IT'S BEEN A GREAT YEAR FOR AFTA!

As the 2004 year slowly grinds to an end, it is safe to say, it has been a very hectic and changing year for all of us involved in the Australian flexo market.

We have seen Drupa come and go, the label expo has been held, ABM Plastics have again won awards internationally and at our own Forum this year in Melbourne, and the New Zealand workshop has been held and well attended. Our own technical Forum held this year at the Crown Entertainment Complex was a great success with numbers reaching 350 for the Annual
Print Awards Dinner - a record.

Congratulations to all the winners especially Greg Rosshandler and his team at Finewrap for winning Best in Show, Kel Doolan for his induction into the Hall of Fame, a very worthy inductee and to Kane Fellows the Apprentice of the Year recipient. Kane, Matthew Loveridge and Jason Alder the three finalists, showed us that the standard of printers coming through is very high and that the future is in very good, safe hands.

The Council has worked extremely hard this year trying to deliver relevant workshops and information for our industry and I thank them for their time and effort.

The only disappointment has been the lack of support in NSW for our workshops, which we had to cancel as a result; the other states have supported the workshops extremely well. The workshop on the print award judging had a good effect on the entries as we had no print samples rejected at the judging this year...a first!
We had 12 companies enter, 9 Australian, 2 New Zealand and 1 from Thailand. 8 mid web entries, 37 wide web and 12 tag and label entries, a good mix of entries.

The Flexo Magazine is now a very good publication and continues to deliver great articles and advice, Roger Coles and John Salvage have both worked tirelessly and I would like to congratulate them both on their commitment. This magazine is your magazine and without your support it is difficult to put it together. The advertising covers the costs of the magazine and this is the most difficult part to pull together, I ask you all to
look at the advertising and see if you can support us in this area, without advertising the magazine may dramatically reduce in size and frequency. There are still numerous companies who are not yet members of the AFTA. We will continue to drive the membership and hopefully increase our numbers which will allow us to deliver your requirements better and more often.

Please feel free to contact your Council on any issues you feel are not being addressed or that could be addressed in a better fashion. As this is the final issue for 2004, I would like to wish all members, readers, Flexographers and their families, a very safe, happy and prosperous Christmas and New Year.

SHAUN PEARCE - Chairman

Previous Comments from the Chairman:

1. Meet Shaun Pearce: Chairman of AFTA
2. The Rewards of being an AFTA Member (November 2002)
3. The countdown to the forum has begun!
4. Chairman's report: Where has the year gone?
5. Chairman's report
6. IT'S BEEN A GREAT YEAR FOR AFTA!