In 1982, Jim Barber and his father, Calvin Barber, started a commercial printing company in Tupelo, MS. The company grew for many years into one of the largest commercial printing companies in North Mississippi, Barber Printing.  While doing commercial printing, the Barbers had the opportunity to get into the label business. After selling Barber Printing in 1994, Jim Barber and his long-time friend, Kenny Simmons, decided to open a new custom printing company specializing in manufacturing labels only. The company was started on Main Street in Verona, MS in an old grocery store building. Label Express started with one printing press and one other employee. Jim’s mother, Joyce Barber, came to work for the company in Rewinding. Back in 1996, you could just walk into almost any company and see a purchasing agent without an appointment. We wish it was still that way today. Back in the ole days, Jim and Kenny would strike out on Monday mornings to their destination city and sell as many custom labels to manufacturers in Memphis, TN and the surrounding area as they could. They would sell for the first three days of the week, then return to Verona and manufacture them the rest, including weekends, only to turn around and deliver the product on Monday morning and resume sales again. Jim and Kenny kept this up through 1997– but this is where their determination paid off.  By the end of that first year, they had sold their first million in labels. They were so busy, they ordered a new press, set it off the truck after delivery, and never had time to remove it from the skid. They ran power to the press and resumed printing for 24 hours a day. During this time, they didn’t have anything other than a restroom in the building, so they set up a cattle water trough outside the building where they bathed for the better part of six months. Jim tells this story to show how hard work and dedication are the foundation of this company. As the years progressed, they hired new employees, had some new ideas—some a success, while others were….not a success. Label Express is now at home within one mile of the original building, in a 43,000 square foot facility settled on twelve acres. Label Express has grown to be one of the largest custom label manufacturers in the Southeast housed under one single facility. Service and customer satisfaction is still the company’s number one goal. They still feel that growth will continue to come by manufacturing a good quality label in a service-oriented time frame. They are one of the ONLY label companies with a turn around time of one week or less. The company recently celebrated its 25^th anniversary in September of 2021. Jim is the true definition of a self-made man, a sentiment we can all appreciate today.  Label Express continues to grow and expand and Jim and his employees plan for better things in the future.