Spring 2006                    return to newsletter contents page

Amelia Island Program Top-Notch

Jan Noller

FPPA President

With most of our industry meetings and events for the season now behind us, I can look back and say that FPPA’s Annual Convention was among the best. This year’s program in Amelia Island, Florida provided a wealth of new information about the state of the industry…opportunities for new business…and unique perspectives from our customers and suppliers. A crowd of nearly 100 participants comprised the largest attendance in several years.

It was an honor being elected president of FPPA during the convention, and a privilege to have worked closely with Chris Horton, who served the association well this past year. Thanks to Chris for his leadership and dedication.

Every president seems to be passionate about a few key programs or services. For me, it is the Financial Survey and Ratio Study (Industry Survey), that we have been conducting every two to three years. This year we are considering conducting an Industry Survey for our members. The ratios obtained from such a survey can be a significant management tool that can make a real difference in your profitability. By reviewing key information from your company’s operations, then measuring it against survey data from a cross-section of companies, participants are able to find efficiency and productivity improvements that can help contain expense, produce more billable work and possibly identify opportunities for revenue growth.

FPPA is the only organization that can coordinate such a survey – where all of the data and information is 100% applicable to our businesses. As platemakers, we don’t need to weed through volumes of data to find the two or three line items that apply to us – it is all pertinent.

So, why should you take the time to participate in the Industry Survey? Most importantly, if you do not participate…we may not have the critical mass to conduct the survey. We need a significant number of participants (at least 50% of our member platemakers) to increase the validity of the survey results. Secondly, all participants will get a free copy of this 15-20 page Survey. Surely this is worth an investment of a couple hours of your time to help your company become more efficient, more productive and more profitable!

By now you should have received a brief electronic survey from FPPA headquarters requesting your opinion about several key FPPA initiatives and programs. Please take a minute to respond so that we can create programs and services that benefit your company. This is your association and we need to know how you feel.

Please contact me with any comments or suggestions you have at 562-282-8000 or jnoller@gdsflexo.com. Thank you for your support.