LATMA set to soak up the sun

The label industry is getting ready for some serious fun in the sun next month as part of the 2011 LATMA national conference.

All things labels take centre stage from 24 to 26 March at the Twin Waters Resort on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. According to the LATMA website, its conference is attended by 100 delegates, along with industry leaders from around the world and local business speakers across a range of industries.

“It’s a chance for all of us to take a break from working in our individual businesses and actually sit back and work on the business, as well as looking at industry and global trends,” LATMA’s website says.

Frank Gavrilos, (pictured) the current national president of LATMA and director of AC Labels in Sydney, expects between 70 to 85 attendees, a number which he says is “pretty consistent” with previous years.

He believes that the speakers are a major drawcard for attendees. “We always put an emphasis on the quality of the speakers,” he said. “The speakers whom attendees will be exposed to are worth two-to-three times the money that attendees are paying; they are well-known business people.”

This year, key speakers include Mike Fairley, who will give an over view of economic trends; Gavin Williams, who speaks on packaging industry trends, sustainability and the packaging covenant, Saul Eslake, who gives an economic update while Michael Taylor and Ric Wilmot speak on lean manufacturing and business improvement respectively.

Speakers don’t get the final world, though. The one and a half hour open discussion and debate, ‘It’s a Short Run World’ gives both printers and suppliers the chance to speak about short runs and how it is affecting them.

It isn’t all work, though. The conference includes a team-building exercise involving Foosball (no that’s not a typo) and Seglympics. Not quite sure what it means, but no doubt it will be fun. For the more traditional and sporty-minded, the day ends with a golf and tennis tournament. See www.latma.com.au/conference-2011/ for more information.