Prism, the UK trade association representing the interests of screen and digital wide format print service providers, has rebranded as FESPA UK Association, adopting the brand of its umbrella federation of trade associations.
Established in 1934 as the Display and Screen Printing Association, FESPA UK Association was one of the founding members of FESPA in 1964, and the UK association is now one of 26 European member associations and 10 global associate members of FESPA.
FESPA UK Association remains a separate company, trading autonomously from FESPA. However, FESPA UK Association is able to benefit from FESPA’s programme of reinvestment, which diverts surplus revenues from FESPA’s global portfolio of events and exhibitions into projects and initiatives for the benefit of its global community of print service providers.
Many of these projects are delivered via FESPA’s member associations, and FESPA UK Association can apply for funding for specific projects via FESPA’s Projects Committee, which uses a panel of FESPA board members, executive staff and association representatives to assess project applications for their value to the local printer community.
In addition, as a member of FESPA’s global network, FESPA UK Association has access to an invaluable network of contacts, market intelligence, technical knowledge and best-practice which can be shared with its UK members.
FESPA UK Association itself has been the organiser of important UK events such as the recent Think Tank, which brought together leaders from the UK screen and digital print community representing businesses with sales totalling more than ￡1 billion. In 2012, FESPA UK Association will host its Congress, and will introduce new member benefits serving the needs of all sizes of print business.
FESPA UK Association President and Chairman of Simpson Group, Mark Simpson, explains, “Adoption of the FESPA UK Association brand is an important step, reinforcing the association’s deep roots in the global FESPA organisation. The brand highlights to members and the industry at large the close ties between the association and FESPA, which is of course recognised worldwide as a federation of trade associations and as the organiser of market-leading exhibitions and events.
Simpson continues, “Using the FESPA UK Association brand, we have a renewed opportunity to build on the association’s 77-year history, develop our value to members, and take the UK member community to new heights. In today’s challenging commercial environment, membership of an active and well-resourced trade association which is part of a strong global network gives its members immediate and cost-effective access to invaluable market insights, information, contacts and - above all – opportunities. We are confident that the FESPA UK Association name will attract important new members who will contribute fresh ideas and impetus to our work, while using membership to develop their own position in the market.”
FESPA CEO Nigel Steffens adds, “With our flagship FESPA 2013 exhibition taking place in London in June 2013, the UK will become a focal point for the global screen and digital printing community over the next 18 months, and printers in the UK can benefit enormously from that through membership of the FESPA UK association. For 50 years, the FESPA brand has stood for community, knowledge-sharing and the importance of mutually supportive relationships, so we wish FESPA UK Association and its members every success in this exciting new phase of its evolution.”
The FESPA brand is used by FESPA UK Association under licence from FESPA. Use of the brand is entirely optional for FESPA member associations and is governed by regulations laid down by the FESPA Board and approved by the members. FESPA UK Association is the first FESPA member association to opt to licence the FESPA brand.