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December 2, 2008 |
Representatives of the Canadian Paint and Coatings Association (CPCA) and the Toronto Society for Coatings Technology (TOSCOT) met in November to discuss the possibility of merging TOSCOT into the CPCA. The proposed new alignment between the organizations would see TOSCOT become an "Education Committee" of the CPCA, according to a statement from TOSCOT. The meeting between CPCA president Jim Quick and TOSCOT board representatives Dave Saucier and Greg Corning was also attended by AS Paterson CEO Rod Paterson, who served as an observer for the Ontario chapter of the Oil and Colour Chemists Association (OCCA).
The primary advantage of the merger for TOSCOT would be the ability to not only preserve, but market and deliver TOSCOT's Diploma in Coatings Technology program on a national scale, said TOSCOT president Dave Saucier. TOSCOT recently acquired the copyrights to the Diploma program.
"Our responsibility can not be fulfilled at the local regional level where we restrict this precious gift we have. Although we have adequate funds, marketing an education program is not our forte, delivering it is. The CPCA has the expertise to market our education program on our behalf," said Saucier.
Established in 1919, TOSCOT was one of the founding societies of the Federation of Societies for Coatings Technology (FSCT), and six TOSCOT presidents have served as FSCT president in the course of its history. However, the merger in April of the Pennsylvania-based FSCT with the National Paint and Coatings Association (NPCA), the Washington, DC-based advocacy organization for the US paint industry, was a contributing factor in the TOSCOT board's decision to consider another direction for the future of the organization.
"Since the FSCT has merged with the NPCA and TOSCOT has no voting rights on how the FSCT operates, we are no longer bound to fulfill a regional role by representing FSCT member interests. In fact it is a waste of energy and resources to continue to try and push a boulder uphill with respect to sustaining our association in its current format," said Saucier.
TOSCOT has suffered a steady decline in membership in recent years. However, the organization is in excellent shape financially, with over $150,000 in assets, according to its September newsletter. The disposition of those assets in a merged organization is likely to be one of the most contentious issues in the merger discussions. Saucier stated that the funds were "donated by the local industry to sustain and grow the education program, not for any other reason." Other aspects of the merger up for discussion include collapsing the golf tournaments of each organization into a single "Ontario Coatings Industry" golf tournament. The TOSCOT statement did no include any timetable for completion of a merger. There was also no mention of what the implications of the merger would be for other organizations such as the Montreal Society for Coatings Technology (MSCT). See the February 2009 issue of Coatings Magazine for more on this breaking story.
www.toscot.org
www.cdnpaint.org
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