Tailored Label Wins Prestigious National APSE Employer Award

Award recognizes TLP’s leadership in supporting workforce integration of people with disabilities.

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. (July 15th, 2014) — Tailored Label Products (TLP), a custom manufacturer of engineered product labels and die cut adhesives, recently received national recognition while attending the 25th Annual National APSE Conference,  “Livin’ the dream…building the future for Employment First!”, held at the Hyatt Regency in Long Beach, CA, July 1-3, 2014.

The National APSE Awards Ceremony was held at the conference on July 2, 2014, the 25th.  National APSE recognizes small, medium and large employers in the public and private sectors from across the country for outstanding achievements in promoting integrated employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

Tailored Label Products (TLP) of Menomonee Falls, WI was awarded the 2014 National APSE Employer Award in the medium-size company category. At the ceremony, TLP was honored for their employment of individuals with disabilities, affording them the same wages and benefits as other employees, supporting the concept of integrated employment in its purest form.

[EasyGallery key=’1′]

TLP was nominated by Brian Young who stated, “Tailored Label Products exemplifies a model company from the top leadership and through the entire company that supports people with disabilities as part of a diverse workforce. In fact, they not only support people of all abilities in the workforce, the company also is an outspoken advocate for supporting people with disabilities.”

According to Kathy Zarling, Director of Pupil Services for Menomonee Falls School District, “I would consider TLP a model for integrated employment.  Diversity within the workplace is sought, supported and respected.”

On had to accept the award for TLP were Mike Erwin, CEO of Tailored Label Products and Patrick Young, a TLP employee with Down syndrome that has been very active in promoting work place opportunities for people with disabilities.

“The TLP team has been inspired by the opportunity to provide training and mentoring for fellow employees that have disabilities… resulting in highly productive and gainful employment. So receiving this recognition is just icing on the cake of PAYING IT FORWARD,” Erwin said upon receiving the award.

Earlier this year, Patrick Young and Tailored Label Products were recognized by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, as helping to inspire a new initiative he unveiled his State of the State speech.  The effort, called “A Better Bottom Line,” is aimed at getting more Wisconsin companies to hire people with disabilities including autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury and mental illness.

About APSE (http://apse.org)

APSE is the only national organization with an exclusive focus on integrated employment and career advancement opportunities for individuals with disabilities. APSE is a non-profit membership organization, founded in 1988. As a 3,000 member national advocacy organization focused on advancing employment and economic well-being for individuals with disabilities, APSE would like to applaud Tailored Label Products for their dedication to improving employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. For more information about APSE, visit www.apse.org.

About Tailored Label Products (TLP) (https://www.tailoredlabel.com)
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, TLP is a custom manufacturer of high-performance labels, tags and die-cut adhesives. TLP provides custom-engineered adhesive and label solutions for the electronics, automotive, aerospace, industrial, life sciences, medical equipment, hydraulic fluid and power industries. TLP is headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wis., has an additional manufacturing facility in Suwanee, Ga., and a Distribution & Fulfillment Center in Tijuana, Mexico. For more information, visit www.tailoredlabel.com.

# # #

/1 Comment/by

TLP Announces Opening of Distribution & Fulfillment Ctr – Mexico

New Tijuana Distribution & Fulfillment Center will provide enhanced customer service and local supply in the region 

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. (June 23rd, 2014) — Tailored Label Products (TLP), a nationally recognized custom manufacturer of engineered labels and die cut adhesives, has announced the opening of its new multi-client Distribution and Fulfillment Center (DFC) located in Tijuana, Mexico.

Tijuana, Mexico“Establishing a facility in Mexico supports TLP’s long-term strategy of further expanding the TLP global footprint in order to strengthen our local services presence, close to the operations of our customers in the region,” said Tracy Tenpenny, Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

TLP’s new DFC is strategically located less than 2 miles from the Otay International Border Crossing, which is just 15 minutes from downtown Tijuana, 20 minutes from San Diego, and 140 miles from Los Angeles. The center provides regional distribution of high performance custom labels, UL/CSA labels, short run and long run labels, and die cut adhesives and protective films.

“Our customers appreciate TLP’s commitment to support localization needs within their supply chain and business models”, said Tenpenny.  “With the opening of the new DFC in Mexico, we have taken another important step towards further expanding our market presence in the important growth market of Mexico.” This new facility enhances TLP’s North American coverage, which also includes manufacturing facilities in Milwaukee (HQ) and Atlanta, and sales offices in North Carolina.

About TLP (https://www.tailoredlabel.com)
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, TLP is a custom manufacturer of high-performance labels, tags and die-cut adhesives. TLP provides custom-engineered adhesive and label solutions for the electronics, automotive, aerospace, industrial, life sciences, medical equipment, hydraulic fluid and power industries. TLP is headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wis., has an additional manufacturing facility in Suwanee, Ga., and a Distribution & Fulfillment Center in Tijuana, Mexico. For more information, visit www.tailoredlabel.com.

/by

TLP Celebrates 10 Years Without a Lost Time Accident

Consistent safety awareness helps TLP achieve the important safety milestone

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. (June 12, 2014) — Tailored Label Products (TLP) today announced that its employees have reached an important safety milestone of accomplishing 10 years and over 1.3 million hours of work without a Lost Time Accident (LTA).

Brian Mirr (left) of the Wisconsin Safety Council, presents TLP’s Mark Little, Operations Manager (center) and Jeff Kerlin, President & COO (right) with a certificate recognizing Tailored Label Products’ achievement of having reached 10 years and 1.3 million work hours without a Lost Time Accident.

Brian Mirr (left) of the Wisconsin Safety Council, presents TLP’s Mark Little, Operations Manager (center) and Jeff Kerlin, President & COO (right) with a certificate recognizing Tailored Label Products’ achievement of having reached 10 years and 1.3 million work hours without a Lost Time Accident.

“By going for more than a decade without an LTA, our employees have demonstrated that in addition to reaching production and quality goals, safety continues to be a primary focus in their day-to-day activities,” said TLP Operations Manager, Mark Little. “Not many companies are willing to devote the manpower and resources we do at TLP to ensure safety in the workplace. Our employees are happier and more productive knowing they work in a safe environment and this ultimately results in better products and service for our customers.”

To honor and thank employees for their great achievement, the owners and managers hosted lunches for all three shifts at TLP’s Wisconsin and Georgia facilities. Brian Mirr of the Wisconsin Safety Council was also on hand to present TLP with a formal certificate of recognition for reaching this significant workplace safety milestone.

“At TLP, our company culture is heavily focused on attaining excellence in all aspects of our operations. This is especially true when it comes to providing a safe and enjoyable workplace for our employees,“ said Jeff Kerlin, President & COO. “The health and well being of our employees and visitors to our facilities is of great importance to us. To that end, we invest heavily in terms of our formal safety programs and employee education, ensuring that safety is always top of mind.

Tailored Label Products has received widespread recognition for being an industry leader when it comes to setting high standards in the workplace. Recent honors include winning a second Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year Grand Award and being named to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s List of Top Workplaces for the last five consecutive years. Both of these awards are a direct reflection of TLP’s successful record of creating a safe and productive workplace for its employees.

About TLP (https://www.tailoredlabel.com)
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, TLP is a custom manufacturer of high-performance labels, tags and die-\ cut adhesives. TLP provides custom-engineered adhesive and label solutions for the electronics, automotive, aerospace, industrial, life sciences, medical equipment, hydraulic fluid and power industries. TLP is headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wis., has an additional manufacturing facility in Suwanee, Ga., and a Distribution & Fulfillment Center in Tijuana, Mexico. For more information, visit www.tailoredlabel.com.

/by

Tailored Label Products (TLP) Named Top Workplace For 5th Year

Annual Award Honors Best Places to Work Based on Employee Surveys

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. (June 9th, 2014) — Tailored Label Products (TLP) is pleased to announce that it has been selected for a 5th consecutive year as one of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Top Workplaces.

TLP named to Journal Sentinal Top Workplaces list for 5th year in a row.The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published the complete list of Top Workplaces on Sunday, June 8th. For more information about the Top Workplaces lists and WorkplaceDynamics, please visit www.topworkplaces.com and www.workplacedynamics.com.

“This is a very important achievement for our company, because it is our employees who serve as the judges. To know that they believe TLP is a great place to work, validates all the time, effort, and planning that our team puts into making TLP a world-class workplace,” said Mike Erwin, CEO of TLP. “It’s a great honor that our employees have continually recognized TLP as a top workplace year after year.”

“Our employees are at the core of our success, and it’s critically important that they know how highly valued they are here at TLP,” said Erwin. “To that end, we focus heavily on creating a safe, productive, and fun environment where our employees can achieve their personal and professional best.”

The Top Workplaces are determined based solely on employee feedback. The employee survey is conducted by WorkplaceDynamics, LLP, a leading research firm on organizational health and employee engagement. WorkplaceDynamics conducts regional Top Workplaces programs with 40 major publishing partners across the United States. Over the past year, more than 5,000 organizations and 1 in every 88 employees in the U.S. have turned to WorkplaceDynamics to better understand what’s on the minds of their employees. Through its workplace improvement offerings, WorkplaceDynamics provides solutions, training and tools to help clients improve their workplace.

About TLP
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, TLP is a custom manufacturer of high-performance labels, tags and die-cut adhesives. TLP provides custom-engineered adhesive and label solutions for the electronics, automotive, aerospace, industrial, life sciences, medical equipment, hydraulic fluid and power industries. TLP is headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wis., has an additional manufacturing facility in Suwanee, Ga., and a Distribution & Fulfillment Center in Tijuana, Mexico. For more information, visit www.tailoredlabel.com.

/by

6 Traits of a Productive, Innovative Culture & How to Build One

We’ve discussed before how to develop high-performing teams that foster a culture of innovation and lead to a productive workforce which produces value for your customers. But how do you actually attract the best people to work for you? It’s all about the culture. In this post, we’ll explore six traits of a high-performing culture.

  1. Integrity/Trust – Employees have to know they’re working for an employer with a strong and honest character. This trust is often developed with strong communication about expectations between the employer and employee. If an employee knows exactly what is expected of them, there won’t be any surprises along the way about job performance and they may feel more inclined to do their best work.
  2. Innovation/Creativity – In a highly demanding industry like manufacturing, innovation is key to continually produce the best products and deliver on customer expectations. That creative thinking and development doesn’t always happen without a culture that encourages and nurtures thinking outside the box. Employees should understand that innovation is a daily exercise.
  3. Personal Development/Accountability – Just like employers should be held accountable for providing a stimulating work environment and opportunities for growth and advancement, employees likewise need to put their best effort forward every day to grow professionally. This accountability to grow helps both parties and ensures the best minds are producing for customers.
  4. Consistent Expectations/Fairness – High-performing cultures always establish a defined set of employee expectations and hold team members to those standards. This becomes especially important when defining standards of excellence for customer products. If employers set a high bar of quality for employees to achieve, the customer will ultimately benefit in the end.
  5. Results = Rewards – It’s equally important to reward employees when they’ve done a great job and achieved a particularly impressive result, whether internally or for a customer. There are numerous ways to show recognition, and we’ll cover how to keep employees engaged in a separate blog post. But oftentimes, even the smallest reward can make a big impact on a hard-working employee.
  6. Commitment – Employers can train their team members on soft skills like how to operate a machine, but hard skills that can’t be taught are the most valuable and worthy of recognition. Commitment to a job, to professional development or to learning a new skill all are valuable traits in an employee and should be recognized regularly by employers.
/by