The association welcomed 120 guests to contemporary French restaurant Orelle for lunch and networking drinks, with guests switching places after each course.
Held on the 24th floor of Birmingham’s tallest building, the event mixed IPIA members, suppliers, agencies, and print buyers.
Featuring talks from IPIA chair Charles Rogers and member and Dectek managing director Mike Beese, the event also honoured long-serving members of the IPIA with a new ‘Lifetime Membership’ category.
Announcing the new category, Rogers explained that ex-chairs with more than 10 years’ experience in the association would be automatically inducted.
“This is not only thanks to past chairs for their time and commitment they have given,” he said, “but also locks in and retains their expertise, their experience, and their connections to build an evolving steering group to help us through our operational and strategic ventures.”
Kath Doran, managing director of Spectrum Plastics, was inducted into Lifetime Membership alongside Mike Roberts, managing director of PMG Print Management, and Graeme Smith, managing director of the Cyan Group.
Doran told Printweek it was an honour to have been recognised in this way: “To know that I can still be a part of this fantastic association, even when I get to the point of retiring, is such a privilege.
“The IPIA is so close to my heart: I’ve been in the association since 2008, and have really seen it grow over that time.”
The day’s event, she added, had been of real use in discussing some of the problems printers face in the market; she herself, and many others at the event, had been discussing the industry’s current difficulties in recruitment.
“It was so refreshing to talk about it, because other people have the same problems you do,” she said.
Brendan Perring, the IPIA’s general manager, organised the event and said he was thrilled with how the day had gone.
“These events are genuinely about stimulating new economic activity for the industry,” he said.
“And one of the ways of making that happen is by bringing together print buying organisations, printers, and suppliers. We have a fantastic array of businesses of all sizes here today, networking and creating new business out of nothing.”
He added: “Printers are busier than they have ever been before. Events like this are great, because what would normally take up a weeks’ worth of meetings or more – you can do in one day at the networking lunch.”
