Spotlight shines on upcoming Global Label Awards

The 2023 Global Label Awards are set to return to Labelexpo Europe 2023 with the winner of the prestigious Global Achievement Award and the shortlist for industry awards announced.

The awards take place at a gala event on 11 September, the first night of Labelexpo Europe 2023.

The Global Achievement Award is given to Malcolm Rae, who is being recognized as making a key contribution to the label industry, and who is considered a high-profile industry influencer and motivator.

As the founder of GEW, Rae has been instrumental in
transforming the label printing landscape, shifting it from a
primarily water-based medium to a majority UV ink-based one. His contributions have thus shaped the narrow web industry’s transition to UV curing, an innovation that has fundamentally changed the way labels are produced.

Rae’s career, spanning over 35 years, has been characterized by groundbreaking invention and innovation. He holds 21 international patents for key products, including the ubiquitous E2C, a staple in the label industry that is installed on 30,000 label print stations worldwide. More recently, Rae has been instrumental in directing GEW toward UV-LED curing. He spearheaded the development
of exchangeable lamps with arc UV lamps, thereby providing converters an easier pathway to transition to UV-LED technology.

Rae’s vast knowledge, vision and expertise in UV curing have earned him global recognition. His leadership at GEW and his contributions to the label industry have been lauded with several awards, including the prestigious Queen’s Award for Export. 

The Global Label Awards will also recognize winners across various categories. Among these is the team award, a new category introduced this year. This award recognizes teams that have made significant strides in developing new services or working methods that have the potential to drive the global label industry forward. The shortlisted nominations include the team behind the GSE InkConnection blog site and the Mercian Labels ‘lights out’ project members.

In addition to the team award, other categories cover a broad spectrum of the industry. The rising star award, the innovation awards for companies of different sizes, the sustainability award, and the converter of the year are also announced at the event.

The rising star award shortlist includes Tommy Schouten of
Geostick and brothers Harry and Tom Baker of Baker Labels jointly nominated. This award recognizes individuals with a track record of exceptional and growing contributions to the label industry, demonstrating clear potential for future leadership and responsibility.

The innovation awards split nominees based on company size. For the over 300-employee category, the nominees include Asahi Photoproducts, Dow and Lintec. For the under 300-employee category, the nominees are Cartes, GEW and Rotometal. These awards honor companies that have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to innovation and progress within the label industry. The sustainability award nominees are Fedrigoni Self-Adhesives, Lintec and UPM Raflatac. This award celebrates companies that have made significant strides toward a sustainable future for the global labels industry. In a world where sustainability is of growing concern, the importance of recognizing companies that are
pioneering green initiatives cannot be overstated.

It has been a fantastic experience during our judging session to see the full range of innovation, team energy and powerful sustainability initiatives driving this vibrant industry forward

Lastly, the converter of the year award is set to recognize
companies that have gone above and beyond in fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment, developing employee programs, contributing to community initiatives, implementing sustainability programs and introducing innovative products or programs for end users.

The nominees for this category are UK-based Baker Label,
Singapore-based Honsen and Italy-based Pilot Italia.

The judging panel is a joint effort of Finat, TLMI and the
editors of three prominent label industry publications. The Label Awards judging panel is Philippe Voet, president of FINAT, Tim McDonough, TLMI chairman, Chelsea McDougall, editor of Labels & Labeling, Greg Hrinya, editor of Label & Narrow Web, and Jean Poncet, editor of Etiq & Pack. 

Reflecting on the judging process, Andy Thomas-Emans, chair of the judging panel, says: ‘It has been a fantastic experience during our judging session to see the full range of innovation, team energy and powerful sustainability initiatives driving this vibrant industry forward. On behalf of the judges, I would like to thank everybody who submitted nominations, and we look forward to revealing the names of the winning individuals and companies at Labelexpo Europe in Brussels this September.’