The Board of Directors of Idealliance and the Board of Trustees of Epicomm have voted to recommend the merger of the two industry associations to their respective memberships. The Boards approved the merger in separate meetings and both associations will now present the merger proposal to a vote of their memberships according to the regulations of their respective bylaws. Voting is expected to be completed by the end of February. If both memberships approve, the associations plan to complete their merger on July 1, 2016. In the interim, the organizations’ staffs, boards and volunteer committees will work to ensure a smooth and productive combining of their organizations and member services.
“Our Board enthusiastically supports and recommends this merger to our members,” said Epicomm Chairman Tim Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, Impact (Minneapolis, Minnesota). “We believe that by combining the strategic planning and management expertise of Epicomm and the industry-standard technical and workflow expertise of Idealliance, we’ll create an organization that will be equipped to serve the business development needs of our members in a comprehensive and highly effective manner.”
“In wholeheartedly supporting and recommending this merger, our board has reviewed the many ways in which Idealliance and Epicomm complement each other and can enhance each other’s offering to members,” said Idealliance Board Chair Marriott Winchester, Executive Vice President, SGS International (Louisville, Kentucky). “Adding the strategic and economic focus of Epicomm with the processes of innovation of Idealliance offers a powerful combination of benefits for all who support the graphic communications supply chain.”
If the merger is approved, honoring the brand equity and name recognition of its 50 years of serving the printing and graphic communications industry, the combined organization will retain the name, Idealliance. The new association will be located in the current Epicomm headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. Idealliance is also currently headquartered in that city.
Idealliance and Epicomm expected to merge July 1
