FESPA Welcomes Screen Printers Association Of Korea As An Associate Member

FESPA, at its 2007 General Assembly in Athens, further increased its community of international affiliates welcoming the Screen Printing Association of Korea (SPAK) to the organisation as an Associate Member. Founded in 1983, SPAK consists of 7 divisions, serving 162 printers and 124 manufacturers and distributors. Based in Seoul in the Republic of Korea, SPAK undertakes a wide range of activities on behalf of its members. Its services include gathering and distributing information about the regional and global print market, supporting education in technical colleges, recruiting staff for members of SPAK, liaising with members and organising social events and excursions to exhibitions and events. The organisation's website can be found at www.spak.or.kr. 'We have always had great respect for FESPA and we were honoured when we were asked to attend the General Assembly in September 2007 in Athens, Greece,' says SPAK President Dong-Rip Park, 'We attended our first FESPA exhibition in Amsterdam in 1984 and have been to every one since. Now, as an Associate Member of FESPA, we are delighted to be able to offer our members access to a number of resources that FESPA has to offer alongside the exhibitions.' Mr Park is supported in his role as president by first vice president Ki-Hoon Lee, second vice president Woo-Chul Shin, secretary Se-Young Lee, and Jung-Shik Lee who is responsible for press relations as well as being an interpreter and tour organiser. Members of SPAK will now have access to FESPA's range of educational, training and best-practice development tools, and have the opportunity to participate in many international projects currently in development. In turn, FESPA will benefit from stronger links with the Korean printing industry, facilitating information exchange on developing technologies and applications, new products, environmental regulations and market trends. Nigel Steffens, CEO of FESPA, comments: 'We are thrilled to be welcoming SPAK into our ever-growing FESPA family. Korea's screen printing industry is rapidly growing and its digital printing industry is booming. SPAK is the only association of its kind to be registered and acknowledged by the Government of the Republic of Korea, which speaks volumes in terms of how much the industry is respected in the country.' 'The Asia-Pacific region as a whole is a significant player in the global screen and digital printing markets, and FESPA is committed to expanding its reach and influence into this region in cooperation with our associate members, as evidenced by the launch of our FESPA Asia-Pacific exhibition in Thailand, 28th -30th November 2008. We believe that this important partnership with SPAK will be mutually beneficial, and very much look forward to working with our new associate member in the months ahead.'