Press Releases

International Card Manufacturers Association Hosts Annual Card Manufacturing Academy Workshop and Green Summit

US Workshop and Summit to be Held in Schaumburg, Illinois and the Europe Workshop to be Held in Stuttgart, Germany

PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ, July 9, 2008—The International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA) will hold their annual Academy Workshops this fall in dual locations, one in the United States and one in Europe. In addition, the first ever Green Summit; will take place in conjunction with the US Workshop. The workshops will address the latest issues and applications in the card manufacturing and production industry, with topics that reflect the industry trends in each individual market. The Green Summit is designed to focus specifically on environmental issues affecting the card manufacturing industry.

The US workshop will be held on September 10-11 in Schaumburg, Illinois, just outside of Chicago, and will be chaired by Merrill Martin of VCT-NJ. The Green Summit, themed Going Green...Myths, Challenges & Opportunities for the Card Industry, will also take place in Schaumburg, Illinois on September 12, and will be chaired by Michael Swiecicki of The ProCard Group. The European Workshop will be held October 1-2, in Stuttgart, Germany and will be chaired by Rolf Christ of Klockner Pentaplast.

Workshop topics will cover a range of subjects relevant to each region including lamination challenges, advancements in print technology, personalization and UV curing inks in card lamination. The Green Summit will address the environmental concerns, myths and opportunities associated with card manufacturing. Topics will include green logo usage, problems in recycling caused by green polymers, material choices in green cards and producing green cards.

Open to members only, the ICMA Academy Workshops are designed to give a unique learning experience on the many challenges currently present in the plastic card industry. The Academy Workshops are suitable for all card manufacturing and personalization production managers, supervisors, executives and line workers. Speakers will bestow their personal experiences and hopes for the future of the industry. They include, but are not limited to, representatives from JDSU, Datacard, Oberthur, Eclipse Laboratories, Sun Chemical Screen, Burkle and Spartanics.

The Green Summit is open to non-members; all card industry players, from issuers to manufacturers and suppliers, are encouraged to attend. Speakers at this one of a kind event include NatureWorks, Travel Tags, Plantaplast and Waytek.

As in previous years, Workshops will include table top displays. The displays allow suppliers to gain exposure to potential clients, as they can feature company products and/or product literature. The Workshops will also include a networking dinner, which will allow members to interact with each other and exchange ideas, products, literature and other pertinent information.

The cost to attend either Workshop is $425 (USD) (fee includes the networking dinner). Workshops are open to ICMA members only. The cost to attend the Green Summit is $300 (USD) for ICMA members and $400 (USD) for non-members. Discounts for attending multiple events are available.

To register for the ICMA Academy Workshops or learn more about becoming an ICMA member, please visit www.icma.com, contact Lynn McCullough at LMccullough@icma.com, or phone 1-609-799-4900.

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About ICMA
ICMA is a non-profit association of plastic card manufacturers, personalizers and related industry participants. With more than 220 members globally, ICMA acts as a clearinghouse for industry issues, including the production, technology, application, security and environmental issues of plastic cards.