NPES President Delmontagne to Retire at End of 2005

Regis J. Delmontagne will retire at the end of 2005 as President of NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies, the Graphic Arts Show Company and the Graphic Arts Education and Research Foundation, NPES and GASC Chair Kathryn P. Marx has announced.

Delmontagne was the Association's first full-time professional executive. At the time he joined the Association, then known as the National Printing Equipment Association in December 1976, membership comprised 37 companies; today there are more than 400.

He has been President of GASC since the show management company was created in 1982 and of GAERF since the Foundation was established in 1983.

"His three decades of management transformed NPES and have had a profound impact on the marketing of printing, publishing and converting systems worldwide," said Marx, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer with Flint Ink. "Many events and programs that are now fixtures of the industry either were created or achieved their greatest growth under his guidance, including GASC, GAERF, the NPES leadership role in the development of national and international safety and technical standards and a worldwide network of cooperative relationships."

"Although Regis will be retiring from his fulltime position, he will be retained as a consultant for several years with NPES, GASC and GAERF," Marx said. An announcement regarding the appointment of Delmontagne's successor is expected soon.

Delmontagne strongly advocated the creation of the Graphic Arts Show Company as a joint partnership of NPES, representing suppliers, and the National Association for Printing

Leadership (NAPL) and Printing Industries of America (PIA/GATF), representing end-users.

GASC events, including the international PRINT® show and the annual GRAPH EXPO® and CONVERTING EXPO®, have grown dramatically. This year marks the introduction of CONVERTINGSM 05 with PRINT® 05 to strengthen the packaging printing dimensions of the world's largest industry exhibition of 2005.

The Graphic Arts Education and Research Foundation, created in 1983 to channel revenues from GASC events into projects supporting a strong future for the industry, has distributed more than $4.5 million to more than 125 projects at more than 45 institutions.

Among the highlights of Delmontagne's tenure:

1977 - Association offices move from New York to suburban Washington.

1978 - Association changes its name to National Printing Equipment and Supply Association in recognition of changes in the industry and to help spur a membership campaign which led to growth from 42 members in 1980 to 138 in 1981.

1979 - Association becomes official organizer of USA Pavilions at Drupa

1980 - PRINT 80 sets records

1981 - PRINT OUTLOOK® conference established

1982 - Graphic Arts Show Company formed, with Delmontagne as President; NPES takes first mission to China.

1983 - Graphic Arts Education and Research Foundation formed with Delmontagne as President; NPES admitted as only non-European member of EUMAPRINT.

1985 - PRINT 85 sets records

1987 - NPES purchases headquarters building in Reston.

1988 - NPES opens dialogue with Soviet Union, leading to the opening of an NPES office in Moscow in 1990.

1990 - NPES enrolls its 300th member.

1991 - Association changes name to NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing and Publishing Technologies, again recognizing industry change; PRINT 91 sets records.

1993 - NPES celebrates its 60th anniversary with publication of Association history.

1995 - NPES joins industry organizations across the hemisphere in the founding of PANAMGRAPH.

1997 - NPES U.S.-Sino Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies Training Center opens in Shanghai; PRINT 97 sets records.

1998 - Association changes name to NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies, and membership reaches 400. GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO move to Chicago on an annual basis.

1999 - Graphic Arts Show Company acquires THE GUTENBERG FESTIVAL.

2000 - GASC acquires the VUE/POINTSM Conference.

2001 - The NPES Board of Directors honors Delmontagne on his 25th anniversary with the Association by creating the Regis J. Delmontagne endowed scholarship at the Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation, enabling children of employees of NPES members to pursue studies in graphic communications and related fields.

2002 - NPES receives U.S. Commerce Department grant for e-business initiative in China.

2003 - NPES launches American Technology Print Center in Moscow with U.S. Trade and Development Agency funding; Association celebrates 70th anniversary with publication of technology history.

2004 - Delmontagne became only the second foreign leader to receive an honorary doctorate from the historic Moscow State University of the Printing Arts in recognition of his support of the Russian printing industry and the University's programs

2005 - NPES becomes the first U.S. trade association in any industry to open a full-time trade office in India; NPES Market Research Committee and Graphic Arts Marketing Information Service merge to form the Print Industries Market Information and Research Organization (PRIMIR).

Active in the industry and association community, Delmontagne has served as a Director of the National Association of Manufacturers and Chairman of NAM's Associations Council, as well as a director of the Russian Institute for Graphic Arts, the Advisory Council for the School of Printing at Rochester Institute of Technology and the Advisory Council of the Moscow State University of the Printing Arts.

He is a member of the NAPL Soderstrom Society; the Society of Fellows; the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Committee of 100; the Major American Trade Show Organizers; the Key Industry Associations Committee (KIAC) of the American Society of Association Executives and The Trade Association Liaison Council.

Following retirement, Delmontagne has agreed to serve as a visiting professor at the Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication and the School of Printing and Packaging Science at

Wuhan University, both in China. He has also expressed willingness to serve as a director for non-profit or for-profit organizations and corporations.

Delmontagne is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and a graduate of Duquesne University in that city. He previously served as Executive Director of the International Material Management Society in Monroeville, Pennsylvania; Director of Public Relations and Education for Shea Management, Inc.; and in a marketing position with H.J. Heinz Company, both in Pittsburgh; and as a reporter for several western Pennsylvania newspapers. He resides in Vienna, Virginia, with his wife, Elena. Their daughter is employed by General Electric and lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their son, operator of a landscaping business, his wife and three children live in Herndon, Virginia.