Page 14 - FINAT Yearbook 2011

finat today and tomorrow
a commitment to change,
within the context of continuity
There was a rare opportunity recently for outgoing FINAT President Andrea Vimercati and incoming President Kurt Walker to take time to discuss their vision of FINAT as it is today, and will be tomorrow. The conversation provided the context for the 2011 FINAT Congress, and the agenda for the way in which FINAT will resolutely move forward to embrace the opportunities and challenges in the packaging industry of which it is a key part.
Andrea Vimercati, with two years as FINAT President now behind him, and 16 years experience of the self-adhesive label converting industry as Sales Director of Pilot Italia, has mentored the FINAT membership through difficult economic times, during which, he says ‘the industry did not simply sit still. We had to respond to the major shifts in emphasis in the packaging industry, increasing globalisat- ion (which created a need for mergers, acquisitions, and cross-company collaborations at all levels of the value chain),and, of course, price pressures from our brand owner customers.’
establishing the agenda for the medium term
Mr Vimercati said that the FINAT Board, and its various committees, had worked
Kurt Walker
together to create a platform for the industry’s development over a three- to five-year period, identifying the prime opportunities and the most pressing challenges. ‘That platform, which has already achieved much, is still in process,’ says Kurt Walker, ‘and the new presidency will entail no change in strategy. Our buzzwords are still “continuity with flexibility”, and we remain committed to forecasting future directions and preparing for them, as well as responding to present change issues.’
It is obvious that the two men, despite an age difference of 25 years, are very much in tune; and incoming President Kurt Walker, until now FINAT Vice- President and Membership Committee Member, shares Andrea Vimercati’s emphasis on making the industry young again – both through the inception of the Young Managers’ Club, and the ongoing work on embracing new online media which, says Kurt Walker, ‘are so much a part of everyday life today, and have much to contribute in the business arena, in many ways’.
Andrea Vimercati enlarges on that topic. ‘What FINAT represents for its members - who, pretty well uniquely among industry associations, come from every level of the supply chain, is a forum for communication, and we have built a strong team, both on the Board and in the Committees, to drive interactive communication forward.
Andrea Vimercati
‘During my presidency, I have seen a decisive move towards transparency within the FINAT hierarchy: the old taboos that created an agenda of secrecy have fallen away. FINAT is developing renewed, open partnerships with national associations – and I have personally been involved in taking that message around Europe. We are one industry, and need to behave as one industry: United Label Europe!
‘united label europe’
‘We can do better if we work together, and present a united face to the world, speaking as one community. Look how strong and successful TLMI is – but it’s easier to create a single message platform if you just represent one country. In Europe, we have different
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