Page 5 - FINAT Yearbook 2019

CELEBRATING THE FUTURE
The ninth edition of the FINAT Yearbook is the second one released in FINAT’s 60th anniversary year.
With the Yearbook 2018 being released on the occasion of FINAT’s 60th birthday on 7 November 2018, this (shorter) edition closes a year full of celebrations. After all, not only do we celebrate our association’s rich history, 2019 is also the year in which we celebrate 40 years of Labelexpo - the world’s leading label industry trade show - with which our association is so closely connected. Together, our brands celebrate a centennial of European label industry history and experience.
On a personal note, I am especially proud that the Lejeune family name has been connected to half of this imaginary centennial. This summer, it is exactly 50 years ago that my father and his company were hired to manage FINAT’s daily affairs, and I am thankful for having been given the opportunity to follow in his footsteps some 20 years ago, together with our team at Lejeune Association Management. So far, it has been a lifetime’s worth of memories, experiences, friendships and industry successes, and we continue to thoroughly enjoy being part of this wonderful community.
But this year was not only about celebrating history. Past achievements are no guarantee for future success. On the contrary: in essence, associations like FINAT were originally founded to contribute to future success of their members, rather than protecting the past.
While the history of organisations like ours is reflected in members’ shared values, beliefs and culture, like in society it is important that our organisation continuously adapts to the changing world around us, and that it supports its membership and the wider community in anticipating and shaping the future of the label industry.
The tagline of our rebranded Young Professionals Network (formerly known as the Young Managers Club and itself celebrating its 10th anniversary) reflects this ambition: to shape the future of this industry. This same ambition is reflected in the #LABELicious competition that was launched on the occasion of our anniversary to reach out to young talent to be recruited for and retained by our industry in the face of an ageing workforce.
But the future is also reflected in initiatives like the UVFoodSafe consortium, our continuous recycling promotion programme, our new Converter Roundtables, the European Label Forum, our awards programmes, our upcoming 10th edition of the Technical Handbook, our Webinars Series, our upcoming FINAT Technical Seminar, etc etc..
All of the above programmes aim to connect business and people, share information, develop knowledge, inspire ideas and collaborate across borders and sectors, to create the foundations for a healthy future of the label industry. This edition of the FINAT Yearbook connects elements of the past and present to celebrate the future.
Finally, the saying goes that ‘success has many fathers, and failure is an orphan’. This is especially true in the world of associations. FINAT’s successes are the result of the commitment of many volunteers who contribute their knowledge, network and time to make future focussed ideas a reality. The entire industry owes them a big ‘thank you’!
I wish you good reading!
Jules Lejeune Managing Director
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