PRESS
RELEASES
1997 NAGASA ANNUAL MEETING REINFORCES DEALER-MANUFACTURER PARTNERSHIP
Washington, DC, May 1997 - NAGASA, the North American Graphic Arts Suppliers Association, has announced the results of its 1997 annual meeting. Held in Naples, Florida, from April 20-22, the meeting attracted 327 participants, said David J. Steinhardt, NAGASA president. FORUM'97, as the meeting was called, included 83 first-time attendees. Overall, the attendees represented 57 dealer and VAR firms and 75 manufacturers. Other firms represented included five converters, 13 distributors, one manufacturers' representative, and eight publishers and associations. The graphic arts dealers and VARs present represented more than $3 billion in sales. The meeting was chaired by four industry executives: Gary Dolgins, vice president and general manager, Gerber Systems Corporation; Paul Doucette, president, Bell Industries Industrial Products Group; Gordon Edwards, director of market development, Day International; and Richard Solnick, president, Atlas Graphic Supply. The theme of the meeting was Manufacturer + Channel = Solutions.
Keynote speaker Bill Monahan, chairman and CEO of Imation Corporation, challenged the group to "...connect with the customer and deliver value together. The challenge," said Monahan, "is to support customers in the transition from conventional to digital work processes." He advised both manufacturers and dealers: "Be prepared to provide much more technical support to current customers, and to expand into markets outside the traditional graphic arts market with digital solutions."
The meeting was conducted along four tracks, designed to allow both graphic arts dealers and manufacturers to focus on various aspects of their operations. The four tracks were: Expanding
Opportunities in Finishing and the Pressroom; Digital Solutions - Channel Challenges; Business Tools for Success and Profitability; and Emerging Markets and Technology. Attendees heard a variety of speakers address topical issues and conduct workshops dealing with business problems and issues.
The group also held its first annual Charity Olympiad, raising more than $2000 to benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the Race for the Cure - causes dedicated to breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment.
John M. Alley, incoming NAGASA chair, commented: "We are extremely gratified at the relationships formed between manufacturers and their resellers at meetings such as this. The continued success of NAGASA FORUM meetings and NAGASA programs overall clearly indicate a determination on the part of dealers and manufacturers to partner and to provide printers and trade services with the supplies and equipment they need to remain competitive in todayís digital world."
NAGASA will hold its 1998 Annual Meeting February 21-24 in San Diego, California.
NAGASA - the North American Graphic Arts Suppliers Association - is the world's largest trade association of dealers, resellers, distributors, and manufacturers serving the graphic arts, imaging and publishing industries. NAGASA members sell more than $4 billion of equipment, supplies, systems, software, paper and service annually. NAGASA is dedicated to strengthening distribution channel alliances, streamlining costs and operations, and improving the business performance of its more than 350 members. NAGASA: The Distribution Association for Printing and Imaging Technologies.