In a rebrand of the popular Converter Meeting, TLMI is emphasizing leadership as the label and packaging industry navigates new challenges and opportunities. The Converter Leadership Meeting welcomed attendees to Clearwater Beach, FL, USA, from April 12-14, 2026. There, members received insight from industry experts, engaged in peer-to-peer meetings, and received ample networking time.

The event also prompted members to engage in “Community, Insight, and Advocacy,” which Inland’s Mark Glendenning defined as TLMI’s “North Star.”

“We have a lot of first timers here, which is great to see, along with a lot of new members, which is also great to see,” said Glendenning. “It’s awesome to see so many leaders in our industry. Your presence here speaks to the commitment to the industry, learning, collaboration and leading, especially when leadership has never mattered more. We’re entering a new chapter, not just for TLMI but for converter leadership as a whole.”

“This meeting is about thoughtful dialogue, deliberate leadership, and a willingness to lead,” added Dale Coates, CEO and president, TLMI. “We hope to spark new ideas, strengthen new connections, and leave time for fun for friends old and new.”

Among the highlights were an industry update from AWA’s Corey Reardon, a geopolitical deep dive from economic experts and brothers Alex and Eugene Chausovsky, and several supplier panels that detailed the latest challenges facing suppliers and converters in 2026.

Meanwhile, Steve Metcalf of Imagine AI discussed the most impactful updates in the world of artificial intelligence – specifically, AI agents. “The companies that act now will define the next decade,” stated Metcalf. “If someone on your team does a task at a computer, an agent can learn to do it too.”

Plus, John Caturano of Green Group Consulting returned to TLMI to examine the latest in sustainability legislation and regulations. Currently, seven states (23% of the population) are now actively involved with EPR. They are Maine, Oregon, Colorado, California, Minnesota, Washington, and Maryland. Meanwhile, five states are positioned to move forward in 2026: Massachusetts, NJ, NY, Rhode Island, and Virginia.

“The shift is real and it’s happening right now,” remarked Caturano. “Designing for recyclability has become the standard versus the preference.”

Supplier support was integral to the event’s success, as well. Avery Dennison, Bobst, BW Converting, Durst, Flexcon, Gallus, HP, Konica Minolta, Mark Andy, and UPM Adhesive Materials served as platinum sponsors.

TLMI Update

TLMI has embarked on several key initiatives. The association has worked diligently on TLMI Community in an effort to simplify the platform. Community’s modifications make it easier for members to locate their intended resources. In addition, all member company employees have access to Community.

In addition, TLMI has updated its list of member resources. Added webinars, a Quarterly Trends Report, and reimagined TechConnect articles are among the new resources. TLMI also launched its first Supplier Compensation and Benefits Study.

Several surveys are on the horizon, as well. TLMI will conduct an upcoming Converter Survey for the Q2 Market Insights Quarterly. TLMI has also established a Safety Committee Interest Survey, which provides an opportunity to share continuous improvement information regarding safety.

In the future, TLMI will also host several key events. The Annual Meeting, scheduled for October 25-27, 2026, will take place in Fort Lauderdale, FL. As part of the popular LLT (Label Leaders of Tomorrow), TLMI will head to Kurz on June 23-24. Plus, Konica Minolta will serve as the event host in 2027.

Award winners

As part of the TLMI Converter Leadership Meeting, TLMI announces the prestigious Eugene Singer Awards. The awards are named in honor of Eugene Singer, who pioneered the benchmarking management ratios that continue to serve as a foundational tool for performance evaluation within the converter industry.

In the Small Company Category, Stephen Fishbein accepted the award for Trend Printing / International Label, Inc. Meanwhile, in the Mid‑Range Company Category, Tara Halpin received the honor for Steinhauser. The Medium Company Category featured a win for MakeStickers. The award was accepted virtually on behalf of the company by Adam Feil, President, who shared recorded remarks reflecting on the achievement. Finally, Joel Carmany accepted the distinction in the Large Company Category for Online Label Group.

Expert panels

TLMI hosted two dedicated expert panels with suppliers from a wide range of companies. There, they discussed the latest trends impacting converters, from workforce and sustainability to hybrid label printing.

The first panel, featuring Konica Minolta’s Kent Wolford, Avery Dennison’s Abby Monnot, Durst’s Barry Wendell, and Gallus-Heidelberg’s Frank Grecco looked at what the future might hold from a technology perspective.

“There’s tremendous opportunity to hype your business up under certain conditions, and technology will help you do that,” said Wolford. “We feel digital embellishments is a huge opportunity. Where we are, we want to stay in our lane. There is a lot of label production –85% that’s 4 colors plus white – and we want that to be as profitable as it can be for converters.”

“We’re seeing healthcare and pharma as markets showing improved CAGR performance,” added Monnot. “Smart materials and e-commerce logistics are growing markets, as well.”

Ultimately, collaboration will need to occur between suppliers and converters to optimize their equipment setup and foster success.

“We want to help customers drive more efficiency throughout their business,” noted Wendell. “ That means more data transparency through systems, help customers reduce waste, and find ways to produce faster with more automation. It all comes down to simplicity and reliability, and improving performance throughout the supply chain.”

Meanwhile, a second supplier panel included Patrick Graber of Bobst, Catherine Heckman of Flexcon, Brinder Gill of UPM Adhesive Materials, Duane Pekar of Mark Andy,

Duane Pekar of Mark Andy, and Raffael Kraus of HP. They anticipated future trends that will impact converters’ businesses.

Automation and AI will play a key role. “We need to look at automating processes and AI implementation in our company,” remarked Graber. “We analyzed data from over 6,000 machines in 25 minutes with AI. For our industry, we are always a bit late in adopting. We can’t look at it how we always did it. We need to look forward and identify how we need to change.” 

“It’s clear we’re in the early stages of AI, automation, and robotics. There is still a gap to where the label needs are and where the tools are,” added Kraus. “We are investing a lot of money to automate that the products we introduce are more automated and feature AI to drive more productivity per operator.”