Page 5 - FINAT Yearbook 2011

dear reader,
FINAT proudly presents the first edition of a new publication: the FINAT Yearbook. Together with the new Website and Community and its associated electronic communication media, the Yearbook will mark the start of a new era for FINAT.
For more than 45 years, FINAT Labelling News has been the main carrier of news and information about the association, its services, programmes and members. From its beginnings as a plain, stencilled and stapled newsletter in the 1960 and 70s, the publication developed over time into a professionally-edited, full-colour quarterly magazine, released at one point in four languages, with a controlled circulation of over 3,000 worldwide in the 1990s and the first decade of the new millennium.
That new millennium has accelerated the development of a new media landscape. Globalisation and the rise of a new generation of industry leaders have promoted the acceptance of English as the common business language. FINAT launched its website in the late 1990s, and the evolution of the internet has made it possible to reduce the ‘miles’ between its expanding international membership, and to increase the speed of communication. Over the last few years, social media and ‘Web 2.0’ have added a new dimension to human interaction, and – as we have seen in North Africa – they are even becoming a factor in global politics. Finally, from a commercial standpoint, the fragmentation of communication media has resulted in increased competition for limited advertising budgets.
In this new landscape, the role of FINAT is also changing. Once an association connecting people in a physical sense (via networking meetings and face-to- face dialogue, or via printed media), the
new FINAT website and the online community will also allow the associa- tion’s members to network and discuss in a virtual environment and to exchange information or even collaborate online. The virtual dimension of FINAT will also enable a broader group of member companies to take advantage of the benefits that our association can offer.
our association’s achievements and plans for the coming year. It serves as a reference guide for FINAT members and potential members. And finally, but most importantly, it honours the many volunteers and professionals who have dedicated their time and expertise to the common benefit of the association and the objectives it represents.
As a special feature, the Yearbook also offers you the possibility to personalise your copy of this first issue of our new ‘printed’ medium, by applying your choice of the self-adhesive labels that you will receive after the annual congress in Sicily in June.
I thank the advertisers who made this publication possible, as well as our professional partners from 4impression, Ann Hirst-Smith Associates, AWA Consulting, Compres Publishers, DuoMedia, Labels & Labeling, Labelexpo Global Series, Remotion and the FINAT secretariat, all of whom contributed to this Yearbook.
I wish you pleasant reading!
Jules Lejeune Managing Director
The Hague, June 2011
And not only that: the association also become accessible to people member companies who do not normally have the opportunity to to our meetings, pay for congress seminar attendance, or for FINAT publications.
will inside
travel and
The strength of an association like FINAT lies also in the collective knowledge of its members and the ability to share know- how and expertise. Our slogan ‘Linking the Label Community’, adopted on the occasion of the 50th anniversary in 2008, will therefore be even more valid today and tomorrow.
Equally valid is the slogan chosen for this year’s congress, which also appears on the cover of this book: ‘Embrace Change, Enjoy Success’. By adapting its portfolio of communication and information media to the new era, our association is embracing change to support the members on the road to continued success.
This Yearbook aims to capture the highlights of the continuous flow of communication and exchange of information around FINAT’s activities, services and publications in the past twelve months. It presents an account of

FINaT YearBOOK 2011 |