NPCA Annual Meeting

During the opening general session of the National Paint and Coatings Association's (NPCA) 120th annual meeting in Pittsburgh, PA, NPCA president Andy Doyle announced that merger discussions with the Federation of Societies for Coatings Technology (FSCT) are back on the table after a representative� from FSCT presented a proposal for merging the two organizations at NPCA's board of directors meeting. This latest announcement follows a proposed merger initiated on behalf of NPCA earlier this year that failed to see the two organizations come to an agreement.

"The boards of both organizations have endorsed and agreed to begin a merger process that will lead to a final proposal by March 2008," Doyle said.

FSCT's executive director, Joseph Pontoski, confirmed the announcement during a phone conversation. "FSCT has presented NPCA's board of directors with a document that addresses NPCA's previous merger proposal for FSCT to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of NPCA," Pontoski said. "Ultimately the membership of FSCT and NPCA will decide the matter. The leaders of both organizations will be meeting very soon to develop a document to present to the membership