THE DATA FRONT

Labels&Labeling |79
Frank Gerace at the podium
Converting challenges
into opportunities
Danielle Jerschefske reports on one of the most critical meetings
in the TLMI’s history, as its members battle to find growth strategies
during a global downturn
This year’s annual TLMI Converter
Meeting was possibly one of the most
critical in its 75 year history. In the
wake of global economic turmoil, the
association's label converters were eager
to listen to keynote speakers, interact
with a digital panel session and analyze
the latest TLMI Ratio Study, in hope of
finding ways to ride out this wave.
As identified by numerous domestic
leaders, for North American label
converters a main opportunity for growth
and expansion is overseas business.
Therefore the first day began with a lively
presentation by Tom Faranda about
conducting business overseas, offering
a specific focus on China and India. The
first question every converter should be
asking themselves is, ‘Should I be there?’
While both India and China are achieving
8-10 percent GDP growth, even now
during this global downturn, there are
lessons to be learned before setting sail.
Faranda encouraged TLMI converter
members to take a hard look at each
country’s culture before making a
decision. ‘In India, most of the people
can speak English,’ Faranda says, ‘They
have thousands of math, science and
engineering graduates and half of the
population is under 30 and technically
savvy. But, what is not often seen is the
lack of skilled trade workers, plumbers,
electricians and so forth.’
As for China, Faranda explained the
importance of the middle class (also
critical in India). However, different from
India, he anticipates seeing a revolution
by the Chinese middle class, followed
by a meltdown and subsequent build
up, all beginning between 2012–2015.
His predictions, based on personal
experiences, he stressed, were not meant
to discourage, but simply to inform.
In the rest of his presentation, Faranda
talked about other ways that he sees
the dynamics of the world changing.
For instance, he calls countries such as
Turkey, Egypt, Thailand and Vietnam
‘New China’. For ‘New India’ he refers
to Brazil and Hungary. Other predictions
and anticipations included a merger
between Canada and the US, and Texas
ceding from the Union.
So, while all of Faranda’s predictions
may not come true, he encouraged the
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may 2009 | L&L