FESPA is hosting its first European Congress on 19th November 2010 in Brussels, with the support of six of FESPA’s national member associations in north-western Europe.
The Congress is targeted specifically towards business owners, directors and general managers of print service businesses in Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, France and the UK. The one-day event will feature a series of high-level conference sessions addressing business critical issues common to printers in these mature European markets. Lunch and a post-event drinks reception will give delegates an invaluable opportunity to network informally with peers from their own and neighbouring countries.
The central theme of the Congress is ‘Continuing to Innovate’. This acknowledges that north-western Europe has been a driver of technical, applications and business innovation in wide format print, while emphasising the need to remain innovative to stay competitive and profitable. The Congress will feature technical content as well as covering issues such as marketing and the environmental agenda from a northern European perspective.
Confirmed speakers include technical guru Nicholas Hellmuth (FLAAR); marketing and communications expert from specialist agency Marcom Projects, Jan Van der Veken; FESPA board member and successful print and marketing services entrepreneur Christian Duyckaerts; and ‘print coach’ Nick Devine. FESPA managing director Frazer Chesterman and sales and marketing director Marcus Timson will also deliver their popular 60 Minutes to Innovate session. The event is sponsored by European Congress Platinum Partner Fujifilm.
FESPA’s partner associations in this Congress are Febelgra (Belgium), ZSO (Netherlands), BVDM (Germany), VWP (Switzerland), GPSF (France) and Prism (UK). Representatives of all six organisations will be present, facilitating regional interaction for delegates. The event offers the ideal opportunity for printers to find out more about the benefits of membership of their national association, which gives discounted access to FESPA events of this kind around the globe.
FESPA Managing Director Nigel Steffens, explains: “It’s often said that we operate in a global market, and FESPA’s pan-regional conferences and summits offer top-class coverage of generic issues affecting wide-format printers the world over. But we can’t overlook the fact that our community is maturing at different rates depending on geography and local market conditions, and the effects of the recent economic downturn have differed significantly from region to region.
He adds, “At FESPA, we’re committed to understanding and supporting the needs of our member associations. One effective way of doing this is to work with clusters of national associations in key regions to deliver events that can hone in on the specific commercial issues that affect print business owners and managers in their countries. We expect this Congress in Brussels to be the first of several regional events organised in collaboration with our member associations, which now number more than 30 worldwide.”
Full details of the FESPA European Congress are available from the FESPA web site at www.fespa.com/european-congress. Printers registering to attend the FESPA European Congress before 5th October 2010 will benefit from an Early Bird delegate rate of Euros 250.00, increasing to Euros 350.00 after that date. Members of FESPA national associations receive a substantial discount, paying just Euros 100.00 before 5th October, rising to Euros 150.00 after that date.
The first 50 delegates to register for the FESPA European Congress will receive a copy of FESPA’s acclaimed FESPA Sensations book, a premium quality portfolio of screen printing effects designed to showcase the sensational creative capabilities of the process.