TLMI Converters in Cabo: best managed companies take the stage.

The Eugene M. Singer Awards for Best Managed Company were unveiled in March as members of the Tag & Label Manufacturers Institute gathered in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, for their yearly Converter Meeting. The awards were presented at a banquet on the final evening of the four-day event.

The Best Managed Company awards, named for Eugene Singer (who created the prize), recognize business management excellence as determined by results of the TLMI Management Ratio Study, an annual study of participating member companies that examines and compares financial and operating data. Awards are given in four size categories, based on annual sales dollars.

The winners for 2007, all US converter companies, are:

* Coast Label, Fountain Valley, CA, in the small company category (under $6 million).

* SpectraGraphics, Lenexa, KS, in the mid-range category ($6-$15 million).

* Consolidated Label, Longwood, FL, in the medium category ($15-$35 million); and

* Belmark, De Pere, WI, in the large company category (above $35 million).

Both Coast Label and SpectraGraphics are first time winners. Consolidated Label has taken home the Singer Award for six consecutive years. Belmark has won the prize for 10 years in a row.

The meeting, organized this year by Craig Moreland of Coast Label, drew more than 100 converters and their spouses and guests to the sunny tip of Baja California. The educational sessions included such topics as 21st Century strategies for building a company, maximizing value with mergers and acquisitions, the converter's dilemma in a changing global marketplace, and the art and science of leadership. The latter presentation was followed by a panel of converters who shared their views about issues of the day: Joel Carmany of Consolidated Label, Frank Gerace of Multi-Color Corporation, Scott Pillsbury of Rose City Label, and Tom Spina of Luminer Converting.

TLMI also announced that 10 of its converter members won first place and/or honorable mention awards in the World Label Association Awards Competition. In its 18th 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, the Japanese Label Foundation, FINAT, and the Australian Label Association. Label samples from companies are judged against each other in a variety of categories to determine the "World's Best Labels."

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Winners and their products are:

* Mid Atlantic Label, Neiman Marcus Butterfly Water Bottle and Snyder's Hoops Frenzy

* Taylor Made Labels, Symbion Wine

* Dow Industries, Arm & Hammer Advance White and Razor Tray Gillette Fusion Power

* WS Packaging Group, Meguiar's Ultimate Detailer

* Copac, Carolina Pomegranate

* McDowell Label & Screen Printing, Back in Blaque

* Collotype Labels, Inglenook Vineyards & Winery

* Labelgraphics (Glasgow), Longmorn 16 Year Old whisky

* TAPP Technologies, Tedeschi Vineyards Maui Blanc

* National Label Company, Pond's Age Miracle Proof Kit and Motrin LB Ibuprofen Tablets

TLMI converter member honorable mention companies and their label product names included:

* Dow Industries, Gillette Clean Gel (HM)

* TAPP Technologies, Rideau Vineyard Jazz 2004 Tempranillo (HM)

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