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Paper Manufacturers

2005-02-28
The NAPM has been the accredited Trade Association for paper and board wholesalers for over 75 years. No trade or industry of true standing is without its own Association or Federation, and the existence of NAPM, fully supported by the overwhelming majority of merchant companies, lends status and credibility to the paper merchanting sector. In turn, membership of the Association acts as a hallmark of professional competence and business integrity.

Its primary purpose can be simply stated, and is:

To Promote the Prosperity of the UK Paper and Board Merchant

All Trade Associations base their activities on the principle that more can be achieved by a body acting on behalf of many members than by any of those members acting individually. The NAPM is able to act and speak with all the power provided by being the representative of nearly 300 companies with a combined turnover of some £2,000,000,000 (two billion pounds).

As part of its standard range of services to members, the Association:

provides the background for meetings between competitors (both in the centre and in the Regions) to discuss a variety of industry topics in full conformity with the law.
obtains confidential statistics from members and aggregates them for publication to the membership in non-confidential form. (Only a Trade Association or similar independent body can provide such a service.)
keeps members informed on matters of interest and moment through Fact Sheets, circulars and especially through its journal `Distribute'.
monitors (and where appropriate, seeks to influence) prospective and current legislation so that members can be alerted to its effects - a task now rendered vastly more important by UK's membership of a post-Maastricht European Community with its multiplicity of new laws and penalties.
for this purpose, maintains contact with relevant Government Departments, and with MPs in Westminster and Brussels and is active in formulating the policies of the European confederation of paper merchants, EUGROPA. (Membership of the European confederation is restricted to Associations, but since NAPM is a member, any member of NAPM may attend the Eugropa congress).
fosters active contact and cooperation with the Trade Associations representing both customers and suppliers, e.g. The British Printing Industries Federation, The Paper Federation of Great Britain (and its subsidiary group, the Association of Manufacturers of Printing and Writing Papers), The British Fibreboard Packaging Association, The British Carton Association, The Envelope Makers and Manufacturing Stationers, etc.
safeguards members' interests in the all-important sphere of the Environment, and has an active presence on the Board of the highly influential Pulp and Paper Information Centre.
offers an information service to members on virtually any topic related to the paper and board industry, on the basis that `if we don't know, we'll find a man who does'.
provides a centre for enquirers seeking either paper or board supplies and the addresses of local (member) merchants, or information: the efficient provision of such information enhances the image of the whole merchant industry.
in its capacity as a licensed credit reference agency, provides the opportunity for members to obtain assistance in debt recovery.
is a member of the British Paper Trade Customs Committee: participated in the compilation of the current booklet setting out the Customs: has the right to appoint a member to any Standing Committee that might be called on to adjudicate on disputes between buyer and supplier.
maintains a Register of Trade Names for the assistance of either potential buyers seeking a given product or member companies wishing to check whether a certain product name is already registered.

In the coming year, your Association has plans to:

greatly enhance its statistical service (but recognises that progress is entirely dependent on the total cooperation of members in supplying the needed figures without delay)
issue more Fact Sheets and Bulletins dealing with important issues of the day, in order to assist members in briefing their own staff and in dealing with customer queries.
seek even closer involvement in European and Scandinavian matters, so as to be in an even better position to advise members, and recognising that UK companies can no longer prosper in isolation from a post-Maastricht, Single Market Community.
continue in its successful efforts to find revenue-earning activities (which can be undertaken with minimal effect on services to members) in the hope of reducing the Association's reliance on subscription income.
above all, CONTINUE TO TAKE ALL POSSIBLE LEGAL ACTION TO PROTECT AND PROMOTE THE PROSPERITY OF THE BRITISH PAPER AND BOARD MERCHANT.

NAPM Recycled Mark

The NAPM recycled mark is awarded to those papers which contain a minimum of 75% genuine waste. Genuine waste is defined as:

Convertors waste: waste which has left the mill and is waste from a cutting or slitting operation undertaken to meet a specific commercial order.
Printers waste: printed or unprinted - waste collected from a printing operation and may be either 'trimmings' (guillotine waste), 'overs', 'rejects' or any other similar waste received direct from a printer.
Domestic/Household/Office waste: waste collected from either of these places - it may be printed or unprinted.

Any combination of 1, 2, or 3 can go towards the 75% genuine waste fibre minimum. Under no circumstances can mill broke contribute to genuine waste.

Eugropa Recycled Mark

The NAPM has also given its support to the Eugropa Recycled Mark. Eugropa is a European wide organisation representing the interests of national trade associations in fifteen countries - Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal. Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.