Aurora, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/25/2011 -- The Label Printers is pleased to announce that the company has become a Certified Member of TLMI’s L.I.F.E. program, and congratulates the company’s employees, especially those on the L.I.F.E. team - George Tommasi, Gina Ries, Matt Slaughter, and Dawn Tesch. Tommasi, Director of Human Resources, The Label Printer’s Illinois EPA Compliance Representative, and the L.I.F.E. team leader and senior executive on the team pointed out, “L.I.F.E. is based on the ISO 14001 standard and includes many of the same elements (continuous improvement, management review, preventive maintenance, corrective and preventive action, etc.). As a company registered to ISO 9001 Standards, we believe that our L.I.F.E. Certification will fit right in with all the things we do in all of our best practice initiatives.”

The team analyzed and sorted their solid waste into 3 categories: recyclable, waste to energy (fuel pellets), and unrecyclable solid waste (landfill). They wrote a Sustainability Manual and Policy (the Policy can be found on the company’s web site – http://thelabelprinters.com/Sustainability/policy.php - along with the Sustainability Dashboard) and submitted them, along with their certification materials (scorecard, process map, Environmental Risk Assessment, etc.), to T.L.M.I./NSF for evaluation by the L.I.F.E. team. That team conducted a Desk Audit, and on February 25th, NSF International, The Public Health and Safety Company™, who provide third-party conformity assessment services for these audits, spent a full day at The Label Printers conducting a Site Audit. “Passing” the Site Audit requires 1) the applicant company to have at least 10 items on the scorecard that are rated “engaged” or higher (The Label Printers had 15), and 2) have all of the necessary items required in Management Practices. The company was notified on March 8th that they had achieved Certification.

“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, IL, 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 NSF International
NSF International, The Public Health and Safety Company™, is a not-for-profit, non-governmental standards development organization, focusing on food, water, indoor air, and the environment. NSF develops national standards and provides third-party conformity assessment services.

Serving manufacturers in 80 countries, NSF was founded in 1944 and is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The NSF Mark is recognized for its value in international trade around the world and is respected by regulatory agencies at the local, state, and federal levels.