FESPA Welcomes New Italian National Association To The Fold

FESPA has welcomed a new Italian national association to the organisation, with immediate effect. SIOTEC (Serigrafie Italiane Organizzate Tecnologie Correlate), headquartered in Milan, was recognised by the Italian authorities in February this year. The new association, whose President is Claudio Frassinelli of Frassinelli Serigrafia, has a board of eleven, consisting of four suppliers (Saati; Chiossi e Cavazutti; Grafco; and Kiian) six printers, and a chairperson. The association has already attracted members from Toscana, Puglia, Piemonte, Lombardia, Veneto, Friuli, Emilia Romania and Campagna, making it truly representative of Italian printers and suppliers the length and breadth of the country. The new organisation's website can be found at www.siotec.it FESPA General Secretary Nigel Steffens comments, 'Italy has a dynamic and vibrant screen, sign and digital printing community, and we at FESPA are delighted that print service providers there can once again count on a highly engaged business support organisation. The new team at SIOTEC is committed, focused and eager to become involved in FESPA activities, and we would encourage printers all over Italy to give the organisation their support.' In addition to the national business support initiatives offered by SIOTEC itself, members of the new association will also have access to the range of educational, training and best-practice development tools available via FESPA, including FESPA Certified PDF in association with Enfocus, FESPA's online training and education, the new FESPA online technical Q&A service, and many other international projects which are under development. Secretary of SIOTEC, Massimo Poli comments: 'As a not-for-profit organisation, SIOTEC can offer member companies a positive alternative to commercial isolation, giving them access to new opportunities, opening doors within the market and raising awareness of the sector's capabilities. SIOTEC welcomes the advantages and responsibilities that come with membership of the FESPA organisation. Through FESPA, SIOTEC can maintain constant dialogue with like-minded organisations worldwide, beginning with Europe. The Italian screen and digital printing community is vibrant and fast-moving, and is recognised by many as a positive international benchmark. However, Italian printers need fresh ideas and resources from other European players to help them confront today's economic challenges and reinforce their world-class reputation. From my point of view, FESPA is to SIOTEC as the EC is to Italy; impossible to do without.'