By Ed Avis
When Achim Carius began as the executive secretary of the German reprographics association in 1990, East and West Germany had just reunited. One of his first activities was to take a copy of the 1939 member directory and drive through the former East Germany to see how many former members of his group he could get to rejoin the group. He only found a few that had survived the Communist era, but his effort to bring them into his fold was indicative of the energy he put into building his group.
Carius’ contributions to reprographics – in Germany and throughout Europe – were recalled at a reception in honor of his retirement from the German association preceding the group’s annual event, Netzwerktage, in Frankfurt, October 27.
A parade of reprographics leaders read tributes to Carius, who officially retired last year but continues serving a subgroup, goforcopy.net, on a contractual basis. The dignitaries offering kind words included representatives from Spain, Finland and the United States, as well as German politicians and current and former leaders of the organization.
Here is a sample the accomplishments Carius is known for (much of this information is taken from a heartwarming speech by Wolfgang Leibig, the current chairman of the German association):
- Founding EuRe, an alliance of leaders of reprographics organizations throughout Europe. In 1993 that group had 12 European organizations as members. In addition, Carius organized four international reprographics congresses, in 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1999.
- Organizing regular group trips to IRgA/APDSP events in North America to develop connections with reprographics firms on this continent.
- Founding goforcopy.net, a corporation jointly owned by a geographically diverse group of reprographics firms that markets the firms’ services collectively and manages joint orders for large clients. This was in response to growing chains of repro firms that threatened the independent members.
- Developing the association’s magazine, first called "Der Reprograf" and later "motio-Magazin." Though Carius is an attorney, his astute journalism skills were evident in every issue of this magazine.
- Lobbying activities to help the reprographics industry. Anyone who knows Carius personally can imagine how successful he must be at lobbying!
- Being a masterful communicator and problem solver. Several of the people who spoke at this farewell party mentioned conversations with him that greatly helped them through problems.
- Overall keeping the association strong during tough times for the industry.
Carius' legacy at the association is deep, and he will be missed, but the current leadership -- including the new Executive Director Raoul Zardeninks and Chairman Wolfgang Leibig -- appear well positioned to continue running the organization effectively.
Good luck, Achim, in your next stage!
The IRgA is considering organizing a trip to the DRUPA print conference in Dusseldorf, Germany in late May 2024. This trip would include a guided tour of the event, which is a giant print trade show, and tours of nearby reprographics shops. Plus some touristy stuff for fun! If you are interested, please let us know by emailing Ed Avis, ed.avis@irga.com.