Mexican associations hold converter meeting

Mexican associations hold converter meeting

Mexican label associations Ametiq and Acoban hosted their first joint converter meeting during Labelexpo Americas in Chicago. James Quirk reports on an impressive debut

Mexican label associations Ametiq (La Asociación Mexicana de Etiqueteros) and Acoban (La Asociación Mexicana de Convertidores de Etiquetas y Banda Angosta), hosted their first joint converter meeting during Labelexpo Americas in Chicago in September.

The breakfast event included a series of presentations from the associations’ founders and members, as well as contributions from North American and Brazilian associations TLMI and Abiea. Thirteen industry suppliers sponsored the event and were present with table-top stands.  

With 110 people in attendance, the meeting represented an impressive recruitment drive for the two associations, both less than two years old. They outlined the benefits of collaboration between companies and clear short- and long-term plans for growth.

After an introduction by Acoban’s Monica Martinez, the association’s president Edgar Martinez, of converter Grupo Etimex, began the program of presentations with a call for new levels of communication and cooperation between companies in Mexico. ‘It’s time to break old paradigms,’ he said. ‘By creating synergies between our companies, we can solve common problems as a team.’ Jesus Ramirez of label printer Eticom, president of Ametiq, cited the examples of Finat and TLMI as models to follow in terms of membership numbers and levels of collaboration between associates. ‘Competitors must become colleagues,’ he said. 

Keren Becerra of Lobo Impresores introduced Ametiq’s six founding members: Coflemex, Eticom, Etiflash de México, La Etiqueta Fina, Lobo Impresores and Etiquetas Anro. She spoke of the association’s pride in participating in a dinner meeting of the L8 Group, the cooperative of the world’s major self-adhesive label associations, on the night before the opening of Labelexpo Americas. 

Fabian Silva of Etiquetas Anro and Ametiq, and Cesar Anaya of PCM and Acoban, outlined the associations’ objectives, which include the creation of national standards, international promotion of members and gathering of national market data and statistics.

Gerardo Gonzalez of Etiprint, a founding member of Acoban, spoke about Conalep, a Mexican technical institution where Acoban is implementing a dedicated flexographic printing course. 

Alex Silva of Brazilian self-adhesive label association Abiea talked about its release liner recycling program and encouraged the involvement of the Mexican audience. Frank Sablone and Cindy White of TLMI then spoke about the benefits of association membership. 

‘It is essential to support your local industry,’ said TLMI president Frank Sablone, while emphasizing that the benefits of association membership are proportionate to a company’s level of involvement. Cindy White of Channeled Resources Group, a member of TLMI for 15 years, said that membership of the association ‘is the best thing that has ever happened to our company’. Sablone and White spoke of the regular communication between TLMI’s 300 members through committees, events and conference calls.

Mexico City-based Ametiq currently has 14 members, while Acoban, based in Monterrey, has ten. After this impressive meeting, numbers are sure to grow rapidly.

Growth on two fronts 

The presence of Ametiq at the L8 Group dinner is indicative of the young association’s forward thinking and ambition. The L8 is currently made up of seven organizations – Finat (Europe), TLMI (North America), PEIAC (China), JFLP (Japan), LMAI (India), Latma (Australia) and Salma (New Zealand) – with the name L8 a nod to the global G8 organization. The group has publicly stated its desire for the involvement of associations from Latin America.   

Acoban and Ametiq’s founders are aware of the importance of collaboration with other industry organizations around the world – hence TLMI’s presence at the event – and are cultivating an international profile at the same time as laying the foundations for local activities. 

Fabian Silva of Etiquetas Anro, one of Ametiq’s founders, spoke of the importance of creating a strong base for the association, with initial focus on bringing competitors together, cooperation with other Mexican associations and creation of local standards. These crucial first steps are already being put into place, while collaboration with the L8 Group will help accelerate the association’s growth and its role in the international label industry.  

Mexico, with its close trading links with the United States and a dominant economic position over its Central American neighbors to the south, already boasts an outward-looking and increasingly technologically advanced label sector. There is undoubtedly potential for a strong, well-organized and internationally savvy association to play a key role in the Mexican label industry’s continued growth. Ametiq and Acoban look set to do exactly that.

This article was published in L&L issue 5, 2010

James Quirk

James Quirk

  • Latin America Correspondent