By the Numbers

AICC’s 2016 fiscal year ended on June 30, and in the year preceding, your Association embarked on a years-long “strategic agility” program called “destination modeling.” Destination modeling is a strategic management tool by which monetary and performance targets, as well as member satisfaction goals, are identified, measured, and tracked with a desired outcome, or “destination,” at a given date in the future—in AICC’s case, 2019. This program is being conducted under the guidance of Holly Green, CEO of The Human Factor, a Denver-based human resources, consulting, and strategic planning firm. While the initial destination goals defined by the model are not scheduled until 2017, the preparation and planning have had a measurable impact on AICC’s performance in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016, as the following report states.

Membership

AICC membership numbers continued to grow in the past year, despite a growing trend of consolidation in the industry. Dues revenues reached a record $1,144,791 in FY 2016, up from $1,134,744 in FY 2015. AICC welcomed 45 new members in the fiscal year, and enjoyed a general member retention rate of 94 percent. Total number of corporate member entities worldwide was 476, down from the previous year’s high of 505.

Education and Training

AICC’s industry-specific education and training programs reached almost 2,000 employees in the industry and brought in $330,000 in revenue in FY 2016. This was up from $303,000 in FY 2015, or an increase of 9 percent. The increases were fueled in large part by the introduction of new on-site courses in maintenance and e-learning courses in leadership, communications, and fundamentals of financial management. AICC’s webinars continue to reach a larger number of member company employees due to their relevant subject matter and relatively low expense and time commitment. AICC continues to add new e-learning courses and in 2016 educated 1,481 industry professionals online.

Of particular note was the introduction of two “fundamentals” seminars in 2016: “Corrugated Fundamentals” and “Folding Carton Fundamentals.” The latter course is a continuation of AICC’s outreach to folding carton and rigid boxmakers, and is spearheaded by Dan Malenke, president of PKGPRO, LLC, a paperboard packaging consulting firm in Wildwood, Fla.

National Meetings, Regional and Special Events

Attendance at AICC’s national and regional meetings and other events topped 1,900 people in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016. The 2015 Annual Meeting, held in Fort Worth, attracted 584 members and guests and included AICC’s 2015 Packaging Design Roundup and Designers’ Forum. AICC’s 2016 Spring Meeting was held in Palm Desert, Calif., and saw an attendance of 605.

Income from AICC’s national meetings was $1,392,563, up from $1,235,604 in FY 2015. This increase of 13 percent was due to strong attendance and to increased sponsorship revenue for AICC’s annual Independents’ Cup Charity Golf Tournament. Proceeds of $39,000 were donated to Martha’s Table, Cedar Lake Ministries, and the J. Richard Troll Memorial Scholarship.

AICC’s regions remained active in FY 2016, with 22 events held domestically and internationally. (See sidebar on AICC Canada and AICC Mexico.) The U.S. regional events were attended by more than 668 members and guests. AICC’s annual Washington Fly-In, cosponsored by the Fibre Box Association (FBA) and held in conjunction with the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Manufacturing Summit, attracted 48 members from the industry to meet with their legislators to advocate on behalf of economic and social policies beneficial to the manufacturing sector. This past year, members of the Printing Industries of America (PIA) also joined the Washington Fly-In.

Publications and Advertising

AICC’s publications and advertising contributed positively to AICC’s steady growth in FY 2016, bringing in a combined $334,970, made up of $295,756 in website and print (BoxScore) advertising, and $39,214 in publication sales. More than 325 titles were sold during the course of the fiscal year to 170 companies. The charts below show the quantities by subject area and type in AICC publication and ad sales for the fiscal year.

Financial Results

AICC’s operations in FY 2016 brought in $3,274,152 in revenues and realized expenses of $3,211,700. This resulted in a net operating income of $62,452. This income, combined with $7,516 in nonoperating income from AICC regional activities, resulted in a total net income of $69,968. AICC members who wish to receive a copy of AICC’s audited financial statement should send a request in writing to Steve Young, President, AICC, PO Box 25708, Alexandria, VA 22313, or email syoung@aiccbox.org.