The Label Printers presenter at DecTec conference
Aurora, IL, November 11, 2011 – The Label Printers, a L.I.F.E. (Label Initiative for the Environment) certified label and packaging manufacturer will make a presentation on “Sustainability and Environmental Certification” at the upcoming DecTec Narrow Web Label & Product Decoration Printing and Imaging Conference, Nov. 14 and 15 at the Hyatt Rosemont in Rosemont.
More information about the event can be found at: http://awa-bv.com/?c=event. Making the presentation for the The Label Printers will be George Tommasi, director of human resources, the company's Illinois EPA Compliance Representative, and the company's L.I.F.E. team leader, and Gina Ries, quality assurance supervisor and L.I.F.E. team member. The duo will speak about the company's certification “journey”.
Their presentation will include why the company embarked on the sustainability initiative, why they selected the L.I.F.E. program, how they went about becoming certified, and some of the lessons that they learned along the way.
The Label Printers was pleased to accept the invitation to speak because, says Ries, “It was so helpful for us when we were starting our journey to sustainability to be able to visit other people in our industry that had been certified and [had gone] through the process – so it's nice to be able to share what we've learned with other people.”
Tommasi explained that The Label Printers chose the L.I.F.E. program (developed by the Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute) because it was designed specifically for label converters and gave the program the same kind of credibility that ISO does in the quality arena.
“We've learned a lot about sustainability in the process of achieving the L.I.F.E. certification,” he said, “chief among them are that it's not necessary to reinvent the wheel, contingency plans are critical, and change is a big part [of certification] – it can be hard, but you need to plan for it.”
The Label Printers Sustainability Policy and current Dashboard may be found on the company's web site at: http://thelabelprinters.com/Sustainability/policy.php.
“We're very proud of the L.I.F.E. team and all of our employees for the work they have done to achieve this certification,” says Lori Campbell, The Label Printers' Chief of Operations. “There is a progressively greater benefit to our company to submit to the rigors of a program like L.I.F.E. – both in terms of reducing our environmental impact, and in terms of the increasing prevalence of customer requirements for doing business with companies whose manufacturing and business practices are certified as sustainable.”
About THE LABEL PRINTERS:
The Label Printers, Aurora, started in business in 1967, manufacturing simple label constructions in a 1,000-square-foot space, with 1 employee, serving the local Chicago market.
Today, the company has evolved into one of the 100 largest converters in the United States. The Label Printers owns and operates two facilities in Aurora, Illinois, manufacturing and distributing labels and packaging products to thousands of customers in 25 countries around the world. The company's packaging products are certified to ISO 9001 standards, and their quality is backed up by their 99.6% Quality Acceptance Rating.
The Label Printers is a member of NASPO (North American Security Products Organization), CACP (Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy), TLMI (Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute) and the FTA (Flexographic Technical Association).
About the Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute, Inc.:
TLMI, located in Gloucester, Massachusetts, is a member-driven association strongly committed to providing business solutions that enhance the prosperity of its members and the narrow web tag, label, and packaging industries. The organization's vision is to be the premier member-driven association for the label and packaging industry.
TLMI's goal in creating the L.I.F.E. Program was to offer an audited certification process tailored specifically to the narrow web printing and converting industry. Examples of elements that companies address in undergoing the L.I.F.E. certification process include the recycle-compatibility of adhesives; the source and destination of liner materials and how narrow web companies are driving recycling programs for these materials; and material construction light-weighting (adopting thinner constructions that generate less waste). Front office issues are also addressed such as total energy utilization, where that energy is coming from and what a business is doing to actively reduce its overall carbon footprint.
In addition to the L.I.F.E. program, TLMI offers their members a wide range of reports that focus on key industry indices, real-time economic analysis, and benchmarking metrics – these include a Financial Benchmarking/Ratio Analysis, Compensation Analysis, and Quarterly Trends.
TLMI has grown from an original group of 19 founding members to hundreds of supplier and converter members. The organization celebrated their Diamond Anniversary in 2008.
About AWA (Alexander Watson Associates):
AWA Alexander Watson Associates is a global business-to-business market research, publishing, and advisory services company with a unique focus on the specialty packaging, coating, and converting industries. Established in 1971 by Alexander Watson, the company has a reputation for providing focused, practical, reliable, and cost-effective information, and for a high degree of integrity in maintaining the confidentiality and trust of its industry information sources. As an added guarantee of consistency and quality assurance, AWA's Principals are personally involved at every stage of a project.