There are so many aspects that are critical to an ink company’s success. Formulating high-quality inks are essential, as is providing excellent technical service. The ability to produce these inks also cannot be overlooked.
With that in mind, the National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers (NAPIM) is scheduling its virtual NAPIM Manufacturing Symposium. The symposium will be held Feb. 17-18 from noon-4 p.m. CST.
George Fuchs, NAPIM director, regulatory affairs and technology, said that the symposium covers a wide range of topics in the ink and coatings field, including milling, mixing and dispersion technology; dust hazard analysis; manufacturing-related sustainability methodologies; robotics and automation; employee recruitment and retention and other issues.
“The 2021 Manufacturing Conference is designed to provide practical, usable information to technical, engineering and operations staff on current and future ink and coatings manufacturing and manufacturing-related technologies,” Fuchs said. “Attendees will gain insight into the latest process equipment developments for improving efficiency, quality and sustainability.
“NAPIM has the unparalleled benefit of having industry experts who are interested and willing to share the expertise for the health, benefit and sustainability of our industry,” he concluded. “Without their knowledge and expertise, this conference would not be possible.”
Fuchs noted that the NAPIM Manufacturing Conference occurred in 2004, and so much has changed since then.
“The ink and printing industries have seen substantial changes across the board since that time and the ink industry has learned much about the flexibility, agility and efficiency required to meet current and future customer and brand requirements,” he reported. “This conference is focused on new and evolving manufacturing technologies that will allow the ink industry to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving graphic arts market.”
Fuchs noted that NAPIM has assembled a broad range of critically important topics for this year’s Manufacturing Conference.
“Critical to ink manufacturing are the basic unit operations: mixing, milling, dispersion and filling and the underlying technologies for these processes have evolved substantially. Experts in these areas will cover the state-of-the-art in these areas,” said Fuchs. “Also covered in this year’s conference will be sessions on dust hazard analysis, techniques for attracting quality employees to technical and manufacturing positions, automation, robotics, manufacturing ‘best practices,’ sustainable manufacturing and more.”
“Keeping Employees Engaged Amid Crisis,” by Lisa Ryan, will be the opening keynote talk. Ryan will discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the importance of keeping your best people from leaving. Ryan will offer strategies and tools to create the company culture that will keep employees with you.
“This year’s keynote address will be given by Lisa Ryan of Grategy, who will cover one of our industry's most important and pressing issues – attracting high-quality employees to technical and manufacturing positions,” Fuchs added.
From there, the Feb. 17 sessions will cover Dispersion & Milling Technology, while the Feb, 18 sessions will focus on Product Quality Best Practices, Connected Factory, Software, Workforce and New Technology.
Virtual Conference
Much like Ink Week, NAPIM’s successful adaptation of its 2020 Technical Conference, NAPIM has created a platform that will make the virtual experience much richer for attendees.
“We were cautiously optimistic about producing our first-ever virtual Ink Week in 2020,” Fuchs noted. “What we learned was that what we lost in face-to-face networking/interactions opportunities, we gained in high-quality speakers and presentations and our 2020 Ink Week feedback supports this conclusion. We’ve been able to apply these ‘learnings’ about the production of virtual events to the 2021 Manufacturing Conference. We are very excited about this year’s event and are certain that the attendees will feel the same.”
“The NAPIM 2021 Manufacturing Conference is the only educational/training conference that squarely focuses on the printing ink manufacturing industry and, more specifically, on the production technologies required to produce high-quality printing ink,” Fuchs said. “Attendees will be exposed to cutting edges issues and technologies in this space, and will leave the Manufacturing Conference with a state-of-the-art understanding of how their manufacturing operations can be improved in numerous ways.”
The cost of attending virtually will be $125 for NAPIM members and $150 for non-members. For more information, check the NAPIM website at www.napim.org, or contact Fuchs at gfuchs@napim.org.