A message to our valuable customers:
The challenges we communicated to you back in 2021 look like they are going to be around for the foreseeable future. We are certain that at some point you have experienced how these challenges has affected our abilities to meet your expectations.
With this surging economy, demand for printed materials has continued to increase. We have made a clear and focused strategic decision to make sure our existing customers are prioritized. However, even with those efforts, we continue to be affected by labor shortages and COVID related illnesses within our own work force that creates daily changes to scheduling. Paper supply chain issues are greatly impacting our ability to produce work on time as lead times are months out and most deliveries from our vendors are seeing weeks, if not months, in transportation delays.
Additionally, we are seeing monthly price increases on all paper stocks and other materials needed such as ink and plates. Our other expenses such as wages to maintain a stable work force and utilities are also increasing. In many cases, our invoices are higher than our original estimates depending how long we’ve had the work in the schedule.
The good news: We have yet to cancel an existing order at Midstates Group. That being said, we know the delays and price increases are affecting our long-standing relationships with customers. Our teams are continuously working behind the scenes to best meet those expectations. Our production teams are working overtime and weekends, and our corporate staff is committed to a work share program by directly working on the manufacturing lines to add more production hours each week. During our 36-year history we have never experienced the challenges we are currently facing, but be rest assured that we are determined to work harder than any of our competitors to solve these issues for you.
This message is a simple one…we greatly appreciate the understanding and flexibility from you, our customer. We ask for your continued patience as we have to still manage through these difficult times. All indications are that we will be forced to continue our “all hands on deck” policy well into 2022. Please reach out to your Sales Representative or Project Coordinator if you have ANY concerns about your upcoming project. We greatly appreciate the more time we can have to collaborate together for a successful order.
We wish you and your organizations a safe and prosperous 2022.
Matt Prehn Chad Hoffman
VP of Sales VP of Customer Support
