About TLMI

Contrary to what one might expect, the birth of the Tag Manufacturers Institute (TMI) did not originate from a collective desire among tag manufacturers to form a trade association. Instead, it emerged in response to the demands imposed by the National Recovery Administration in May of 1933. However, more than a year prior to this pivotal moment, influential manufacturers of tag products had already convened to address the chaotic state of their industry and explore effective remedies.

In May 1933, Frank H. Baxter, the inaugural Executive Director of TMI, was summoned to meet with a Steering Committee comprising representatives from industry leaders such as Dennison Manufacturing Company, The Denney Tag Company, American Tag Company, and The Reyburn Manufacturing Company, Inc. Following this crucial meeting, Baxter was tasked with attending a gathering in Cleveland on June 15, 1933, where suggestions and plans for organizing a trade ­­­­­­­­association, complete with a preliminary constitution and bylaws, were discussed. It was widely recognized that not only the tag industry but every industry needed a structured organization to interact with the newly established National Recovery Administration, created under the National Industrial Recovery Act.

From the spring of 1933 to the spring of 1935, virtually every trade association across various industries dedicated its efforts primarily to establishing and adhering to an NRA “Code of Fair Competition” specific to its sector. TMI followed this overarching trend and, in compliance with the mandates of the National Recovery Administration, developed new forms for creating price lists  — a previously absent requirement. Industry members submitted the actual prices, which were compiled into what became known as the Code Price List. Additionally, the Institute focused on fulfilling Code stipulations related to collecting data on business operating costs, including labor rates and other labor-related matters.

In 1962, a significant decision was made to expand the Tag Manufacturers Institute, leading to the creation of the Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute (TLMI). The inaugural meeting of this expanded organization took place in June of that year at French Lick, Indiana, with 12 attendees, ten of whom were also Tag Division members. President Robert W. Swett, while announcing the formation of the Label Division, expressed its purpose as follows: “The purpose of the new division is to promote the general welfare of the industry engaged in the manufacturing of pressure-sensitive label products; to develop standards of product performance for the benefit of the growing number of pressure-sensitive label users; and to provide industry cooperation with all government agencies in the interest of public welfare.”

Our mission as it stands today has not changed.