FLAG (Flexo Label Advantage Group) will bring its popular Annual Members Meeting to Minnesota this spring. After two years, this meeting will be at last presented in-person.

Recognizing the need for continuing education and networking for independent converters, especially after the last two tumultuous years, FLAG has announced the location, speakers and plant tour for its 2022 Annual Meeting. The meeting, which now draws over 100 members and vendors, will take place at the Hyatt Bloomington outside Minneapolis on April 19-21, 2022. 

Highlights of the annual meeting include small peer breakouts, a tour of a member’s facility, exhibits from FLAG Vendors and keynote presentations on mission critical topics for the independent converter. This year the group will tour Lofton Labels and learn how the owners have significantly grown their business over the past few years.

Keynote presenters include Curt Steinhorst (an expert on focus at work), Greg Hrinya, editor, Label & Narrow Web, who will cover industry trends in these turbulent times, and Brian Van de Water, CEO, SPL Consulting, who will discuss “Leadership: Power of the Triple E.” A panel entitled, “Educating, Recruiting and Retaining Talent in the Label Industry” will cover the challenges and opportunities of attracting young talent to print programs, and then recruiting and retaining them in independent converter print shops.

According to John McKay, president and founder, “The theme of this year’s Annual Members Meeting – “Think Forward” – is particularly relevant as the independent label converter struggles to stay viable for the future as the big guys get bigger. A meeting such as this one helps independent converters gain increased leverage to help reduce costs, increased resources/knowledge base, added capacity/capabilities, sales growth, and everything else needed to stay competitive.”
  
McKay continues, “Our membership is now at 120 members and continues to grow each year, and with this growth we are able to produce consistently outstanding annual meetings each year. The 2022 meeting promises to be the best ever – with outstanding content, multiple networking functions, exhibits on the latest technology, awards for members and vendor partners, and of course, the member tour, which is always a highlight of the meeting.”

According to member Sharon Zampogna, VP, McCourt Label, “If I were told my budget only permitted attending one event a year, the FLAG Annual Members Meeting would be it.”

FLAG group members – with an average size of $2M to $40M – realize the type of benefits usually enjoyed by larger multi-site converting conglomerates. These include bottom-line savings, catastrophic recovery plans, penetrating new markets and application niches, and having access to new resources. In addition to the Annual Meeting, these benefits are delivered through a 24/7 online resource site, quarterly calls, “Lunch and Learns” and FLAG Peer Groups.