FTA President Robb Frimming looks back on his first six months in the role, causing him to explain how volunteer spirit and direct dialogue with members drive all actions:
- Top priorities are outlined
- Continuous improvement of FORUM, INFOFLEX, FLEXO, research, training, FIRST and more are spelled out
Discussion reveals how printer challenges translate into FTA’s strategic directions. And the conversation evolves into remarks on:
- The advancement of the industry
- Getting package printing and converting from where it is today to where it needs to be tomorrow
- FTA’s role in the process
- A future filled with member engagement
FLEXO Magazine: Having been a long-standing member of Flexographic Technical Association, who volunteered in critical capacities as both FORUM/Fall Conference presenter, an Executive Leadership member of the Flexo Quality Consortium (FQC) and co-chair of the Flexographic Image Reproduction Specifications & Tolerances (FIRST) 7.0 Leadership Committee, what aspects of your affiliation with FTA inspired you to express interest in serving as the organization’s president?
Robb Frimming: Volunteering with FTA has been an extremely rewarding experience, both personally and professionally. Thanks should be given to all the member organizations who encourage their employees to get involved. Speaking at FTA events provides an opportunity for member companies to showcase their thought-leadership expertise, and for the volunteer to grow and learn. As a volunteer, I was able to witness the passion FTA staff have for the industry. This was truly inspiring. I saw this as a once in a lifetime opportunity to channel my passion for the industry and serve FTA in a leadership position.
Congratulations to Mark Cisternino on a successful tenure and on his decision to retire at Fall Conference 2022. His leadership of the Association has allowed so many to grow and advance their careers, including myself and many of the industry colleagues that I respect.
FLEXO: With a few months of service under your belt, what have you learned about the Association that you did not know? How will that new-found knowledge influence your efforts moving forward?
FRIMMING: I accepted this appointment with humility and with the drive to move the Association and the industry forward. I can say that I honestly did not know of all the details involved with putting on successful in-person events like FORUM, INFOFLEX and Fall Conference.
I have always been impressed with FLEXO Magazine, and again, learning the details behind FLEXO and the events has given me a new respect for the staff. I have been involved with so many internal newsletter startups in the past, and they seem to always run out of steam. FLEXO continues to deliver fresh technical content month after month. Watching the way the staff come together for a common goal for the events, the magazine and membership value, makes me feel proud to be part of a great association.
Having six months under my belt has allowed me to settle in a little more. At first, I would say I radiated more heat than light. Essentially the heat represented the energy, and the light represent efficiency… I was certainly comfortable with the technical side of the industry, but the business side of the Association was eye-opening. In my last role, I ran a print services organization that had a “business within a business” aspect that started regionally and then went global. The business acumen gained in this role certainly helped set the stage for the FTA president role.
I started that print services organization in 2002, essentially introducing print quality scorecards to brand owners and their supply chain. In a volunteer role, I then worked with FTA to deliver a print quality scoring session at Fall Conference 2011 in Cincinnati, OH with the assistance of a local large consumer product company. Print quality scoring is now a staple at the FORUM sessions, INOFLEX and Fall Conference. This experience in breaking new ground in the industry will serve me well as we look to modernize FTA for our members and staff, and explore new business relationships to make the organization more efficient internally.
FLEXO: If you had to list the organization’s top priorities in order, what would they be? Why? How do you plan to lead the staff in acting on each?
FRIMMING: FTA exists to serve our members. Bringing value to our members is the top priority. We have already begun to implement programs to address this. Coming in from the outside, I realized right away that the company I worked for was not getting all the value out of the membership that was already there. Our goal is creating a new onboarding process, planning one-on-ones and virtual membership open house events and offering membership benefits that include free training and free entry into our in-person events.
Additionally, MemberConnect should be the go-to destination for anyone who works in the printing industry. While we do have “flexography” in the name, much of what you can access in MemberConnect, or on a Membernar/Webinar/Tech Talk can be applied to complementary printing processes. FTA membership is an extremely good value when you see what you get, for what you pay.
The second priority is continuing to grow attendance at our events. Having brand owners and printer/converters attend the events, so that our member suppliers have an audience is key to moving the industry forward. Opportunities to network at INFOFLEX and learn at FORUM and Fall Conference are abundant. Staff and member volunteers spend months preparing the agendas for the sessions, and INFOFLEX provides the backdrop for face-to-face conversations, plus it offers the opportunity to interact with the latest and greatest technologies and innovations.
FTA has outstanding training materials and programs. FIRST 7.0 is the industry’s most comprehensive set of specifications, guidelines and tutorials designed to provide all members of the flexographic supply chain with the technical information needed to produce high-quality and consistent print results—pressrun after pressrun. This is a document created by the industry, for the industry. We plan to focus energy to refresh FIRST Certification training, along with professional development learning opportunities.
The next priority will be to build bridges to sister associations and working with the latest trend of focused technical/demo/experience centers. We look to create visible and meaningful relationships that benefit our members and the print universe. FTA already has some great relations with other associations, but I need to insert myself to get up to speed and then plan how we move forward together. This will help expand our membership into some areas that have been underserved, like flexo hybrid and corrugated, while building on the strong foundation we have in other segments and being the go-to resource for brand owners.