At the annual awards dinner, TLMI announced that five of the association’s label converter members won first-place honors in the World Label Association Awards Competition.
In its 22nd year, the winners of the World Label Association Awards competition are chosen from a group comprised of first-place winners from association label competitions around the globe including TLMI, FINAT, the Japanese Label Foundation (JFLP), the Label and Tag Manufacturers Association of Australia (LATMA), the Self Adhesive Label Manufacturers Association of New Zealand (SALMA) and the Label Manufacturers Association of India (LMAI). Label samples from companies are judged against each other in a variety of categories to determine and award the world’s highest quality printed labels in the world.

TLMI converter member first place award winners and label product names include: ASL Print FX for the company’s ‘Red Tile Chardonnay’ label; Bonham Label LLC for the company’s PSA/DNA Authenticity label; Collotype-USA for its Wren Hop Pinot Noir & Bailey’s Mudslide’ label; and DRG Technologies for the company’s Hoover Triple Air label.

McDowell Label & Screen Printing won two awards for the company’s Vital C and Hydradermal Anti-Aging labels.

The winners of the prestigious Eugene Singer Award for Management Excellence were also presented at he banquet. One of TLMI’s highest honors, this award recognizes excellence in business management measured and defined by an established set of growth and profitability ratios through the participation in the TLMI Management Ratio Study.

The Singer Award is given annually to four narrow web converting companies; each company within a certain sales range category. The 2011 TLMI Eugene Singer Awards were given to the following companies:

Fountain Valley, CA-based Coast Label Company won in the small company category for the fourth time. The small company category is defined by annual sales of less than $6 million. Company President Craig Moreland commented, “Coast Label Company is very proud to have earned the Eugene Singer Award for 2011. I believe that there is more value in the various TLMI competitions and certifications than we as members sometimes acknowledge. After winning the Singer Award for the third time in 2010, I challenged my team to try to achieve what I dubbed the ‘Triple Crown.’ I wanted Coast Label Company to become ISO 9001:2008 certified, LIFE certified, and win the Eugene Singer Award – all in the same year. It was a really lofty goal and I’m very proud to report that the Coast Label Team achieved our goal of the ‘Triple Crown,’ and I believe that the desire to put in the hard work that created that result can be directly attributed to our being active in TLMI.”

Fairfield, OH-based Kopco Graphics, Inc. won in the mid-range company category, defined by sales of $6 - $14 million. This was also Kopco’s fourth TLMI Eugene Singer Award. Walter Zeek, company president and CEO, stated, “Winning the Eugene Singer award for the 4th time is just as exciting as the first. Although the award is mainly driven by financial performance, the real driver of the results come from the employees and the hundreds of decisions made each business day. Our employees have taken great pride and ownership of their jobs which is the reason the performance over the past four years has continued to exceed the prior year. I am very proud to be associated with such a good group of people at Kopco Graphics.”

Aurora, IL-based The Label Printers won for the medium company category, defined by sales of $15 - $35 million. This is The Label Printer’s third Eugene Singer Award. Chief of Operations Lori Campbell said:  “We are thankful to TLMI for offering the Ratio Study as a member benefit; I view it as the real prize here. It provides us with the roadmap for where to focus our efforts. However, the nature of our continuous improvement culture can sometimes result in a negative feeling, i.e. if we’re always looking to improve, we are never satisfied – it’s never enough. The Eugene Singer Award allows us to jump off that continuous improvement highway even if only for a day and reflect that our efforts do make a difference.”

Longwood, FL-based Consolidated Label won for the large company category defined by sales greater than $35 million. This is Consolidated Label’s tenth Eugene Singer Award. Company President Joel Carmany commented, “We are honored to win the Singer award for the tenth year running. It is truly a culmination of a tremendous team effort over many years. The award represents a constant reminder to keep growing and improving our entire company.”

TLMI President Frank Sablone added: “TLMI would like to congratulate this year’s Eugene Singer Award Winners. The fact that the winning companies have all won the Eugene Singer Award previously only reinforces the true value our converter members get out of participating in the Ratio Study.  The ability to benchmark your company’s performance metrics against other companies in your size range, in addition to the rest of the industry, is something that no other label association offers. We are extremely fortunate to have such a program in place, and one that carries such a long and honored history.”

The TLMI Converter Meeting was not all business. Around the educational sessions and presentations was a host of optional activities, notably a golf outing, a hot air balloon ride and a desert jeep tour.  Of course, lounging poolside was another popular activity. And there were lots of laughs too.  The Award Banquet’s entertainment featured energetic stand-up comic Greg Hahn, who was a big hit. It’s not likely that attendees will forget hearing him shout: “Labels! Converters!”

–Steve Katz