First a fond farewell and a very big thankyou to my predecessor, Pauline Covell, for being such a good colleague and true friend in the many years we have worked together. I know you will all agree with me that she did a superb job as editor of Converting Today - and as a champion of the converting and packaging industries. She will be a hard act to follow!
Since taking over the editor's chair, two events have already proved especially enjoyable and satisfying.
One was this year's EFTA Print Awards gala dinner, where I was privileged to present the Cash in Waste Awards, which were sponsored by Converting Today. This is a new category in the prestigious competition for the flexo printing industry - and one with an important part to play for the future. With the recently heightened awareness of environmental concerns generally, it was a pleasure to be playing a modest part in an initiative to help concentrate converters' minds on combining care for the environment with an efficient operation that “pays off”.
Hopefully, this year's Cash in Waste award winners - Fantasticka, IST Metz and Teknek - will be the first of many. In fact, every company in our industry and all others should be aiming to be a “winner” when it comes to working towards a combination of operational efficiency and environmental responsibility.
Talking of winners, the second event that I referred to certainly looks to have scored a success - ICE, the International Converting Exhibition. Last month's three-day show in Munich (see report in this issue) confirmed its claim to be Europe's biggest dedicated event for the converting industry. Walking the aisles, it was a delight to be told by every single exhibitor I asked that they had seen plenty of visitors and, most importantly, visitors of the “right kind” - decision makers, people who were interested in their products and wanted to see them.
A lot of credit must go to Michael Boyle and his team at nimble shows & media for getting it right, and keeping the ICE show focused. Here's to the next events in China (January, 2008) and again in Munich, in November, 2009.
Talking of successful shows, I'm especially pleased to announce that Converting Today will be an official Media Partner for drupa 2008, the world's biggest printing industry event. Once again, as when we worked together for the last show, we will be bringing you regular news and focused reports over the coming months, building up to an in-depth exhibitor preview backed with detailed information for visitors in the final countdown stages for the main event (Düsseldorf, May 29-June 11, 2008). More on this next month.
Mike Taylor
Editor
MikeTaylor
