The San Diego converter is embracing continuous improvement while meeting customer expectations and underscoring the company’s strong commitment to quality.

Label King, an award-winning label manufacturer based in San Diego, CA, USA, has announced it has achieved ISO 9001:2015 certification. The recognition from the International Organization of Standardization (ISO) is a globally acknowledged standard for quality management. It demonstrates how Label King is embracing continuous improvement while meeting customer expectations and underscoring the company’s strong commitment to quality.

When a health and beauty customer of Label King’s conducted a 2023 quality survey, the results revealed areas where Label King could improve. Always looking to enhance his business’s offering and stature, Label King owner Robert Parker sought advice through a close TLMI connection, Craig and Drew Moreland of Coast Label Company, who helped Label King get its start in charting a course for ISO 9001 certification. Following six months of focus, dedication, hard work and ISO interviews and audits, Label King earned its certificate in January 2024.

The benefits of ISO 9001:2015 certification are numerous. Parker says, “First off, our customers have added confidence in us, knowing that we are adhering to world class manufacturing standards set forth by the leading international quality standards organization. They have assurances that we take our customer service, production, and overall quality control very seriously across the board. And they know that the labels they receive from us are of the utmost quality, and will remain that way, due to the regular audits we’ll be getting from ISO.”

Parker states that Label King is now poised to enter new markets. “The certification helps to differentiate us for medical and pharmaceutical label customers, among others, and it paves the way for us to become approved vendors in end-use markets with the most stringent quality demands,” Parker says, adding, “And internally, it’s a point of pride for our team – pride in knowing that what we’re doing, we’re doing it the absolute best way we can, using globally recognized best practices.”

Spearheading the initiative was Tawny Durnil, Label King’s ISO 9001:2015 Lead Auditor who also serves as the company’s Quality Systems Manager and Account Specialist. She says, “The six-month process was all-encompassing. We developed a quality system for every one of our processes, from customer service to purchasing to production to shipping. Each element was meticulously documented and audited – ISO ensures that you are doing what you say you are doing.

“Fortunately, we had zero nonconformities, and our certification went through right away,” Durnil says.

The milestone comes during a pivotal time for Label King, having recently celebrated a series of successes and accolades. Over the past few years, Label King has received numerous TLMI Label Awards across a variety of end-use and production process categories. The company was also the recipient of the 2021 Calvin Frost Environmental Leadership Award. Most recently, in October 2023, Robert Parker was named TLMI’s Converter of the Year.

Label King continues to invest in itself, and the ISO certification is just the latest evidence of that. In 2022, the company entered the digital printing arena with the installation of a Domino N610i UV inkjet label press.

Turi Fiske, Digital Production and Marketing Manager, oversees the digital printing department at Label King, and she’s excited by the many ways the company is benefitting from the ISO 9001:2015 certification. She says, “It shows our customers we care about quality, we’re all on the same page in terms of our processes, and we’re on a path of continuously improving.”

She continues, “It also bodes well for the future – as we grow, hire and train new employees, we now have a framework steeped in our ISO 9001:2015 certification. New hires are getting the same foundational training, forging a path for sustainable growth.”

Robert Parker emphasizes ISO 9001 is a foundational piece, and that Label King has its sights set on further certifications. He says, “We are truly an industry leader. There are not too many label companies that are ISO 9001:2015 certified, and it is something we are going to build upon as we strive for long-term growth and stability. It helps not just now – internally – but also enhances our value proposition and how we market ourselves to our customers.”

Parker concludes, “As we evolve, we continue to get better and better, and we don’t just say it – we’re taking concrete actions that make us better and stronger both now and into the future.”