TLMI Annual Meeting | 49DURSTTLMI unites North American label industry in ColoradoHAWK EYEThe North American trade association hosted its annual event this fall to a record number of attendees. Chelsea McDougall reportsLMI welcomed nearly 500 members at its annual meeting hosted at the idyllic Broadmoor hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado from Oct 15-17.TThe topics of discussion during the three-day event were centered on the economy, mergers and acquisitions, extended producer responsibility, workforce and more.Alan Beaulieu, a favorite of TLMI and principal at ITR economics, predicts a mild recession in 2024 with recovery in 2025, followed by an economic expansion in the later part of the decade. For business owners to manage increased demand, he advised them to The TLMI Annual Meeting was hosted at The Broadmoor start thinking now about solving bottlenecks in their businesses.in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Photo by Robert Pizzuco‘The overarching question is: what are we going to do to handle the demand that’s coming your way? You’re going to be busier “If there’s something you want than ever and challenged at the same time,’ Beaulieu says. ‘That’s not something you want to develop on the fy.’to buy, buy it in 2024. If you ‘This is the perfect time to invest in your business,’ he continues. ‘Spend money on your business wherever you need it. If there’s don’t invest in your business something you want to buy, buy it in 2024. If you don’t invest in your business now, you’ll be playing catch up the rest of now, you’ll be playing catch-up the decade.’Mergers and acquisitions were a common thread throughout the rest of the decade”many of the sessions. Representatives from BMO Capital Markets provided the audience with both a history of the recent private embedded customer relations, a low-cost/high-value product, and equity activity and a glimpse into where the label market is headed. a market with high organic growth, with sustainably high margins. ‘Twenty years ago, there was not a lot of private equity appetite It’s as hot an M&A market that any of us has ever seen.’in labels,’ says BMO managing director Jon Ewing. ‘A lot of that The last two years brought turbulence as consumer prices rose was borne out by the perception that labels were a commodity and historic supply chain volatility disrupted the label industry product, with low growth prospects and unsustainable margins. and resulted in a small decline in M&A activity across all sectors. What investors eventually found was this is an industry with However, with an estimated 1,500 independent label companies across the US, there is no doubt this activity will continue, BMO says.Award WinnersAwardsThe following were announced as best in class winners during Capping the Annual Meeting each night were award ceremonies TLMI’s Print Awards hosted during the Annual Meeting.that recognized the converter, supplier and volunteer of the year, honoring the industry’s environmental leaders and recognizing the McDowell Labelbest in print. Best of show, IsoPept Vanilla Ice CreamConverter of the year was a crown given to the king himself: Winner in: wellness, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical; personal Robert Parker, owner of Label King in San Diego, California. The care and cosmetics; beverages non-alcoholic categoriessupplier of the year award went to Domino and was presented to David Ellen, divisional director at Domino. Tracy Tenpenny Brook + Whittlewas posthumously awarded the volunteer of the year award. Winner: Household UTC categoryTenpenny, of Tailored Label Products, passed away in December 2022, shortly after TLMI’s annual meeting where he spearheaded Inland Packagingthe new pickleball tournament. Tenpenny’s wife, Clare, and Winner: Beverages – alcoholic and food categoriesdaughter, Lorraine, attended the meeting and accepted the award Signifcantly Automated In-line & real timeon his behalf.Hub Labelsless waste quality nozzle compensationMcDowell Label took home the coveted best of show print award Winner in: Promotional and extended content and innovation, as well as a host of others, alongside peers who were awarded the single application, linerless and sustainability categoriescoveted print award prize (see boxout). TLMI revamped its print awards this year to focus more on end-use categories and to fall in AWT Labels & Packaging line with fellow L9 association awards. Winner: Wine & spirits categoryMulti Color AustraliaTo read more about the TLMI session on extended producer Winner: Industrial automotive categoryresponsibility, read Rosalyn Bandy’s column on page 29durst-group.com/labelOct - Dec 2023