75 and Counting —Polischuk
Happy Anniversary, TLMI! The Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute turned 75 last month. The trade association first known as the Tag Manufacturers Institute was born in Cleveland on June 15, 1933 when 18 companies banded together with a primary focus on how to deal with the requirements of the National Recovery Administration.
To get on the path to where it is today, two significant milestones occurred in the 1960s. In 1962, the association expanded to include pressure-sensitive label manufacturers and had its first meeting as the newly formed Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute. In 1966, it added supplier companies as associate members, with 15 companies in the inaugural group.
This issue of packagePRINTING includes the annual TLMI Products & Services Guide, which provides a comprehensive listing of capabilities and contact information for converter and supplier members. This year’s edition includes information for more than 130 converter members and more than 130 supplier members—quite an impressive growth from its humble roots.
What makes TLMI more impressive is the array of services it provides for its members. At the top of the list for many of the converter members is the Financial Benchmarking/Ratio Analysis. This annual study provides financial trends and insights into converters’ competitiveness and productivity, performed in a confidential manner. Data and performance rankings from this program are used to select companies in four size categories for TLMI’s prestigious Eugene Singer Awards for Management Excellence.
The benchmarking program is just one example of an array of benefits that includes annual meetings, bi-annual TLMI Technical Conference, conferences at Labelexpo Americas, Quarterly Trends Report, bi-annual North American Label Study, and the TLMI Label Awards Competition.
As an example of TLMI’s vitality, it just published the first issue of the “TLMI Quarterly Index & Trend Report.” This new report, available to members only, is designed to relate independent, broad-based economic and industry information to quantitative data the association collects from its members on a quarterly basis. The report includes sections on Economic Indicators, Key Customer Markets, Stock Ticker, Mergers and Acquisitions, Converter and Customer Confidence Levels, and Roll Stock Index.
So, “hats off” to Frank Sablone, president of TLMI, and current chairman, John Hickey, on the continued success of TLMI and its member companies.
We welcome your comments regarding any part of packagePRINTING. They can be addressed to Editor, packagePRINTING, 1500 Spring Garden St., 12th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19130, or to tpolischuk@napco.com.
Tom Polischuk, Editor-in-Chief
