A lifetime of building. A new chapter of giving.
He bought a six-person label shop in 1984 and spent four decades building it, and the people in it. Now he passes on what he learned.
Invite him for a
Sanford, Fla.In the label business since 1984Source: packagePRINTING (opens in a new tab)
Each milestone links to the article or announcement that reported it.
Buys Consolidated Label, a six-person hot-stamp label shop in Longwood, Florida.
His son Dave’s OnlineLabels.com takes its first order on January 16.
The company moves into a 170,000-square-foot headquarters in Sanford.
Named TLMI Converter of the Year. Combined sales projected at about $95 million.
The two companies merge as Online Labels Group, with Dave as CEO and Joel as president.
Joel accepts the group’s 19th Eugene Singer Award for management excellence.
1984 to 2026Longwood and Sanford, Fla.Sources linked on every date
The October 2018 packagePRINTING profile reported about $95 million in projected combined annual sales for Consolidated Label and Online Labels. It put sales at about $225,000 a year when Joel bought Consolidated Label in 1984.
That is revenue, not profit, valuation, or personal wealth, and it was a projection at the time rather than an audited figure.
Read the original reporting (opens in a new tab)
An engineer by training. A builder by experience. A mentor by choice.
Joel spent 15 years at General Electric in engineering and sales. In 1983 GE sent him to Orlando to run sales for a robotics startup. When it didn’t work out, he stayed in Florida and went looking for a business to buy.
An old Yellow Pages listing led him to Consolidated Label: six employees, two hot-stamp presses, and a 1,200-square-foot building. He bought it in October 1984 and grew it one customer, one press, and one hire at a time.
His son Dave built OnlineLabels.com around a new way to buy labels online. Together the two businesses joined manufacturing know-how with the reach of e-commerce, and in 2020 they merged as Online Labels Group.
Now his attention is on passing that thinking along to people who are finding their own way.
Read his 2018 profile, A Builder of Success (opens in a new tab)Industrial engineering, class of 1969. Today he and his wife, Annette, fund the university’s Summer Engineering Innovation Program for sophomore engineers.
University of Dayton, 2022 (opens in a new tab)Fifteen years in engineering, sales, and management before he bought Consolidated Label.
His early career (opens in a new tab)Longwood, Fla.October 1984Source: packagePRINTING, 2018 (opens in a new tab)
Two businesses, built by one family and the teams around them.
ConsolidatedLabel Co.
Custom labels, shrink sleeves, and flexible packaging, grown through steady investment in presses, people, and plant. By 2019 it ran 18 presses with 320 employees.
Consolidated Label’s history (opens in a new tab)Built by Joel from 1984Sanford, Fla.
OnlineLabels.com
Labels made easy to buy online, backed by design tools and real customer service. Its first recorded order came on January 16, 1998.
The OnlineLabels story (opens in a new tab)Founded by Dave Carmany1998
In 2014 the company moved into a 170,000-square-foot headquarters on 24 acres in Sanford, a facility investment a 2018 profile put at $13 million. It made room for new presses, around-the-clock shifts, and a growing team.
Read the expansion announcement (opens in a new tab)Sanford, Fla.2014170,000 sq ft
Candid conversations about building a business and understanding the people who make it work. For students, founders, business owners, and industry groups.
“A gifted mentor and friend to any converter in need.”
Finding repeat demand, keeping promises, and making disciplined decisions about where to invest. Practical lessons for students, founders, and business owners.
“Success of any business is based upon the predictability of the business model.”
What customers really need. Why employees stay. How trust gets built through everyday decisions. The human side of running a company.
“Our whole strategy was then and is today, customer driven.”
Making room for change while staying grounded in what works. Lessons on technology, family business, responsibility, and giving back.
“We buy the next big press before we need it.”
KeynotesFireside chatsStudent Q&AMentorship
Hear how Joel sees business, customers, and opportunity, in his own words.
Customer needs, recurring business, curiosity, and the value of asking better questions.
A walk through the Sanford plant and the people who run it.
University of Dayton, 2020Consolidated Label Co., 2014On YouTube (opens in a new tab)
Industry honors and the reporting behind them. His personal honor is listed apart from company awards.
A personal honor from the Tag & Label Manufacturers Institute, presented with packagePRINTING.
Cover story · packagePRINTING, October 2018 (opens in a new tab)
Industry profile · Labels & Labeling, July 2019 (opens in a new tab)
Cover story · packagePRINTING, July 2012 (opens in a new tab)
News · University of Dayton, 2022 (opens in a new tab)
TLMI’s award for management excellence, won by his companies 19 times. Joel accepted the 19th in April 2026. Announcement (opens in a new tab)
Robert Parker of Label King, TLMI’s 2023 Converter of the Year, counts Joel as a mentor. packagePRINTING, 2023 (opens in a new tab)
TLMIpackagePRINTINGLabels & LabelingUniversity of Dayton
The people, the places, the work. Select a photograph to see it larger.
Photographs from the family and the trade pressCredited on each image
I think early in life you are a taker and later in life, you should be a giver.
The Carmany Fellowship
A proposed mentorship initiative in Winter Park that would bring emerging business builders together with people who have spent a lifetime learning the work.
The idea is practical: real conversations, real business projects, and relationships that last beyond a single talk.
Talk about a mentorship collaborationWinter Park, Fla.ProposedNo institutional partnership implied
Invite Joel to speak, meet with students, mentor, or sit for an interview. Your note goes straight to his team.
Replies come from Joel’s teamBy email
