Outstanding achievements celebrated at Label Industry Global Awards 2012

The label industry came together on 11 September to celebrate some of the sector’s leading companies and individuals at the Label Industry Global Awards 2012. Held as part of Labelexpo Americas 2012, the ceremony took place before an audience of 500 at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago.

Steve Lee, vice president of technology at RotoMetrics, received a standing ovation as he was announced as the recipient of the R Stanton Avery Lifetime Achievement Award, which is sponsored by Avery Dennison. Lee, over a 35 year career, has been a pioneering force in the design and manufacture of rotary tooling. The judging panel commended Lee for being instrumental in growing RotoMetrics from a small, low-tech die supplier in a fledgling industry into a global, full-service supplier of a broad portfolio of products designed around converter needs.

Lee was also singled out for his passion and dedication in getting the industry to work together to develop and spread the use of pressure sensitive labels worldwide. He has played an active role in industry associations, especially TLMI, where he has served on the board multiple times and acts as chairman of the TLMI Annual Label Awards Competition. The panel also underlined that his guidance in developing new solutions has maximized the ability of converters to produce world-class products for their end users.

The Label Industry Award for Continuous Innovation – sponsored by Labels & Labeling, Label & Narrow Web and NarroWebTech was won by Stork Prints from the Netherlands. With over 25 years’ experience in inkjet printing for the graphics and textile printing industries, its long standing record of innovation and powerful distribution network enables Stork Prints to add significant value to its customers processes and products, according to the judging panel.

The Label Industry Award for New Innovation was presented to Advanced Vision Technology (AVT). AVT took the accolade for its SpectraLab, a new add-on module to the AVT inspection platforms. It features in-line spectral measurements according to international ISO standards and provides converters with improved efficiency in cost and time.

Baumgarten scooped the Converter Award for Sustainability/Environmental Responsibility, sponsored by Flint Group. A major player in the Brazilian label and package printing market, the company has put sustainability at the heart of its business. Baumgarten believes that a sustainable brand is a desirable one and its future goals and challenges are guides for its progress towards sustainable growth.

Avery Dennison took the Green Award in recognition of its company-wide drive to make its products and manufacturing process more environmentally friendly. Championing sustainability, the company has introduced a number of initiatives to increase recycling compatibility for the pressure sensitive adhesive market.

Mike Fairley, chair of the judges, commented: ‘Our congratulations go to all of the winners and finalists of the Label Industry Global Awards 2012. The quality of entries once again exceeded our expectations and judging across all of the categories was very close. The awards highlight the significance of innovation across the labeling industry and it is important that we recognize these true pioneers for their hard work and commitment to best practice. Due to the nature of our sector, continual improvement and advancement is vital to ongoing growth and success. We hope these accolades prove inspirational and go some way to encouraging others and the next generation of suppliers and converters to achieve similarly high standards.’

Pictured L-R: Don Nolan, Avery Dennison; Steve Lee, RotoMetrics; Mike Fairley and Clive Smith, Labelexpo Global Series

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