03.25.19
ESMA's General Assembly took place on March 15, 2019.
The yearly meeting of European Specialist Printing Manufacturer’s Association culminated in recognition for industry veterans and election of a new Board of Directors.
Prof. Arben Merkoçi presented the nearly futuristic work and facilities of the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology.
Long-time supporters of TheIJC, Barberan, allowed a glimpse inside its digital printing and finishing systems factory.
The evening of March 14 opened with a keynote presentation by Nuria Herranz from ITENE Research Center.
Herranz talked about functional coatings and inks which offer improved packaging properties in terms of sustainability, food waste reduction and consumer interaction.
The official part continued with awarding two Honorable Ambassadors of the association.
During their acceptance speeches, Alex Zuckerman (Fimor) and André-Marie Peyskens (ex-MacDermid Autotype and ex-Saati) looked back at careers which spread over a half of a century and progressed together with the screen printing technology. All presentations were attended by both ESMA members and invited representatives of the Spanish printing industry – print service providers, distributors and technology suppliers.
Every two years, ESMA elects a new board which represents member companies and sets current and future direction of the community’s involvement.
With a number of members retiring and several new candidates, the 2019 vote resulted in the following shape of the board: Debbie Thorp (chair, Global Inkjet Systems), Samuel Wagner (vice-chair, Sefar), Manuel Zuckerman (treasurer, Fimor), Tracey Brown (Meteor), Jon Bultemeyer (Marabu), Ibtissem Djaballah (VFP), Franco Fattorini (Epta), Pietro Giuliani (Saati), Steve Knight (Digital Direct), Robin McMillan (Sun Chemical), Kevin Myers (Fujifilm), Jan van Schaik (SPS).
“The new Board reflects our industry with a strong representation of both screen and inkjet," Thorp said. "We welcome our new members, and we also thank our retiring Board members Heinz Brocker of Gallus and Sebastien Petit of VFP for their many years of service to the association."