Deco Labels

Last updated
Deco Labels and Flexible Packaging Limited
Company type Private
IndustryLabels
Founded1962
Founder
Headquarters
Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario
,
Canada
Key people
Website https://decolabels.com

Deco Labels and Flexible Packaging Limited (also known as Deco Labels and Tags) is a Canadian label company, specializing in pressure-sensitive labels for plastic-wrapped grocery products, and based in the Etobicoke district of Toronto, Ontario. It is primarily known for its association with the Ford family of Ontario politicians, including Member of Provincial Parliament Doug Ford Sr., Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, and Ontario PC Party Leader and Premier of Ontario Doug Ford Jr. It had annual sales as of 2016 of approximately $100 million per year. [1]

Contents

History

Deco was founded in 1962, by Doug Ford Sr. and Ted Herriott. [2] The company was originally a Toronto location for Avery labels, but quickly separated from its parent company. [2] In 1965, Herriott left the company, over a dispute whether it should expand into the tag business. [2] In the following years, it experienced significant growth and success, under the leadership of Doug Sr. [2]

In the 1995, Doug Sr. became MPP for Etobicoke—Humber, and his sons Doug Ford Jr. and Randy Ford assumed control for day-to-day operations of the company. [3] In 1999, the company opened a branch in Chicago, led by Doug Jr. The branch eventually achieved $11 million in annual sales. [3] Further, less successful operations in Ohio and Florida followed. In 2002, Doug Jr. became president of the company, replacing his father. [3] In 2006, Doug Sr., nearing his death, divided up the company, leaving 40% to Doug Jr, 40% to Randy and 20% to Rob Ford (the third brother). [3]

In 2008, Deco purchased Wise Tag and Label, a New Jersey tag business. The acquisition was not successful, and the firing of Wise Tag's manager led to a 2012 lawsuit. [3] In 2010, Doug Jr. was elected Toronto City Councillor (replacing his brother Rob), and Randy took control of day-to-day operations of the company. Former Deco employees suggest that the company was well-managed under Doug Jr., but that the company declined under Randy's leadership. [4] The Toronto division has also struggled to deliver orders on time. [3]

In 2011, Doug Jr. and Rob allegedly used their positions as city councilor and mayor to benefit Deco, in connection with two clients of the company, RR Donnelley and Apollo Health and Beauty Care. [5] An investigation was launched in 2014, and concluded that Doug Jr. broke the code of conduct. [5] In 2018, after being elected Ontario PC leader, Doug Jr. said that he would put his ownership stake in Deco in a trust if elected premier in the upcoming election. [6]

In June 2018, Renata Ford, Rob Ford's widow, launched a $16.25 million lawsuit against Doug and Randy Ford, a few days before the provincial election in which Doug was elected premier. [7] The lawsuit alleges that Doug and Randy were bad managers of Deco Labels, and were guilty of various financial improprieties in their role as trustees of Doug Sr's estate. According to the suit, Deco lost $5.5 million in the six years before 2018, from a total value of $10 million in 2006, due in part to various acquisitions. [7] In order to shore up the company's finances, the lawsuit alleges that the Ford brothers sold other investments owned by Doug Sr's estate. [8] As a result of these activities, the estate declined considerably in value, to the loss of Renata. [8] Doug and Randy deny the allegations, suggesting that they are "completely false". [7]

Business

Deco specializes in producing labels for consumer products, especially in the grocery sector. [9] It also produces labels for the City of Toronto government. [3] Deco is headquartered in Rexdale, Ontario, with an American office near Chicago, Illinois. [10] It has a 70,000-square foot production facility in Toronto, and a 45,000-square foot facility in Chicago, with a total of 200 employees. [9] The Chicago division was sold to Resource Label Group of Franklin, Tennessee, a portfolio company of alternative investment manager Ares Management Corporation, in October 2022. [11]

As of 2017 the company was jointly owned by Doug Ford Jr. and Randy Ford. [9] According to the June 2018 lawsuit, Doug owned 100% of the Chicago branch, while Randy owned 100% of the Toronto branch. [12] Regulatory filings by Doug Ford Jr. in May 2018 suggested that he was the sole owner of the "Deco Labels and Tags", also known as "Deco Chicago". [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Smitherman</span> Canadian politician

George Smitherman is a former Canadian politician and broadcaster. He represented the provincial riding of Toronto Centre in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1999 to 2010, when he resigned to contest the mayoralty of Toronto in the 2010 municipal election. Smitherman is the first openly gay Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) elected in Ontario, and the province's first openly gay cabinet minister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto City Council</span> Governing body of Toronto

Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022.

John Hastings is a Canadian politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Ford</span> Canadian politician, 64th Mayor of Toronto (1969–2016)

Robert Bruce Ford was a Canadian politician and businessman who served as the 64th mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014. Before and after his term as mayor, Ford was a city councillor representing Ward 2 Etobicoke North. He was first elected to Toronto City Council in the 2000 Toronto municipal election, and was re-elected to his council seat twice.

Douglas Bruce Ford Sr. was a Canadian businessman and politician for the province of Ontario. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 1999 who represented the riding of Etobicoke—Humber.

Donald James Henderson was a Canadian politician, who served as a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1995. He represented the ridings of Humber and Etobicoke—Humber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christine Elliott</span> Canadian politician

Christine Janice Elliott, KC is a retired Canadian politician in Ontario who served as the 11th deputy premier of Ontario and the Ontario minister of health from 2018 to 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transit City</span> Proposed Toronto public transit plan

Transit City was a plan for developing public transport in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was first proposed and announced on 16 March 2007 by Toronto mayor David Miller and Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) chair Adam Giambrone. The plan called for the construction of seven new light rail lines along the streets of seven priority transit corridors, which would have eventually been integrated with existing rapid transit, streetcar, and bus routes. Other transit improvements outlined in the plan included upgrading and extending the Scarborough RT line, implementing new bus rapid transit lines, and improving frequency and timing of 21 key bus routes. The plan integrated public transportation objectives outlined in the City of Toronto Official Plan, the TTC Ridership Growth Strategy and Miller's 2006 election platform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarlett Heights Entrepreneurial Academy</span> Public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Scarlett Heights Entrepreneurial Academy, formerly known as Scarlett Heights Collegiate Institute is a Toronto District School Board facility that was originally operated as a secondary school, opened in 1963, and whose curriculum was broadened through a Student Leadership Development Program. This program extends the base curriculum. Although the TDSB closed the school in June 2018 due to low enrolment, the school facility was used to temporarily accommodate students from York Memorial Collegiate Institute. It is now vacant.

The Jane LRT is an inactive proposal for a light rail line in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was originally proposed in 2007, cancelled in 2010, and later revived in the 2013 "Feeling Congested?" report by the City of Toronto, where it was labelled as a "Future Transit Project". However, in April 2019, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the province's plans for rapid transit development and funding for the Greater Toronto Area that omitted the Jane LRT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vincent Crisanti</span> Canadian politician

Vincent Crisanti is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent Ward 1 Etobicoke North on Toronto City Council following the 2022 municipal election. He previously represented a former ward by the same name from 2010 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Ford</span> 26th and current premier of Ontario

Douglas Robert Ford Jr. is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario since June 2018 and leader of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party since March 2018. He represents the Toronto riding of Etobicoke North in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monte McNaughton</span> Former Canadian politician

Monte Gary McNaughton is a former Canadian politician who served as the minister of labour, immigration, training and skills development in Ontario from June 20, 2019 to September 22, 2023. A Progressive Conservative (PC), McNaughton sat as a member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) and represented the riding Lambton—Kent—Middlesex in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since the 2011 provincial election. McNaughton first joined the provincial Cabinet in 2018 as the minister of infrastructure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of Rob Ford crack video scandal</span>

In May 2013, the American website Gawker and the Toronto Star reported that they had viewed a cellphone video that showed then-Mayor of Toronto Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine and commenting on political issues. Gawker raised money to buy the video, but were unable to acquire it when the seller broke off contact. On October 31, 2013, the Toronto Police Service announced that they were in possession of the video, "and at least one other". The video was retrieved in the course of an investigation of drug gangs, entitled "Project Traveller". Ford's associate Alexander "Sandro" Lisi was charged with extortion for attempting to retrieve the video, in exchange for marijuana.

Michael Douglas Ford is a Canadian politician who has been the Ontario minister of citizenship and multiculturalism since June 24, 2022. A member of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party, he has represented York South—Weston in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 2022. Ford previously served on Toronto City Council from 2016 to 2022. First elected as a school trustee in 2014, he later won a 2016 by-election for the council seat which was vacated upon the death of Councillor Rob Ford, before he was elected as a member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in 2022. He is the nephew of Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario and Rob Ford, the former mayor of Toronto.

Cinespace Film Studios is a series of film studio facilities in the US and Canada, founded in 1988 by Greek-Canadian Nick Mirkopoulos. The studios began with a facility in Vaughan, that had been in operation since the 1960s. Current studios include facilities in Toronto; a branch in Chicago, founded in 2007 with Mirkopoulos's nephew Alex Pissios; and, facilities in Atlanta and Wilmington, NC acquired in 2023 from EUE/Screen Gems. In 2022, TPG Real Estate Partners acquired the facilities of Studio Babelsberg in Potsdam-Babelsberg and merged those into Cinespace

<span class="mw-page-title-main">42nd Parliament of Ontario</span> 2018–2022 Canadian provincial legislature

The 42nd Legislative Assembly of Ontario was a legislature of the province of Ontario, Canada. The membership was set by the 2018 Ontario general election and sat for two sessions until it was dissolved on May 3, 2022 in advance of the 2022 Ontario general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kinga Surma</span> Canadian politician

Kinga Surma is a Canadian politician and the Ontario Minister of Infrastructure since June 18, 2021. She represents the riding of Etobicoke Centre in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party. She previously served as Ontario's first Associate Minister of Transportation. In the cabinet shuffle announced on June 18, 2021, she was promoted to the position of Minister of Infrastructure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Premiership of Doug Ford</span> 26th and current premier of Ontario, Canada

Doug Ford is the 26th and current premier of Ontario, Canada. He won a majority in the 2018 Ontario general election, as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (CPC) caucus in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and was sworn in as premier on June 29, 2018. He was re-elected with an increased majority in the June 2, 2022 Ontario general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford family (Canada)</span> Canadian political family

The Ford family is a Canadian political family, who have English heritage. It includes the former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and current Ontario Premier and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Doug Ford.

References

  1. ↑ "The Rob Ford saga would be hard to swallow — if we didn't live through it | Toronto Star". The Toronto Star. 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2018-03-23.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "5 things you didn't know about Rob Ford's family: Revelations from the book Crazy Town | Toronto Star". The Toronto Star. 2014-02-03. Retrieved 2018-03-23.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Doug Ford at Deco: The inside story". The Globe and Mail. 2014-10-10. Retrieved 2018-03-23.
  4. ↑ "Ford family business 'a nightmare' since Doug handed managerial control to Randy, ex-employees say". National Post. 2014-06-05. Retrieved 2018-03-23.
  5. 1 2 "Former councillor Doug Ford improperly used political influence to assist clients at city hall | Toronto Star". The Toronto Star. 2016-12-08. Retrieved 2018-03-23.
  6. ↑ "Once censured for mixing business and politics, Doug Ford now says he'll put family company in trust". National Post. 2018-03-20. Retrieved 2018-03-23.
  7. 1 2 3 "Rob Ford's widow sues Doug Ford over family business days before Ontario election". The Globe and Mail. 2018-06-04. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  8. 1 2 "Reevely: Doug Ford sued by brother's widow, accused of siphoning inheritance". Ottawa Citizen. 2018-06-05. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  9. 1 2 3 "A Fordable Luxury" (PDF). Canadian Packaging. April 2017.
  10. ↑ "What would a Premier Doug Ford mean for Ontario's economy?". Toronto Star. 2018-03-19. Retrieved 2018-03-23.
  11. ↑ "Resource Label Group Acquires Chicago based Deco Flexible Packaging". www.businesswire.com. 2022-10-05. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  12. 1 2 "Ford's public financial disclosure shows he is sole owner of family business - iPolitics". iPolitics. 2018-06-05. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.