New York, New York

An ever-changing global market, customer concerns and an increasingly competitive environment have made the time ripe for the formation of a new supplier association in the corrugated industry.

The proliferation of industry trade shows is what planted the seed, however, in addition a host of other issues have come to a head, which many suppliers believe can be better addressed through a group effort.

To accomplish this end, a meeting took place on September 24th in a hotel near LaGuardia airport in which 43 suppliers discussed various issues for three hours-including the possibility of forming a supplier-only association. The idea for such an association had been discussed for some time, but until now, never acted upon.

Carl Landegger, chairman of industry supplier United Container Machinery Inc. said, "We'd been hearing from our customers that they felt there are too many shows, and they can't afford to send people to all of them. We finally decided to put a group together and discuss the issue."

However, the group stresses it is not out to "fight" trade show organizers, but hopes to work with them to develop better ways to communicate their messages, which will benefit everyone.

In addition to trade show proliferation, the group also discussed key issues such as product liability and safety laws, which have become even more critical to businesses in light of global marketing. For instance, many European facilities are very concerned about U.S. product liability laws. Conversely, U.S. companies have concerns about European safety laws. Both issues may affect the way a supplier builds machinery.

"Product liability and safety are just a few of many challenges that can be addressed by an international organization," Landegger explained. "We all have mutual problems, and if we come together, we can help each other." To help address such concerns, the new association hopes to include supplier companies from every corner of the globe.

At the close of the September 24th meeting, three committees were formed and a fourth is pending. The Organizing Committee, chaired by Landegger, was charged with setting up by-laws, dues, officers and a name for the association. The Safety and Product Liability Committee will deal with the variation of laws in a global context. And the Trade Show Committee will handle the aforementioned dilemma of proliferation and cost to the industry. The pending committee, which would be focused on market research, would help to attain important forecasting information.

Each committee had 90 days from the close of the meeting to discuss its plans. The group intends to reconvene in Europe on November 20 and hopes to become an officially functioning entity by the beginning of 1999.

There was and will continue to be an anti-trust lawyer present at all meetings. For more information, call Carl Landegger at: (212) 916-8000.