IPMA Conference Brings Hundreds to Des Moines
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On Sunday June 3, the world’s largest gathering of in-plant managers got off to a great start in Des Moines, Iowa, when managers from across the country met for the opening reception of the 2024 In-plant Printing and Mailing Association conference.
With the theme “Insure Your Success” the educational program began June 4 with a breakfast presentation by IPI Editor Bob Neubauer, who reflected on his 30 years covering the in-plant industry before providing a status report on the in-plant industry, incorporating new data from an IPI survey.
He was followed by Danny Adams with his keynote titled “Laughter is Medicine.” Though his message was that people work better with laughter in their lives, his presentation will be most remembered for the orchestra of animal noises he conducted.
Then attendees visited the vendor fair and talked with the 43 exhibitors about their products. Though it was no drupa (also taking place right now in Germany), it featured key technologies for in-plants, including digital printing, wide-format, and Web-to-print. One unique feature was the Monday afternoon “puppy cuddle hour” presented by the Animal Rescue League of Iowa.
Educational sessions and keynote presentations have continued over the past three days. Greg Cholmondeley, Principal Analyst at Keypoint Intelligence, fascinated and scared the audience with his update on artificial intelligence and robotics. He showed videos of prototype robots that can do a surprising number of tasks, and predicted that in-plants may see robots in their shops within the next 1-3 years.
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Danny Adams brought laughter to the conference, especially when he conducted this orchestra of barnyard animal noises.
In a session on promotional products, four managers talked about how they took advantage of IPMA’s partnership with Swagforce to start selling swag. Some have surpassed their predicted revenue goals. A session on leadership featured a dozen managers who had interviewed a leader back in their organizations relaying what qualities they most admired. Some common themes included leading by example, learning about the lives of those on your team, and leaving your ego behind and focusing on the team’s success.
At the awards banquet, winners of IPMA Awards and In-Print 2024 awards were honored. The ceremony culminated with the announcement of the Best of Show winners.
On the last day, attendees traveled to Iowa State University Printing Services to see the in-plant’s Canon varioPRINT iX3200 sheetfed inkjet press. Watch for full coverage of IPMA 2024 in the days ahead.
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Related story: IPMA Report: Wide-format Sessions Delve Into Equipment, Supplies
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