Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you for taking the time to come to this reception – you are all very welcome. 

I have no fixed agenda for this mornings briefing so I am very much going to be speaking, ‘from the heart’.  That said, there are a number of specific points that I would like to leave with you and we shall be providing you with a written synopsis of those highlights both in hard copy and on CD, before we close.

Given that I am relatively unknown to the industry, I thought that I might take a dual approach to our conversation this morning.  You will have noted that our theme for today is ‘a new era for the PPMA’ so first and foremost I am going to try to give you a flavour of what we mean by this statement and then secondly, I shall seek to explain what I, as the new CEO on the team, will be bringing to the party! Hopefully for those of you with an interest, this will also give you a little more insight into my own background without detracting from the more important issue of where we hope to take the PPMA as we move into this new era. After that, we shall open the floor to any questions that you may have and I shall do my best to answer them although as I am sure you will appreciate – after only three weeks with the team, we are still in the early stages of developing our strategy and I reserve the right to call upon my colleagues if my lack of history prevents me from giving as rigorous an answer as you may be seeking on any given point!

So just what do we mean by “entering a new era?” The trade shows for which the PPMA is so well known now form just one of the many services provided by the Association.

Since its inception nearly twenty years ago as the organiser of what is widely recognized to be the ‘best-in-class’ national packaging machinery exhibition, the Association has now evolved into a highly successful, knowledge-based organisation that is a prime supplier of information and services for the entire machinery industry; that is -  both the suppliers, manufacturers and their customers - the users.  As the strategy discussion develops, a host of new initiatives have been tabled and are under discussion, but for me as the new CEO, five key areas figure very highly on the agenda; (and I know these are shared by my colleagues on the PPMA board):-

(1)        Membership growth and related markets

(2)        Liaison with regulatory bodies

(3)        Training & the technical events program

(4)        Exports &

(5)        the PPMA Show.

(The speech writers that I knew in Whitehall always assured me that any good address should only carry three key messages but I am going put aside the rules and give you five!!)

Let’s take a look at membership growth….

A survey by Pira in 2002 showed that in 74 per cent of end-user companies processing and packaging functions had either merged or were in the process of doing so. This is an important message - not only for our exhibition – where over 60 per cent of visitors now have responsibility for both processing and packaging – but also for every other service provided by the PPMA.

The marketers amongst us will know that when it comes to market share, (and by market share I mean of-course, membership); at a strategic level there are only four ways in which to grow a business.  We can support and expand our core membership by delivering more of the same services to ever better standards.  Secondly, we can develop new and added value services for our traditional members thereby attracting the few remaining packaging companies into the fold.  Thirdly we can seek to attract members from new but related markets with the same service offering and fourthly, if we have the appetite for the risk, we could offer a completely new service to an entirely new set of potential members.  This latter option would suggest mergers or acquisitions and is certainly not at the top of our priority list but in practice, what the PPMA must do is adopt an appropriate mix of all of these options.

The 350 members of the PPMA now account for approximately 95 per cent of the packaging machinery sold in the UK. This is a very strong position in which to be in and it is something of which we are very proud.  But, in the way in which I have just described,  PPMA is now exploring the expansion of the number of members, currently around 80, who supply processing machinery.  In terms of UK manufacturers this is also consistent with expanding PPMA operations at vertically integrated, industry specific overseas exhibitions.  I would however, like to emphasise, that such changes must and will be undertaken through a process of evolution rather than revolution to ensure that the views and wishes of the existing membership are always at the heart of the decision making process.

Where does my background come into this?  After twenty five years  in Sales and Strategic Marketing, I  have first-hand experience of the business development process and I place great emphasis upon customer focus. I regard all of the members and their clients as customers of the PPMA.  To this extent I regard PPMA as a service provider and like any successful service industry we must meet and ideally exceed customer / membership expectations if we are to realise the desired growth.  Within the context of the PPMA Show this means maintaining the best visitor profile in the industry whilst other added value services such as the Machinery Finder, the technical seminar program and the new Website must be developed to make it all the easier for machinery users to find the most appropriate supplier of the required equipment. 

At the same time, buyers and specifiers need to be confident that suppliers meet the required standards of safety and performance.  In this area we’ve initiated a number of activities such as the passport schemes to aid the food and pharmaceuticals industries.  At the heart of such initiatives is the need to maintain open and frequent communication channels and I plan to engage directly with the membership wherever possible, seeking their views and measuring their satisfaction on a one to one basis.

Liaison with Regulatory bodies:-

The principal aim of the PPMA's liaison work with both the UK Government and the EC is to ensure that the regulatory burden placed upon its members is kept to a minimum.  In doing so we have to ensure that where regulation is applied, it is done with clarity, consistency and proportionality. Not surprisingly, Health and Safety has figured highly in the regulatory activities of the PPMA and there are continued efforts to ensure that machinery manufacturers know what is required of them and that users are assured of safe and compliant machinery.  The key message is not necessarily de-regulation but in the words of the Cabinet Office Regulation Task Force - better, smarter regulation.

The PPMA has already played a major role in helping to set European standards. The association is currently involved, along with representatives of end-users, with writing standards for various categories of packaging and food processing machinery. We are also liaising with UK Government departments on a clutch of new regulations, including amendments to the Machinery Directive, EMC regulations and the Low Voltage Directive.

We were also heavily involved in presenting the UK view on the Measuring Instruments Directive to Brussels and the European Parliament. Again the aim was to ensure clarity in the regulations.

What do I bring to this party?  For the past two years, I have been on secondment to the UK Cabinet Office leading a team working directly with private industry in identifying and implementing solutions to inappropriate and disproportionate regulation.  Much of this activity included the implementation and subsequent development of the recommendations made in the Hampton review for a much reduced and lighter-touch approach to regulation.  Such first hand involvement in government affairs has provided me and so now the PPMA, with a unique insight into the best way to engage with regulators and this will form the backdrop for a number of new regulatory initiatives by the Association on behalf of its members.  For those of you who remember the infamous comedy series, Yes Minister, let me assure you that it wasn’t so much a comedy as a documentary! 

Life in Whitehall really is like that - and knowing the rules of the game is essential if we are to realize the benefits of a positive and constructive relationship with government.  At the risk of sounding like Sir Humphrey - it’s not about beating the Minister over the head with problems – it’s about empathy, communication and constructive co-operative engagement. 

This new emphasis on the part of PPMA will also facilitate closer and more proactive relations with organizations such as the Engineering and Machinery Alliance (EAMA), Europama and the Trade Association Forum.

What of the PPMA training & technical events program?

As many of you know, this program includes a series of seminars throughout the year on a wide range of topics which are of interest to both machinery suppliers and end-users alike and cover both technical and regulatory subjects.

Most recently we helped establish a Food Industry Safety Passport scheme for service engineers and last year, for example, we were involved in training over 800 people. A similar scheme for the pharmaceutical industry is now under way and the first courses for this initiative were held by the PPMA during summer this year.

As the industry’s trade association I believe that we are in a unique position to undertake such initiatives and can help to maintain consistent and high quality standards for both service and safety assurance right across our industry. 

My own emphasis upon meeting ‘customer expectations’ and addressing the expressed needs of the membership will be a determining factor in further developing this popular service.  I shall also use my experience in strategic marketing to help ensure that as the PPMA evolves into related markets, the appropriate training and technical events program evolves ‘in-tandem’ to reflect the requirements of the existing as well as new and emerging membership.

Issue four – Export.

Let’s continue with my mantra of ‘listening to the customer or listening to the members!’

A recent poll of the PPMA membership suggested that the over whelming majority of members expect their exports to grow significantly over the coming twelve months.  Using our extensive experience of managing trade shows, last year, the PPMA organised a UK presence at seven overseas exhibitions. This year, for the first time, we were responsible for running the British pavilion at Interpack and also for providing support for British firms at a further five overseas exhibitions including Propak China, Asia and Indonesia.

Interpack was a great success: 5000 enquiries were generated by the 40 companies taking part on the UK combined stand and an estimated £10.7 million of potential new business was created. As a result of this sterling effort, the PPMA won the Export Initiative category in the Trade Association Forum's Best Practice Awards for 2005.

It’s a difficult figure to establish but we believe that at the moment, exports of UK packaging machinery currently stand at in excess of 200 million Euros. The USA remains the most important market although the latest figures for 2005 show the growing importance of France and the Irish Republic. Taiwan and the Pacific Rim are also areas of growing importance and through the excellent foresight of my predecessors, the PPMA China office provides its members with a valuable platform and entrée into this region offering a host of additional facilities such as the PPMA Dragon Service.

I and the team will continue to build upon this highly effective overseas exhibitions program and, as I have already mentioned, we are exploring opportunities for UK pavilions in more vertically integrated, industry-specific exhibitions around the world, such as food and pharmaceuticals where I know a large proportion of the PPMA members have a significant interest.

I should emphasise that through all of these activities we will not lose sight of the need to maintain not just the number of delegates attending a given event but also the ‘quality.’  In other words

- that the appropriate suppliers are brought together with the appropriate buyers and that both are able to meet each others expectations

Which is a natural lead into our fifth and final key focus – the PPMA Show.

The PPMA Show has always been and remains one of the most important and successful events in the PPMA calendar.  Indeed, as we all know, it was the catalyst for the creation of the Association and since those early days has remained a primary vehicle for helping members and their customers remain abreast of the latest developments in the industry and for conducting business.   My arrival will not change this focus – on the contrary, I shall work to develop the show and ensure that whilst it reflects evolving industry trends, it remains the premier process and packaging machinery event.

We have referred at length to my background as a Sales and Marketeer and this will clearly be a great help to the development of the PPMA Show but we have made little mention of the fact that as a trained scientist, (I read Physics and worked in scientific research for a number of years), I very much support the PPMA’s increasing involvement in knowledge management and emerging technologies.  The Research Village at the Show this year is clear evidence of this support and further illustrates PPMA links with both government, universities and other leading academic institutions.

So, in conclusion; without pre-empting what might come out of the on-going strategy discussions with the board; our – my – current focus is upon five key areas:-

(1) Increased membership through controlled evolution into related markets whilst taking care not to defocus from the wishes of our core membership;

(2) More frequent, efficient and effective engagement with the regulators both at a national and transnational level.   – (I should add that I am very happy to be quoted as saying that there has never been a better time than the present to take the initiative in engaging with the regulators.  In the UK, the publication of and subsequent government commitment to the recommendations of the Hampton review will target government departments to reduce the burden of their regulation upon industry by up to 25% and they are actively looking to private enterprise to give them a ‘steer’ as to how they might achieve these targets. In Europe, Britain is going into their term in the EU presidency on the back of an agenda which places better regulation at the heart of the economic debate and with the exception of the Dutch , the member states although even further behind the UK in addressing regulatory burden, are no less eager to see positive action.  For the first time – industry is pushing at a genuinely open door and we must not miss this opportunity through either apathy or ignorance of the process.)

So;  more frequent, efficient and effective engagement with the regulators

(3) A creative and evolving technical events and training program designed by the members for the members

(4) A proactive approach to export issues in the form of both a tailored overseas exhibitions program, close cooperation with UKTI, a higher profile for the PPMA China office and an ever open ear to the views of the membership in order that we continue to meet their expectations.

And finally;

(5) a continued focus upon ensuring that the PPMA Show remains the leading venue for the Process and Packaging Machinery industry.

In short; to ensure that after the next twenty years of its life, the PPMA remains the shop window for the industry, a first rate source of technical information, accurate market knowledge and a coherent and consolidated voice for the industry both in Whitehall and in Brussels.  A premier league Association, owned and managed by the members – for the members.

2,700 Words.