Flexographic Technical Association has announced the cancellation of Forum and INFOFLEX 2020, due to the continued rapid spread of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).

“As the FTA Board of Directors, FFTA Board of Trustees and management team were methodically reviewing updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and multiple authorities in Columbus and the state of Ohio, in the end, one need remained at our forefront: the obligation to protect the health and safety of the FTA membership,” says FTA President Mark Cisternino.

A number of significant changes have made cancellation of these events unavoidable. The Governor of Ohio recently issued an executive order banning all mass gatherings of 100 or more people throughout the state. Although there continues to be no confirmed cases in the Columbus area and only five throughout the state of Ohio, the ban was executed out of an abundance of caution. There was no time frame assigned to the ban, therefore the decision was immediately made by management to recommend cancellation to the FTA and FFTA Boards, which they approved.

FTA management is currently formulating avenues with which to deliver the content developed for FORUM 2020, as well as preparing cancellation policy details for registered attendees, INFOFLEX exhibitors and event sponsors. Additionally, the various announcements and presentations that take place at FORUM’s Awards Banquet—the Excellence in Flexography Award winners, FTA Hall of Fame inductee, Flexography Scholarship recipients, President’s Award recipients, Sustainability Excellence Award winners, the Phoenix Challenge College Competition winners, Technical Innovation Award winners, among others—will be made in one form or another. Details on these topics will be shared in the near future.

“I will certainly miss seeing everyone in Columbus this year,” Cisternino adds, “but that feeling is absolutely secondary to my desire to ensure that everyone in the FTA community does everything possible to remain safe and healthy as we all endure these times together.”