Second FINAT YMC Global Congress hailed as a success

Held last month in Bratislava, Slovakia under the theme ‘Climb to the top’, the meeting brought together a host of names and representatives from across the label supply chain aged under 40 to sharpen their business skills, share ideas and network.

The 2015 YMC Global Congress combined a site visit to converter Purgina, the company of FINAT YMC president Dana Kilarska, workshops and panel discussion sessions to engage attendees.

Rodolfo Hagmaier of Hagmaier Etiketten & Druck said: ‘I was able to take away many new ideas and impressions for our company. The conversations with YMC colleagues are very helpful for building up an overview of the market. It was great to go out with this wonderful group of young managers. And perhaps one of the most important things is that we all had a lot of fun.’

Hank Guijtens of SPGPrints said similar. ‘It was a great event to meet colleagues from the label business and get trained at the same time. The experience and the different perspectives of the people created a professional atmosphere and inspired new energy and ideas. I will definitely participate in this congress next time.’

‘I was overwhelmed by the quality of the speaker list and of each individual presentation,’ said Leo Becker of Avery Dennison. ‘This was the highest concentration I’ve experienced of knowledge and expertise on a range of leading-edge topics by people who really know their subjects.’

Steven Minjauw of CERM Belgium added: ‘FINAT YMC brings together a group of young managers with high prospects. This edition in the beautiful Slovakian capital Bratislava was an excellent choice of venue in which to experience the potential of new possibilities on our business markets. I will be able to apply what we have seen and learned from these workshops in my day-to-day business.’

For Xeikon’s Filip Weymans, the program was the right balance between work and pleasure, allowing participants to get to know each other. ‘The different workshops were focused upon personal development, perspectives of market development and a hands-on exercise of practical day-to-day challenges in the production environment. As such, the event covered a broad spectrum, and that is exactly what a YMC Congress should do: expose people to the broad spectrum of business,’ he said.

‘It is always a pleasure to speak with people who are experiencing the same challenges as I, and to meet new young managers in our industry,’ said Kilarska. ‘It is great to see people coming back to this event but, most importantly, it is great to see new young managers at these events, because this means that YMC is a strong platform for young managers in the labeling industry.’

Jules Lejeune, FINAT managing director, said: ‘This year’s edition of the YMC Global Congress was yet again a great learning opportunity. Even for those beyond the age of 40, it is never too late to change habits in order to become even more effective.’

Next up on FINAT’s schedule is the inaugural European Label Forum. ‘The interactive, educational format of the YMC meetings, including the previous event in Poland, has set new standards and was one of the sources of inspiration behind the makeover of our primary event, which has now been redefined as the European Label Forum,’ Lejeune concluded.