asset Labels” | Google is created |
| 1999 | Alex Henkel, Paul & Sue’s son, joins EIM as the Technology Manager | World population surpasses 6 billion people |
| 2000 | CryoLabel® becomes the registered trade name for our cryogenic labels | Y2K does NOT end the world |
| 2001 | Employees participate in first United Way ‘Day of Caring’ projects at the American Red Cross and the Keene Community Kitchen | September 11th attacks take place in NY, DC and PA |
| 2003 | Continued growth leads EIM to move to our own building on Forge St., still in Keene, NH | First 4-winged flying dinosaur, the size of crow, is discovered in China |
| 2004 | First EIM catalog of stocked products for same day shipping is published | Red Sox win the World Series (also in ’07!) |
| 2005 | BarTender® software is introduced by EIM | Hurricane Katrina devastates the Gulf Coast |
| 2006 | Founders, Paul & Sue Henkel, retire in December, 20 years after starting EIM | iTunes has one billion songs downloaded, after only 3 years on the market |
| 2007 | Alex Henkel and his wife, Heather Bell, purchase EIM | The iPhone is invented |
| 2008 | Three innovative products: CytoLabel, Code-N-Seal® and Sens-A-Mark CryoLabel® are launched | Boston Celtics win the NBA Championship |
| 2009 | EIM receives NAPL’s (National Association Printing Leadership) RAVE Award for Excellence in Customer Satisfaction | Roof shingles are introduced that double as solar panels |
| 2010 | Company introduces full color UV Inkjet printing | Apple introduces the iPad tablet computer |
| 2011 | New EIM website is launched www.barcode-labels.com | Boston Bruins win the Stanley Cup |
Can you tell we are loyal New England fans?
