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November 20, 2007 |
The Federation of Societies for Coatings Technology(FSCT)Blue Bell, PA, has decided to enter into merger discussions with the National Paint and Coatings Association(NPCA), Washington, DC, just three months after rejecting a previous merger proposal from the NPCA. FSCT vice president Joe Brown presented a proposal to NPCA's board of directors immediately prior to NPCA's annual meeting and Industry Leadership Conference in Pittsburgh in late October. The NPCA board agreed to move forward with discussions in an effort to complete a merger over the next few months. According to a statement by the NPCA, the timeline for the merger includes meetings to work out the details of the marriage by the end of this year. A plan to promote and explain the details of the merger will be developed by January 31, 2008, and a final merger plan will be presented to the FSCT and NPCA by March 1, 2008, with final approvals to be completed by April 1, 2008. The NPCA also stated that if the merger is approved, the next International Coatings Expo(ICE), hosted by FSCT, would be cancelled and rolled into the new American Coatings Show, being held June 2-5, 2008, in Charlotte, NC, by the NPCA and German publishing house Vincentz Verlag, Hannover, Germany. NPCA president Andy Doyle stated that, regardless of the outcome of the merger discussions, the American Coatings Show would definitely go ahead. �We expect the American Coatings Show to become the premier conference for the industry and there's no change whatsoever with respect to us going forward,� says Doyle. The American Coatings Show will be held in alternate years with the European Coatings Show. Doyle says that all indications are that the American Coatings Show will be widely supported by the industry. However, in a recent statement from the FSCT, the organization underlined that during the merger discussions all FSCT activities will continue as usual and plans to host ICE 2008 in Chicago will continue to move ahead.
When asked about the reasons behind FSCT's change of position on a merger, FSCT executive director Joe Pontoski stated that, �It had become apparent in discussions with people throughout the industry that there was a tremendous amount of confusion and concern about the separate paths(of FSCT and NPCA). So I think the board of directors were really trying to take a step to come to the table and do what's best for the industry.� The move also came less than a month after a disappointing turnout at the recent International Coatings Expo, FSCT's premier event, held this year in Toronto, ON, in early October. Toronto was selected as the site for ICE 2007 in part to encourage more international attendance from members of the industry who have been deterred from traveling to the US in the security-conscious, post-9/11 era. Nevertheless, many of the large paint manufacturers did not send representatives to the show this year. ICE 2007 attracted only 176 exhibitors and 3452 registrants, down from 300 exhibitors and 4615 registrants in New Orleans in 2006, and a high of 326 exhibitors and 6596 registrants at ICE 2004 in Chicago.
At this time, it is not clear what the shape of the proposed merged organization would look like and what the merger would mean in terms of membership fees, etc. According to Pontoski, �the structure that was proposed by the FSCT board of directors is for the FSCT to exist as a wholly owned subsidiary, essentially an independent organization doing the same activities and functions it has done for many years.� FSCT's traditional mandate has been to provide educational, professional development and networking opportunities in the industry, whereas the role of the NPCA is to provide advocacy on legislative, regulatory and judicial issues at all levels of government within the US.
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