As Tailored Label Products Reflects on 30 Years of Business, Culture is Key
Technology has changed for the label manufacturer, but people are at the heart of its operation
MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. (March 26, 2014) — Tailored Label Products (TLP), a Menomonee Falls-based manufacturer of high-performance labels, tags and die-cut adhesives, is celebrating 30 years of business. While some aspects of the company have changed over the years – including a dramatic increase in capacity, technology and innovation – one thing has not: its focus on preserving company culture during a period of substantial growth.
This culture and management philosophy has been the hallmark of the company since it was founded in 1984 – a culture of trust, rewards, recognition and community involvement. Guided by nine core principles – including a commitment to making work fun, building great teams and high expectations of integrity – TLP has maintained a consistent culture of excellence while significantly boosting sales and increasing employees by 50 percent over a five-year period.
“Finding the right talent is critical to building a successful and respected business in the community,” said CEO Mike Erwin. “As I reflect on our last three decades of business, what I remember most is not the new orders we signed or the growth we’ve achieved, but the people that come here every day and put their passion into creating great products and helping us advance as a team.”
Empowering employees leads to powerful awards
As one of TLP’s 90 employees, Deb Becht-Soliday has witnessed this evolution firsthand. Starting as a receptionist and customer service specialist in 1985, Becht-Soliday is now a regional application engineer.
“TLP has always been willing to empower people to pursue different positions and help them achieve their goals,” said Becht-Soliday. “I never thought I’d be with the company this long, but I knew when I started that I was working for good people who had a good vision. It’s been really rewarding to see the success of the company over the years.”
The company has been recognized, in many cases multiple times, for its focus on talent and quality with the following awards:
- Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year Grand Award
(2 time receipient) - Top 100 Workplaces
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Best of the Best Workplace in the Americas
Printing Industries of America - Best Place to Work in Southeastern Wisconsin
Milwaukee Magazine and MRA, The Management Resource Association - Top 10 Business in Southeastern Wisconsin
Waukesha County Chamber of Commerce, Printing Industry of America and Small Business Times
Innovative investments fuel business growth
These recognitions have been the result of a more recent pursuit of innovative manufacturing processes. In the last 10 years, TLP has substantially increased its investment and focus on capacity, technology and innovation. In that time, it has devoted an unprecedented level of earnings to new methods and machinery, and achieved consistent patent generation.
These investments, which have supported exponential increases in sales and new business, include:
- A new cleanroom for the company’s label doming line
- Three overhead gantry cranes for tool handling ease of use
- Multiple new printing presses, including a large-format digital press and high-speed inline variable inkjet printer
- A large quality assurance and engineering laboratory
John Trayser was employee No. 18 when he started in TLP’s purchasing, production and planning department in 1989. Back in those days, pre-press graphics were created manually as paste-up art. Since then, he said, computer systems have automated much of the company’s processes, taking inventory times from two days down to about four hours. There are still parts of the operation, however, that need a human hand, Trayser said.
“The culture of the company allows us to work better together as a group, solving problems and finding solutions,” Trayser said. “I worked for a larger company prior to TLP, but I much prefer the close-knit, community feeling here. It’s made me a better team player, and it’s made us successful as a company all these years.”
About Tailored Label Products Inc. (https://www.tailoredlabel.com)
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Tailored Label Products Inc. (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, biomedical, medical equipment, hydraulic fluid and power industries. TLP is headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wis., and has an additional manufacturing facility in Suwanee, Ga. For more information, visit www.tailoredlabel.com.