At the association’s recent Annual Meeting in Phoenix, AZ, USA, Kathy Alaimo, co-CEO of NY-based Syracuse Label & Surround Printing was named TLMI Converter or the Year. Presented on an annual basis, the Converter of the Year Award honors and recognizes a member of the North American package printing industry who has made an extensive contribution to the greater marketplace and who has additionally demonstrated an unwavering commitment to TLMI.

Alaimo served a term on the TLMI Board of Directors and has also been an instrumental member of the TLMI Technical Committee, serving as the committee’s co-chair for years. During her time on the Technical Committee, Alaimo was additionally a co-chair of the TLMI Technical Conference, rebranded in recent years as printTHINK.

During her tenure as CEO of Syracuse Label, Alaimo guided the company’s transition to becoming an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) organization. A business entity that is rare in the printed packaging industry, an ESOP gives employees ownership interest in the company. As a leader, Alaimo is a fierce proponent of a company culture that prioritizes the wellbeing and empowering of its employees and with so few ESOPs in the industry, she knew she would have to find critical resources elsewhere to ensure employees realized the transition was in their best interest. Drawing upon her formal education as a journalist, Alaimo immersed herself in learning best practices from the Oakland, CA-based National Center for Employee Ownership. Today, Syracuse label is an award-winning company that is lauded throughout the industry for its flourishing organizational culture that attracts and retains top talent.

Recently, Alaimo guided her company through another significant transition. In June, Syracuse Label & Surround Printing, Macaran Printed Products, and W.N. Van Alstine announced their plans to merge. The merger brings together 165,000 square feet of manufacturing space, $65 million in annual sales and 175 employee-owners.

TLMI president Linnea Keen, comments, “Kathy Alaimo is compassionate leadership personified. In today’s business environment, workforce continues to be a primary pain point for converters yet Kathy has managed to sustain a great culture with engaged employees. She recognizes how essential it is that employees have an emotional connection to their work and to their organization. Her ’people above profits’ approach has enabled Syracuse Label & Surround Printing to become one of the most successful converters in the industry and her leadership truly sets an example for us all. I would like to congratulate Kathy on being awarded one of the industry’s highest honors. It is certainly well deserved.”