Amazon Prime Day – July 11-12, 2023


July 11th & 12th, 2023, is Amazon Prime Day! Visit National Band & Tag’s Amazon Store on these two days for deals on Prime and Non-Prime products. Check out our exclusive Amazon only products such as our plumber tag variety packs, Marry Me Bird Bands, Numbered 001-1000 1-1/4″ round tags and more! Most of our standard quick ship items such as the stainless steel rectangle tags, 2023 generic rabies tags, stamped mouse ear tags are also sold on Amazon. Stocked items such as spirals, wires, and attachments are available. Stop by NB&T’s Amazon Store July 11th & 12th to stock up on all your ID needs.

Prime products arrive within 2 days. Non-Prime products ship out from our facility in Northern Kentucky within 2 business days. Ship date will vary for customized products.



(As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases through this paid link).

2022 – Our Year In Review

2022 has been a busy year here at National Band & Tag! We have been working hard to bring you the best identification solutions possible. Thank you to all our loyal customers, we look forward to serving you in 2023.

Just in case you missed it, here are some important updates from this past year!

New Products

  • In April we announced the launch of new quick ship options for Chain Sling Tags and Wire Rope Tags. Quick ship tags are select items kept stocked, ready to ship out in 2 business days. These new products are great options for those who need tags fast.
  • Style #93C – 2″ inch round tag, now available in colored aluminum.
  • Style #95 – 2 7/8″ inch round tag. Our largest round tag yet!

Company Updates

  • Please join us in welcoming a new family member, Amanda Haas! Mandy joined us in November. She is a part of the 5th generation, and the 12th family member now working in our facility. She has joined our HR team.
  • We were very excited to celebrate our 120th anniversary this year!
  • If you haven’t seen it yet, many products are now available to be checked out through the new online shopping cart system. We will continue to add more products to the shopping cart system in 2023.
  • 2022 was our first year trying out a limited tag menu during the busy season for dog and cat tags. This allowed us to offer faster lead times for the most popular tag styles. If you have any feedback about this new program, please contact us.
  • Due to supply chain and labor changes, the 1005-1P has been discontinued as of 9/13/22. You can see alternative products here.

Upcoming in 2023

  • New pricing will start on January 1, 2023. Quotes are good for 30 days. We will only honor 2022 pricing for those that have a quote in by 12/23/22. (We will be closed December 26th – 30th.)
  • Come visit us at these upcoming trade shows!
    • Veterinary Meeting & Expo (VMX) – January 14th – 18th (Orlando, FL)
    • National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) Convention & Sport Show – February 14th – 19th (Nashville, TN)
    • Western Veterinary Conference (WVC) – February 19th – 22nd (Las Vegas, NV)

1005-1P Discontinued

As a family owned and operated manufacturer in the USA, quality is very important to us. In order to ensure we are providing the very best products, we’ve decided to discontinue the 1005-1P.

Due to supply chain and labor changes, the 1005-1P is no longer a viable option and we have far superior alternatives available. Style 1005-1 Stamped tags ($) and Style 1005-1L1 Laser Etched tags ($$) are both great options, depending on your budget and needs. We would be happy to send samples of these alternate styles if you need them.

We appreciate your understanding as we strive to provide top quality solutions to our customers.

National Band & Tag’s 120th Anniversary

August 15, 2022, National Band and Tag will be celebrating our 120th Anniversary! We are so proud to have made it 120 years, an accomplishment for any company. Despite wars, depressions, recessions and most recently, a global pandemic, NB&T takes pride in continuing to provide high-quality service that stands the test of time. We dedicate our long-term success to our customers, family, and employees, both past and present.

Started in 1902 by Joseph Haas, an innovator who saw the need for a completely new industry. Haas knew little about poultry farming, but had been informed that breeders were improving their flocks and it was necessary to use some sort of marker to distinguish one fowl from another. Haas went to work designing a few patterns of bands, crude at first, but with recommendations from customers and experimental projects, he was able to come up with leg bands and wing bands that worked.

Over the decades, additional product lines such as livestock tags and rabies tags were added on. Now, 120 years later, in our 4th and 5th generation of family members, we have over ten different identification product lines. You can learn more about National Band & Tag’s interesting, and unique, history here.

120th anniversary

As we reach the 120-year milestone, we’d also like to wish a happy anniversary to other companies turning 120 in 2022. Such as, JCPenney, Target, 3M, AAA, Cadillac, Queensborough National Bank and Trust, Carrier Air Conditioning and ADM.

Share your pictures with us!

National Band & Tag is constantly looking for new pictures of our tags in use. It’s the pictures from our customers that we use on our social media, website, catalog, and promotional items! As the manufacturer, once the bands and tags leave our factory, we don’t get to see them put on their final destination, such as an animal, piece of art, tree, or asset. We are asking all our customers for new pictures to use! By submitting your pictures here, your picture could be featured as our next #TagTuesday with a shoutout and link to your company. You can also email pictures, or any questions to [email protected].

SEND US YOUR PICTURES

119th Anniversary – Message from the President

August 15, 2021 is National Band & Tag’s 119th Anniversary!

As we celebrate this year, we’d like to thank our customers and employees for sticking with us through COVID-19.

NB&T’s President, Kevin Haas, says, “When I became President in 2019, I never imagined we’d be tested with something like the COVID-19 pandemic.  But we managed to stay open for our customers, serving multiple essential industries. Even with COVID-19 regulations limiting us, our customers and employees understood, and we all worked together to keep products moving. Keeping everyone safe, following guidelines, implementing cleaning and social distancing were our top priorities. I am so proud of how well my fellow family members and our employees strove to keep everyone as healthy as possible.  COVID-19 slightly delayed our newest product release last year. So, we are all excited about our new Paw Finders option for rabies tags which is rolling out right now. Another innovation in a long line of products providing unique and innovative identification solutions for many purposes. I am thankful to be a part of a company that has been around for 119 years and look forward to helping preserve National Band & Tag’s legacy for the next 119 years to come.”

 

message from the president Kevin Haas 119th anniversary

Meet Kevin

National Band & Tag’s president, Kevin Haas, started in 1989 as the 3rd member of the 4th generation to start working for the family-owned company. He has spearheaded multiple advancements over the years such as developing our laser-etching options across multiple product lines, developing the fusion wing bands product line, automating a portion of our customized stamping process and co-developing the new Paw Finders Rabies Tag feature.  Kevin has helped lead NB&T’s research and development for decades, contributing to National Band & Tag’s vision to be the #1 choice for identification bands and tags.

 

 

Open Accounts VS Cash in Advance Accounts

To purchase products from National Band & Tag, we accept multiple forms of payment, such as credit card, check, wire transfer, and purchase order. We do not accept PayPal, Venmo, or other alternative payment methods.

If you have an Open Account (NET30 Account) with us, you can pay for your order using a Purchase Order (PO), or credit card. If you need to know what amount to put on your PO, you can contact us for a quote. POs with incorrect amounts or information will need to revised before we enter an order. We will also need a copy of the actual purchase order emailed or faxed to us, not just the PO number. Most universities and large institutions have us listed as a vendor. We may be listed under National Band & Tag Company, or International Identification Inc. All open accounts must pay for their order within 30 days after it has been invoiced. Orders are invoiced the day after it ships. If you would like to apply for an Open Account, you can fill out our Credit Application. Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for processing of all credit applications.

Non-open accounts, must pay for their order in advance using a credit card, check, money order, or wire transfer (in US Funds). For credit cards, we accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. You can pay online with a card or call us at 859-261-2035 to pay over the phone. Please do not email credit card payments – this is not a secure transaction. We run on a production schedule, so we advise customers to pay for their quotes as soon as possible. Orders will not be scheduled for production without payment. Orders that are paid by check will be held until we receive the check in the mail. All returned checks are subject to a $35.00 fee. If you are writing a check, please contact us for a quote first so we can give you a total that includes state taxes (if applicable).

If you have any questions about doing business with National Band & Tag, please contact us at 859-261-2035 or [email protected].

 

Out with 2020, In with 2021!

2020 has been a strange year with COVID-19, but National Band & Tag was able to stay open as an essential business. NB&T was able to provide our customers with their identification products, while also keeping our employees as safe as possible. We appreciate your patience this year with longer lead times during peak seasons due to scheduling challenges with COVID. Our team looks forward to continuing to serve our customers in 2021.

 

New Products That Launched In 2020:

  • Style #691IL – Our new, bigger, better, sea turtle tags! The new 691IL is made of Incoloy, while the #681IC is made of Inconel. The #691IL will fit better on larger species of sea turtles.
  • Style #890ESS – The newest upgrade for Zip 890 wing bands, Stainless Steel Eyelets!  These new eyelets are more durable than the old aluminum eyelets because this material cannot be easily manipulated.
  • Style #14PLANT – 1.5″ x 4.5″ UV Stable Black Aluminum plant tags. Custom laser-etched. 4 different layout options are available, or create your own layout.
  • Style #1531 – Small plant stake for style #14PLANT. 12″ tall with tape to adhere the tag to the stake.

collage of tags

New Shopping Cart System:

We have been working on getting our most popular products switched over to an easy-to-use shopping cart system. This makes shopping online with NB&T quick and simple. Look for more products to be added to this list in 2021.

COVID-19 Update:

  • Please be aware that due to COVID, shipments may be late. We are operating as efficiently and safely as possible, and strive to serve our customers as best we can. Thank you for your understanding and patience.

Coming Up In 2021:

  • There will be a price increase effective January 1, 2021. We hope that you will find that the new pricing structure for some products will make shopping with us easier.
  • A new 2021 printed catalog. Stay tuned for more info.
  • Jan-June: Veterinary Meeting & Expo (VMX) Virtual
  • February – National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) Virtual
  • February – North American Gamebird Association (NAGA) – February 1-3, Las Vegas, NV.

National Poultry Day

March 19th is National Poultry Day! It’s a day when we recognize domesticated birds that are raised for meat or eggs. “Poultry” includes chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, quail, pheasants, guineafowl, squab, and other domesticated birds.

National Band & Tag manufactures a variety of products for poultry identification such as wing bands, leg bands, and clip-on blinders. We started out selling wing bands and leg bands for chickens back in 1902. To celebrate National Poultry Day, we are recognizing chickens by creating a side by side history timeline of chickens, NB&T, and how the industry grew in the 1900s.

History of Chickens, the Broiler Industry, and National Band & Tag in the 1900s

(Click the pictures below to make them larger.)

National Poultry Day - Chicken Timeline from 1900s

National Poultry Day - History of Chickens

 

 

Chickens & The Broiler Industry History:

1800s – 1900s:  Chickens are mostly owned by backyard farmers who use them for eggs. They are considered a delicacy, usually only eaten for holidays, special occasions, or when they are no longer producing eggs. By the beginning of the 1900s, a few entrepreneurs start selling young chickens in the summers for meat as a side business for their family farms.

1916: Pedigree chicken breeding starts. Founded when Robert C. Cobb Senior purchased a farm in Littleton, MA, forming Cobb’s Pedigreed Chicks.

1920s: Vitamin D was discovered in the early 1920s, which led to a revolution in poultry keeping. Hens could now survive through the winter months with Vitamin D supplements and go on to produce healthier chicks in the spring. Now that they can be raised indoors, people start building designated chicken coops. This all helped reduce the high mortality rate of chickens.

1923: Cecile Steele is the pioneer of the commercial broiler industry. Steele ordered 50 chicks for egg production; by mistake, she received 500 chicks. Instead of returning them, she saw an opportunity. She waited until the chickens reached 2 pounds live weight and sold them for a profit at 62 cents a pound. She increased her numbers in 1924 to 1,000 chicks, 10,000 in 1926, and 26,000 in 1928.

1939-1945: WW2 creates a ration on beef, pork, and lamb. People are encouraged to raise and eat more chicken. By the end of the war, Americans are eating 3 times more chicken than they were before the war.

1942: The government approves a new form of cleaning and packing ready-to-cook whole chickens in ice in wooden crates.

1948: Post war, “Chicken of Tomorrow” contest encourages breeders to create bigger, better broilers. Arbor Acres White Rocks’ white-feathered birds beat out the higher-performing Red Cornish crosses from the Vantress Hatchery. These two breeds would eventually be crossed and become the Arbor Acre breed whose genetics now dominate poultry farms worldwide today.

1950: Broilers are now the #1 source of poultry meat. Almost all Americans now have a modern, bottom cooling refrigerator, which has set a new standard of food storage and food safety

1952: The commercial broiler industry begins its economic boom. Specially bred meat chickens (“broilers”) surpass farm chickens as the number one source of chicken meat in the United States.

1970s: The broiler industry focuses on nutritional discoveries, disease eradication programs, and genetic improvements.

1980s: Consumers are starting to prefer cut-up and further-processed chickens to the traditional whole bird. Chicken surpasses pork consumption in 1985.

1990s: Chicken becomes the top-selling meat, surpassing beef. The movement towards natural, organic birds and eggs begins with more attention towards animal welfare.

 

National Band & Tag History:

1902: Joseph Haas starts to manufacture poultry leg and wing bands. He had been informed that breeders were improving their flocks, and it was necessary to distinguish one fowl from another. Visualizing the possibilities of a new industry, Haas went to work designing a few patterns of bands. Crude at first, they improved with recommendations from customers and experimental projects. He continued to make improvements until he came up with bands that worked. Ads were placed in poultry magazines, and although he had no competition, orders were slow.

1914: National Band & Tag makes its first move from a small barn to a garage, still in Newport, KY. NB&T now employs 3 people, one being Haas’s youngest son who was 11 years old.

1926: Business takes off for National Band & Tag! With the start of the broiler industry, more and more people are now raising chickens. The business moves from the garage to a building on Orchard St. in Newport, KY. Haas’s eldest son joins the business, and NB&T now employs 10 people.

1939: National Band & Tag invents Anti-Pix Chicken Glasses to help stop cannibalism in flocks. A year later in 1940, the “Jiffy” wing band is invented as an alternative to the “Zip” wing band.

1952: Now shipping worldwide, and profiting from the broiler industries’ economic boom, NB&T relocates from Orchard St. to a larger building on York St., Newport KY, which is where it still is today.

1957: C-LESS peepers are invented using aluminum to replace the chicken glasses

1968: The new “Tab End” wing band is invented. NB&T now employs 50 people.

1980s: National Band & Tag now has 3rd and 4th generation family members working together. NB&T continues to purchase surrounding land to expand the building.

1990s: NB&T celebrates 90 years of business in 1992.

 

2020 Trade Shows – See where NB&T is exhibiting

National Band & Tag will be exhibiting at multiple trade shows in 2020. We have the opportunity to attend all kinds of shows since we manufacturer so many different types of product lines! We are starting 2020 off strong with 5 Trade Shows in January and February.

January Trade Shows:

Veterinary Meeting & Expo (VMX) – NB&T will be exhibiting as our newest brand, Paw Finders, in Orlando, FL. January 19-22, 2020, Booth #S6
VMX is a veterinary conference where veterinary professionals from all over the world come together to learn from the best in their field, network, explore new products and services in the exhibit hall. Paw Finders will be exhibiting our new Rabies Tag that has a QR Code on the back of the tag to help get lost pets home.

DistribuTech – Utility industry’s leading annual transmission and distribution event, in San Antonio, TX. January 28 – 30, 2020
DistribuTech International is the leading annual transmission and distribution event for the utility industry. The conference and exhibition offer information, products and services related to electricity delivery automation and control systems, energy efficiency, demand response, renewable energy integration, advanced metering, T&D system operation, and reliability, communications technologies, cybersecurity, water utility technology and more. National Band & Tag will be exhibiting our Power Pole Tags, Inspection Tags, Security Seals, Wire Markers, Asset Tags, Valve Tags and more.

February Trade Shows:

North American Game Bird Association (NAGA) – Annual conference in Memphis, TN. February 3 – 5, 2020
the NAGA conference and convention provide informative sessions, panel discussions, and networking opportunities specifically targeted to game bird producers, hunting preserve operators and outdoor industry members. National Band & Tag will be exhibiting our Pinless Peepers/Clip-On Blinders, leg bands, promotional bands, wing bands, and other gamebird products.

National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) – Annual Convention & Sport Show in Nashville, TN. February 12-16, 2020, Booth #1428
NWTF’s show is one of the biggest consumer shows in the country; where conservation and hunting’s most devoted supporters come together for a weekend of networking, learning and a lot of fun. National Band & Tag will be exhibiting our Butt-End Bands, Rivet Bands, Banquet Bands, Asset Tags, Promotional Products and more.

Western Veterinary Conference (WVC) – NB&T will be exhibiting as our newest brand, Paw Finders, Las Vegas, NV. February 16 – 19, Booth #2236
WVC is the largest, most influential veterinary continuing education conference. WVC offers network opportunities, learning sessions, and over 500 exhibitors that will be showing off cutting-edge products. Paw Finders will be exhibiting our new Rabies Tag that has a QR Code on the back of the tag to help get lost pets home.

 

What Trade Show will we see you at?

Excellence in International Trade

NB&T Wins the 2019 Martha Layne Collins Award for Excellence in International Trade

This prestigious award is presented by The World Trade Center Kentucky. WTC-KY is the leading provider of trade education, trade advisory, and trade missions across Kentucky. They assist small, medium, and large Kentucky businesses in growing their international trade and business.

The Martha Layne Collins Award for Excellence in International Trade is an annual award is given to companies who were chosen for their accomplishments in international business and the ability to successfully navigate global trade markets in order to positively benefit the state. The award commemorates the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s 56th Governor Martha Layne Collins. She was instrumental in attracting numerous Japanese automotive makers and parts suppliers to Kentucky in the mid-1980s. National Band & Tag was the Medium Enterprise (500 employees or fewer) award recipient. The Micro Enterprise (0-10 employees) recipient was New Frontier Inc, Small Enterprise (50 employees or less) recipient was Hallway Feeds, and the Large Enterprise (greater than 500 employees) recipient was Champion Petfoods. 2019 Martha Layne Collins Governor’s Award winner for Excellence in International Trade

Currently, NB&T ships all over the world to 100+ countries. We have the flag of every country we ship to hanging in our office, which you can see in our international shipping blog. This reminds us every day of how many countries our products are in. NB&T ships through UPS, USPS, FedEx, DHL, private carriers, and more, to get your package to you. We pride ourselves on providing multiple shipping options for our local and international customers. It is our goal that we can securely, and quicky, ship customers their orders for the best price. Our office, factory, and shipping departments all work closely together to produce and ship orders by the anticipated ship date. Keeping our 99% on-time-delivery rate up is important to us because we always strive to provide the highest quality of service for our customers.

To receive a shipping quote to your country, email us at [email protected].

Goodbye 2019, Hello 2020!

A look back at 2019

National Band & Tag has been busy busy busy in 2019! Check out our new products and company updates from the past year, just in case you missed something.

  • Paw Finders – These new, modern, rabies tags have a QR Code on the back of the tag. When a pet is lost, a smartphone can scan the QR code on the tag to bring up the owner’s contact information.
  • Hand Engraver – (Style R1580) – This machine allows you to engrave blank tags, or tags with pre-laser etched boxes, for on-site identification.
  • SUNDOG RFID Staples – These staples can be used for inventory of wood surfaces such as Timber, Lumber, Pallet, and Utility Poles. This durable staple will stay in the wood surface to allow for real-time inventory management, faster multi-tag readings, high read range capability and the elimination of labor for individual barcode reading.
  • Keysies – (Style 1510S) – Keysie slides in and locks open your keyring, leaving you with both hands free, making it easier to attach tags. It also attaches to your keyring, so it’s always there when you need it.
  • Frosted Backgrounds – Looking for higher readability in your barcoded tags? Our new laser machine allows us to create a “frosted” background around the barcode that removes the shine from stainless steel and brass, allowing for higher contrast.
  • Valve Tag Quick Ship – Sold exclusively through Amazon on select styles. Stamped tags ship in 2-3 business days and custom laser etched tags ship in 7-10 business days.

Company Updates

  • Our family management team elected a new President, Kevin Haas, and a new Treasurer, Alex Wendel. Sean Haas continues to be our Secretary.
  • Starting on July 1st our company launched a new ERP software called M1. As with any new system transition, it has been challenging. We apologize for any negative impact you have felt these past few months. We are working overtime and weekends to continue to improve the system and our internal processes. The future in this system is exciting because it will allow us to serve our customers in ways we simply could not before.

Coming up in 2020

 

National Band & Tag will be closed for the Holidays on
December 24th and 25th, and January 1st.

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!
national band & tag family manager team

 

MFG DAY 2019

This Friday, October 4th is MFG Day (Manufacturing Day)! This day helps show the reality of modern manufacturing careers and connect the future workforce with manufacturing jobs.

National Band & Tag supports MFG Day as a manufacturer and family-owned business. One of our values is planning success for generations to come. This means encouraging future generations to want to work in manufacturing so that NB&T can continue forever. Some people may not fully understand the benefits of manufacturing companies, or still, consider them to be boring assembly lines, but that isn’t necessarily true anymore. In Thomas Net’s blog, “7 Reasons It’s Great to Work in Manufacturing“, they list the top 3 reasons as contributing to the economy, being on the cutting edge of technology, and exciting sectors of work.

mfg day manufacturing day

Manufacturing stats in Kentucky

Did you know, there are 2,400+ manufacturing facilities in Kentucky? Kentucky, where National Band & Tag is located, has 4,500+ manufacturing-related facilities, over 250,000 Kentuckians work in a manufacturing facility, and $29.2 billion of Kentucky made products were exported last year (Think Kentucky Cabinet for Economic development June 2019 Report). NB&T is proud to be a Kentucky manufacturer for over 117 years. NB&T is currently hiring for positions in the factory, stop by our location to apply.

Join the MFG Day conversation on social media with #MFGDay19

117th Anniversary

August 15, 2019, is National Band & Tag’s 117th anniversary!

117 years ago in 1902, Joseph Haas, opened a small shop in an abandoned barn in Newport, KY. Haas intended to manufacture poultry leg and wing bands. Local poultry breeders were looking to improve their flocks and needed a marker to distinguish one fowl from another. By 1914, the business began to grow and Haas moved to a larger location in Newport, KY. Over the decades, his product line grew with the addition of different animal identification such as livestock and dog tags. National Band & Tag is currently in our 5th generation and has 11 family members working together in our facility.

This year to celebrate our anniversary, we would like to thank all our customers and employees for their patience since we started our new internal software system on July 1st. It has been a learning curve, and there were many kinks to be worked out over the first few weeks. As a company who has been around for 117 years, certain changes need to happen so that we can continue to grow and improve. This new system will allow us to better serve our customers faster and more efficiently.

We have proudly been around 117 years and look forward to the next 117 years as we continue to grow and live out our Vision, Mission, and Values.117th anniversary tags

 

A Look Back at 2018

2018 has been a busy year here at National Band & Tag! We’ve been working hard all year on growing our business, creating new products, R&D, and most importantly, providing our customers with identification solutions.

Check out some of our new products, services, and company updates from 2018 that you may have missed.

New Products & Services:

  • Laser etched HIN Tags are now available for a quicker turn-around time compared to stamped HIN tags. Both are on stainless steel and are guaranteed for life.
  • New Colors – Yellow, Purple, and Teal. Limited sizes only. Old material is still available until we run out.
  • New Aluminum Cable Tie – Style 1636. Dimensions are 1″ Body Width, 2″ Body Length, 3 5/8″ Tongue Length, 5 5/8″ Over-All Length, 3/4″ – 1 1/2″ Diameter Adjustment.
  • New laser etching abilities – we purchased a new laser this year which allows us to do so much more design work and shading on tags. If you have a complicated design you want on a tag, contact us for a quote.
  • New Springs, Nails, and Stakes for arboretum tags are available now to fasten your tag onto a tree, or on a stake in front of the tree.
  • New Barcoded Strip-Pak for dog and cat tags. One option is for barcode and number, and the other option is for barcode, number, text and logo. Strip-Pak is a plastic bag with 1 attachment and 1 tag.

 

Company Updates:

  • National Band & Tag Celebrated our 116th Anniversary on August 15, 2018.
  • We had our 2-year Anniversary acquiring Hasco Tag Company. Some customers who only bought from Hasco every few years are still finding out that we acquired them in 2016. If you are a previous Hasco customer with any questions, please contact us.

 

See what’s coming up in 2019:

  • NAGA – North American Gamebird Association Annual Educational Conference and Convention. January 14-16 at The DeSoto Hotel in Savannah, Georgia.
  • DistribuTECH Conference & Exhibition– Booth # 12532, February 5-7 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.
  • NWTF – National Wild Turkey Federation Convention and Sport Show, Booth #1428, February 13-17 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

 

Happy Holidays from National Band & Tag!
We look forward to serving your identification needs in 2019.

National Band & Tag will be closed December 24th & 25th for Christmas, and December 31st and January 1st for New Year’s.

Why We MFG Day

Friday, October 5th is Manufacturing Day®, a day used to celebrate modern manufacturing and to inspire the next generation of manufacturers. As a family-owned manufacturing company, this statement hits home with us. One of our core values is “Planning success for generations to come”, which means inspiring and educating the next generation. At National Band & Tag, we are currently in our 4th and 5th generations of family members. As MFG Day’s infographic below states, “Manufacturers need the next generation” and we are proud to continue planning success for the next generation.

MFG Day

You can support MFG Day by following the 4 steps above to encourage the next generation to become a part of the manufacturing industry.

To learn more about MFG, and find events in your area, visit: https://www.mfgday.com

National Band & Tag’s 116th Anniversary

Today, August 15, 2018, marks National Band & Tag’s 116th Anniversary!

anniversary plaque

National Band & Tag Company was founded in 1902. On August 15, Joseph Haas opened a small shop in an abandoned barn in Newport, KY. Haas intended to manufacture poultry leg and wing bands. He knew little about poultry farming but had been informed that breeders were improving their flocks and it was necessary to use some sort of marker to distinguish one fowl from another. Visualizing the possibilities of a new industry, Haas went to work designing a few patterns of bands, crude at first, but with recommendations from customers and experimental projects, he was able to come up with bands that worked. By 1914 the business had grown so much that Haas moved to a larger location and started adding more animal identification product lines.

In 1939 Haas invented perhaps the most unusual NB&T product, Chicken Sunglasses. These small glasses with red lenses were designed to be held on the chicken’s beak with a cotter pin through the nostrils of the bird. As a cannibalistic animal, chickens are provoked by the sight of blood and will peck at each other, eventually killing off much of the flock. These red lenses prevented chickens from seeing the red blood and calmed their behavior. These have not been manufactured for many years and are now considered a collector’s item.

chicken glasses

Now in our 4th and 5th generation of family members, we manufacturer hundreds of styles of tags for multiple identification purposes such as: poultry, cattle, lab animal research, dog and cat rabies vaccinations, wildlife conservation, and industrial applications. We sell our products worldwide to 100 different countries and are excited to continue growing our business for another 116 years.

According to a Harvard Business School study, “70% of family-owned businesses fail or are sold before the second generation gets a chance to take over. Just 10% remain active, privately held companies for the third generation to lead”. How has National Band & Tag lasted all these years? We stand behind our company values:

VALUES

We are a responsive and resourceful family manufacturer, earning trust as we faithfully continue our legacy of:
• Planning success for generations to come
• Delivering accuracy with every order
• Operating with honesty and integrity
• Adapting our products across multiple categories to provide the best solution

Flag of Tags

While tags are meant for identification, they can also be used for art! We decorated our office with an American Flag made entirely out of tags with adhesive backing. Some of our customers use our tags as keychains, or for crafts with kids, and more.

Made in America

Our flag of tags is made of red, white and blue aluminum material. The rectangles are our style 14 tags are 1-1/4” x 4-7/8”. The stars are our style 363.

To help get you ready for 4th of July, here are some fun facts about the American flag.

  • Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the American flag on June 14, 1777.
  • For a while, the U.S. added stripes and stars to the flag when welcoming new states. At one point, the flag has 15 stripes and 15 stars. As the country continued to add new states, they decided to go back to the 13 stripes for the original 13 colonies.
  • The colors of the flag have important meanings. Red symbolizes hardiness and valor, white symbolizes purity and innocence and blue represents vigilance, perseverance, and justice.
  • When the flag can no longer be repaired or used, it must be destroyed in a dignified matter, such as burning.

NB&T Featured in NAGA News

National Band has been longtime supporters of the North American Gamebird Association where we advertise and regularly attend conferences. We are very thankful for this business relationship and are honored that they featured our company in a recent publication of NAGA News. 

View the full article here.

National Band & Tag Company: A Family Story of Loyalty and Longevity

NAGA Partner Spotlight  by Rob Sexton

Beginning at the 2017 convention in Gulfport, Mississippi, the North American Gamebird Association began to do a spotlight on longtime corporate partners of the organization.

NAGA has been blessed with several relationships with companies that service the gamebird business, and have supported the organization for decades. One of those companies is about two hours from where I live, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, Ohio, in Newport, Kentucky.

National Band & Tag is located in the heart of Newport, a town of a bit more than 15,000 people that was settled in 1791. The company was founded 115 years ago in 1902!

The Beginning

The company has been located on Orchard Street since founder Joseph Haas moved his growing operation there in 1930. The company occupies most of an entire block now between Orchard and York Street, and has expanded several times over the years into a 90,000-square foot facility.

National Band & Tag makes identification bands and tags for all manner of animals including dogs, cattle, sea turtles and even shrimp! But the whole thing started with chickens. Today, it has become a popular trend in America to own chickens as people concentrate more on healthy living. At the beginning of the 20th century, however, owning chickens was a necessity for many people, and Joseph Haas was one of them.

SUNGLASSES to prevent poultry from pecking one another may no longer be in vogue, but National Band & Tag’s plastic pinless peepers are an extremely popular alternative.

Because so many people in the area owned chickens, flocks became co-mingled, many times resulting in confusion and sometimes tension with neighbors about who owned which chickens. Haas worked at a nearby screen door manufacturer, and asked if he could take home some scrap aluminum. He had an idea to make leg bands that would identify which chickens were the property of his family. And once he saw that they worked well, he had an idea that ID bands could be a profitable business.

In 1902, Joseph Haas purchased one press to give his idea a go. At the urging of his wife, Clara, he had an agreement with the manufacturer that he could return the press if the business did not take off. It nearly didn’t. One full year later, just after he had returned the machine, he received his first major order. He quickly reclaimed the press, and National Band & Tag, originally known as National Poultry Company, began to grow.

Sunglasses for Chickens

In 1939, second generation Haas, Fred Sr., along with his father, Joseph, crafted one of the most noteworthy products in the company’s history. While blinders to prevent chickens from pecking each other were already common, they invented red-lensed glasses for birds that filtered out the color red, which would normally result in chicken losses from pecking each other at the sight of blood.

The lenses pivoted to allow the birds to see their feed and water when they bent over, but fell back into place once a chicken stood up straight. While sunglasses for chickens are no longer in service, National Band & Tag continues to sell its plastic pinless peepers.

Loyalty and Longevity

ELEVEN HAAS family members currently
work at the family owned corporation.

Fast-forward to 2017 and the Haas family is still running National Band & Tag. However, it’s now the 4th and 5th generation of family members who work at the family owned corporation.

NAGA members have grown used to seeing Lan Haas, who serves as Vice President of Safety and Quality Assurance, at the annual convention. National Band & Tag has been supporting NAGA since 1995 when Eric Haas, (Lan’s father) started attending the annual conventions, and the relationship, now in its third decade, continues as the company purchased advertising in NAGA News in 2017, and will once again be exhibiting at the convention in Seattle in January of 2018.

The company operates more than 100 punch presses and employs 80 people, eleven of whom are Haas family members. Blood relation alone, however, will not get you a job at National Band & Tag. Family members are not sitting in offices overseeing the labor force. Each one plays a key role in the operation. Lan himself operated a press for six months so he could understand what employees were experiencing. Watching 100 punch presses running at once gave me an appreciation for Lan’s role as the head of safety.

I found a lot of shared values and work ethic between the Haas family business and the many family gamebird businesses that belong to NAGA. Much like the family farm, it’s family members who repair machinery when things break down. There are presses in operation today dating back to 1912. Family members work alongside factory supervisors to set up presses for different orders. Throughout our visit, we saw Haas family members on the factory floor, hands dirty, directly involved in the action.

The business is part of the fabric of Newport, and the employees themselves are like family as well. There are many employees who have been there for over 20 years and at one point three generations of the same family as well. Part of that company loyalty is a result of the work culture that has been handed down throughout the company history. There may be eleven Haas family members working there, but each one of them must serve an essential task for the company before the family board of directors will hire them.

ID Band and Tags Everywhere

NATIONAL BAND & TAG
manufactures many types of leg
bands, wing bands, dog tags, ear
tags and more.

As Lan conducted a tour for me and Daniel, we saw people producing many types of leg bands, wing bands, dog tags, ear tags and much more. Poultry represents about 25 percent of National Band & Tag’s annual sales.

In addition to birds, the company services other livestock including ear tags for cattle and sheep. It makes tags for wild turkeys and elk. And, it makes dog license and rabies tags for communities all over America. Universities use small animal ear tags made by National Band & Tag for lab animals including mice. Aquatically speaking, the company makes flipper tags for sea turtles and, as hard as this is to envision, it makes tiny eye-stalk bands for shrimp!

While the company has purchased manufacturing materials abroad in the past, National Band & Tag, like many other companies, found that American-made materials provide the dependable quality their customers rely upon. The customer is and has always been the key ingredient for the Haas family from the beginning. Customer feedback has literally driven changes in the product line over the years, and it continues to today, such as changes in the Pinless Peeper design made from feedback from NAGA members.

NAGA is grateful for the support it receives from corporate partners. Like National Band & Tag, the NAGA Board wants to hear from the members, and the staff wants to make changes to meet the needs of gamebird businesses as the years go by. Our trip to the little town that is literally in the shadow of the Cincinnati skyline showed me just one more reason why the gamebird industry thrives yet today.

View the full article here.

Become a Reseller/Distributor

Are you looking to carry more items in your label, tag, or commercial printing shop? Become a National Band & Tag reseller and offer any of our products that fit with your target market. We have over 160+ shapes of tags and bands to choose from, most styles can be customized to meet your needs.

How it works:

  • Choose what bands or tags you would like to sell and list them on your website. We can assist you in getting pictures.
  • Once your customer orders, send us the order. We can process the orders one by one, in batches, or weekly. We are happy to work with you to set something up that works for everyone.
  • NB&T can ship to you or directly to your customer in a plain box without our name or logo on it. We are also able to ship worldwide.
  • Open Accounts are available and may be applied for by filling out the credit application form.
  • After you have reached the threshold to qualify for Wholesale Pricing, that will be offered to you.

Why become a NB&T Reseller?

  • We have a wide range of products and are proficient in providing custom made identification solutions.
  • We will take care of manufacturing and shipping your tags, all you have to do is order.
  • You can choose which of our products you want to sell and what limitations you want to offer.
  • Our sales reps will work with you on support.

National Band & Tag is always looking for resellers, especially ones outside of the United States! For more information on becoming a reseller of NB&T products, contact us at 859-261-2035.