The Link Episode 15 with Thomas Dahbura, President at Hub Labels
In this Link episode, Thomas Dahbura brings a manufacturer’s perspective that is grounded, sharp, and tested on the pressroom floor. As president of Hub Labels, he works at the intersection of brand ambition, production reality, and sustainability pressure.
Thomas talks about what brand owners and designers often miss when it comes to labels. Why material choices matter as much as design. How linerless labels are not just a sustainability story, but a productivity one. You will also hear how a second-generation, family-owned business like Hub Labels stays competitive by investing early, running Lean, and constantly raising the bar for its customers and its people.
This is a practical conversation about innovation that works, sustainability that delivers value, and manufacturing leadership built for the long term.
About Thomas
Thomas Dahbura is the President of Hub Labels, Inc., a family-owned custom label manufacturer founded in 1978 and still going strong in Hagerstown, Maryland, USA. What a bunch of kids these days don't get—real manufacturing grit, not some app startup nonsense!
Under his leadership since around 2013, Hub Labels has become a powerhouse in pressure-sensitive labels, cranking out high-quality work with up to 12-color flexo printing, wide-web capabilities, linerless solutions that cut waste and save the planet a little headache, direct mail labels, blank stock, and on-demand digital printing via HP Indigo tech. They serve food & beverage, personal care, cannabis, industrial—you name it—with durable, eye-catching labels that actually stick and look good doing it.
Thomas is no stranger to awards: he's snagged the RMI Champions of Manufacturing Leadership and Visionary Award back in 2016 for visionary growth, led the charge on sustainable innovations like linerless labels to ditch those landfill-clogging liners, earned Best in Class nods at the TLMI Printing Excellence Awards, and kept the company G7 and Sustainable Green Printing certified. He's all about Lean processes, continuous improvement, and showing designers what's possible beyond boring basics—heck, he even started those popular Label Lab events to prove it.
A true label guru (check his LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/labelguru), Thomas has spent decades helping brand owners harness packaging power, investing in top-tier tech, and building a team that delivers excellence. Proud second-generation leader keeping the family business thriving in a tough industry.
He's joining the Dscoop Link series to share hard-earned wisdom on labels, innovation, sustainability, and why flexo still rules when done right. Listen up, because this guy's seen it all and isn't afraid to tell it like it is!
