Summer 2007                    return to newsletter contents page

Membership Growth a Priority for 2007

Dave Norton

FPPA President

I’ve just returned from the Spring Board and Committee meetings held in San Antonio, Texas. The Program Committee met to plan next year’s Annual Convention; the Management Development Committee met to plan this Fall’s Management Workshop; and the Board of Directors discussed several matters of business, which I will try to highlight for you. The FPPA members who came together in San Antonio, at their own companies' expense, were collectively very positive about the industry and the role FPPA can play within it.

The Fall Management Workshop will be held September 11th in Chicago, in conjunction with GraphExpo. The Annual Convention will be held February 24-26, 2008 in San Antonio, Texas. Among topics being offered at these programs through presentations and roundtable discussions, are:

• Creating and Communicating Value

• Integrated Service

• Direct Engraving

• Sustainable Solvent

• System Software

• Workflow

• Mounting Systems

• In-House Platemaking

• Succession Planning

• FTA First Version 4.0

• Profitability

• Global Issues/Market Trends: Effects of off-shore manufacturing on corrugated carton demand

Watch your email and mail boxes in the coming weeks as we send out additional information about these programs.

I’m pleased to announce a new program with Mihlfeld & Associates, a logistics management firm. Mihlfeld and FPPA have set up a shipping program that could potentially save many of our members thousands of dollars a year on shipping expenses through specialized transportation, distribution and information services. There is detailed information within this newsletter. I encourage you to contact Mihlfeld to find out more about this opportunity.

We have a special task force charged with developing tools to help calculate the costs (both direct and indirect) associated with bringing prepress and platemaking services in-house. We think it is important for converters who are considering this to look at all facets of this process before they make this decision. These tools will be available to all members, once finalized.

The Board of Directors is making membership growth a top priority for the coming year. While FPPA continues to represent the heart of the platemaking industry, we feel that there are other tradeshops in the industry who could benefit from the programs and services that the Association offers. For the coming year, we’re discounting dues by 50% for new members who join – as a way to encourage their participation. Please accept this challenge by inviting a peer, customer or supplier to apply for FPPA membership. With two strong educational/networking programs scheduled for the coming year, and a number of new programs being introduced – we have a lot to offer.

Please contact me with any comments or suggestions you have at 317-522-2010 or dnorton@npp-graphics.com. Thank you for your support.