Binding Matters

In the Northeast, there are binding companies with broader product lines than Seaboard Bindery, but the market is large enough to accommodate both the specialists and the generalists. Shear believes that being first to market with new product offerings is a distinct competitive advantage. As proof, he cites these examples: Seaboard Bindery was the first New England bindery to use PUR glue—strong enough for difficult-to-bind products—and to license both Otabind and RepKover lay-flat adhesive binding methods, giving clients a lower-cost alternative to mechanical binding. These investments have given the company its adhesive binding "triple play."