Celebrating 100 Years – The 2010’s -HKM Broadens

HKM continues celebrating 100 years with you our customers, dedicated employees, partners & suppliers. We previously shared our humble beginnings in the 20’s and took you through the 90’s, if you missed them then follow this link.

We are close to the end of our decade-by-decade celebration of 100 years, moving on with the 2010’s – “The Tens.”  HKM continues to diversify and expand services solidifying its position as the #2 printer in Cleveland.  The world changed with Smartphones and the introduction of Instagram, TikTok and memes while “viral likes” become part of our lexicon.

HKM Broadens Capabilities
Through the 2010’s HKM continues to diversify and expand services solidifying its position as the #2 printer in Cleveland. With the acquisitions of 4 local printing companies between 2004-2009 HKM further broadens their capacity and capabilities in “The Tens”. In 2015, HKM expanded into the large format & grand retail visual merchandising business acquiring the assets of Imagine This. In 2015 – 2016 HKM enters the high-speed, 3 & 4-color inkjet technology market with the purchases of Ricoh 9210s and Canon i300. And finally, in 2017 HKM installed a brand new 40” 6-color Komori Press with inline aqueous, UV coatings, reticulation and soft touch.

Cleveland has an Epic Decade in Sports
2016 was an epic year in Cleveland with The Cavaliers winning their first NBA Championship under the leadership of LeBron James, along with The Cleveland Indians winning the AL Pennant and The Cleveland Monsters winning the Calder Cup AHL championship for the first time. Construction begins on the Medical Mart and a new convention center.  In a remarkable comeback, the Cuyahoga River is named the “River of the Year ” by the American River Conservation Association for its cleanup and The Republican National Convention is held in Cleveland.

Happenings in the World
The streaming culture exploded with Netflix introducing original content, and music streaming services Spotify and Apple Music making digital sales #1. Going green, going viral took off. Smartphones exploded with the iPhone surpassing the Blackberry Phone and the iPad was released.  A little photo sharing app called Instagram was launched followed by the birth of “Influencers” and “Followers” and then TikTok was introduced. Hip Hop and R&B music reigns and “viral likes” and “number of views” become a part of our lexicon. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was a huge hit, raising $98.2mm in donations. The term “meme” appears with “Sad Keanu” and” Grumpy Cat” being two of the top memes. Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, Donald Trump winning the Presidency and the “#Me Too Movement” all had a major impact on American society.

Mobile phones became ubiquitous followed by the introduction of smartphones at the end of the decade. Social media explodes onto the scene with Myspace, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter all launching, while “Cost per click” was trademarked. Text messaging explodes and design becomes omni-channel with personalized marketing messages coordinated across multiple channels (i.e., print, mail, TV, digital and mobile).