R&E Council Joins Forces With NAPL

PARAMUS, NJ—Two of the leading educational associations in the commercial printing industry have teamed up to add more value for their respective memberships.

The National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL) and the Research & Engineering Council of the Graphic Arts Industry (R&E Council) have agreed to a merger. The latter is being renamed the R&E Council of the NAPL, with all members of the R&E Council and their companies enrolled as full corporate members of NAPL.

The R&E Council of the NAPL will be managed from the NAPL headquarters located here. R&E Council Managing Director Ron Mihills will join NAPL as the council's senior staff executive. Two R&E Council officers will be named for election to the NAPL board of directors.

The merger is a product of the strategic alliance the two organizations forged last year. As a result, R&E members will have access to NAPL's printing management and economic resources, while NAPL members can benefit from tapping into the R&E Council's resources for educating printing industry personnel in the latest technologies and productivity enhancements.

Gold Standard

The consolidation should establish a new "gold standard" for membership benefits among printing industry organizations, according to I. Gregg Van Wert, NAPL president and CEO.

"By complementing each other's traditional strengths in our areas of special expertise, NAPL and its R&E Council will add new depth and desirability to what is already the industry's premier selection of member services," he says. "Because the NAPL and R&E Council cultures and foundational values are so closely aligned, we're confident that the merger of our two associations will enrich members of both organizations, as well as the printing industry as a whole."

Mihills feels the NAPL is the perfect home for his association. "Its long history of dedication to advancing the industry, its forward-looking approach to helping its members manage and profit from change, and its culture of superior member service all dovetail perfectly with the aims of the R&E Council and its future goals."