Following unanimous support from the boards of Gravure Association of America (GAA) and Packaging and Label Gravure Association Global (PLGA Global) it was agreed to move forward with plans to establish a new merged organization to better serve the needs of the entire gravure industry across the Americas. This decision was the result of months of review, discussion and consideration by both boards.

Stephen Young, chairman of GAA, and Annette Crampton, President of PLGA Global, confirmed the unanimous support of both boards, which look forward to what the merger will mean to the gravure industry as a whole. “The value proposition for all members will be significant,” says Stephen Young. “Through our enlarged conferences and seminars, we can continue to share and learn best practices for our mutual benefit. Working together, we can get back to our roots of the development and growth of gravure technology.”

“The time was right to pool our resources for the benefit of the entire Gravure industry across the Americas,” adds Annette Crampton. “By taking a dynamic management approach and focusing on the needs of the membership, the new association will deliver high-value resources and services designed to help move our industry forward.”

Bill Martin, president and CEO of GAA, states, “The consolidation of the two associations not only meets our industry needs but also provides members and our educational resource centers better support, services, events, expanded training, educational programs and technical resources. There will be effectively one trade association for gravure for the entire hemisphere with the power and leverage to advocate, promote and educate all gravure market segments. It is the right thing to do for all the right reasons.”

The GAA and PLGA Global boards also named Philip Pimlott, Executive Director of PLGA Global, to lead the merger effort and oversee all aspects of the transition into the new association. “The current business environment for Gravure in the Americas is extremely time and cost sensitive, affecting the growth of the industry. As an association, we have a responsibility to the industry and to our members to advance Gravure and build preference of its capability in the marketplace,” said Pimlott. “By combining the knowledge, experience and resources of both memberships, we will be in a stronger position to embrace the potential of Gravure, facilitating and supporting awareness, education, innovation, investment and global opportunities.”
Something that Young believes should also be a strong focus of the new association is in regard to the sustainability of the industry through a highly qualified and impassioned workforce.

“Perhaps most important, as a result of this merger, we can help stimulate interest in gravure amongst graphic art students through excellence in training and education combined with exposure to the opportunities that exist in the Americas.” A Merger Committee has been formed comprised of members appointed by the GAA and PLGA Global boards to develop a strategy and protocol for the merger. Outreach to the existing memberships of both organizations will commence in the next few weeks for additional insight and to support the necessary due diligence for the completion of the merger. “The intention is to have the new association formalized by the end of the calendar year, with an official launch of the new association at the Gravure Global Summit, to be held in Miami March 6-7, 2013,” says Pimlott.