In April 2011, Jim Coleman, then the executive director of the National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers (NAPIM), the trade association for the North American printing ink industry, retired. Brad Bergey was named the new executive director.
 
Bergey had an impressive resume. A 27-year ink industry veteran, he joined Sun Chemical in 1978 as an operations coordinator, and rose to president of the Kohl & Madden division before leaving the industry in 2006. While at Sun Chemical, he was active in NAPIM, serving as chairman of NAPIM’s Management Information Committee for four years, and on the committee for nine years. He had received the prestigious Printing Ink Pioneer Award from NAPIM in 2004.
 
Now, Bergey is stepping aside at the end of 2015, with John Copeland, a former NAPIM president and president of Toyo Ink America, taking over as executive director. Now is a good opportunity to look back on Bergey’s accomplishments.
 
I had the pleasure of talking with him recently – you can click on Part 1 and Part 2 of the pair of podcasts I conducted with him during the recent National printing Ink Research Institute’s (NPIRI) annual Technical Conference. Bergey talked about the changes that have occurred within NAPIM and the ink industry during the past five years; it makes for interesting listening.
 
I want to highlight a couple of key moves, as well as the biggest challenge ahead for Copeland and NAPIM.
 
One important move came fairly immediately, as NAPIM relocated its headquarters from Woodbridge, NJ to home offices. The lease was an expensive one, and the savings helped NAPIM’s finances. Another major move occurred when NAPIM partnered with TAPPI to provide services such as convention planning and other aspects that a larger organization is better positioned to offer.
 
There have been changes to programming. George Fuchs, NAPIM’s director regulatory affairs and technology, has greatly expanded NAPIM’s technical and safety offerings. There has been the elimination of concurrent sessions during NPIRI in favor of full-day programming, and other moves that have benefited the association and its members.
 
As for the biggest challenge, Bergey pointed to membership. NAPIM will have to continue to provide value to current and perspective members, who are the lifeblood of any organization.
 
As Bergey finishes up his time as NAPIM’s executive director, he deserves thanks for a job well done, and best wishes for the coming years.