New General Secretary for Holography Trade Body as it Plans Expansion and New Industry Collaborations

Published: March 17, 2023

The International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA) has outlined plans for growth with the appointment of a new general secretary.

Micaal Sidorov will continue to spearhead the IHMA’s leadership of the world’s major producers and converters of holograms for authentication, ID, packaging, graphics and other commercial applications. He brings considerable business development, sales and marketing, market research and intellectual property management experience to the role, working widely across the ID document and security printing sectors.

He will be looking forward to developing and expanding the membership base of the IHMA, in particular to include more non-traditional members coming from outside the security and brand protection industries.

Developing collaborative initiatives with the Counterfeit Intelligence Bureau, which includes expanding the Hologram Image Register to include images for other optically variable devices besides holograms, Secure Identification Union in China and Intergraf, the security printers trade association, will also be priorities. Other plans include a series of workshops, with the first one to be held in Abu Dhabi this spring.

Chair of the IHMA Dr Paul Dunn, said: “The IHMA board looks forward to working with Micaal to continue to promote the best interests of holography, which is an important and growing sector, across the world.

“Despite the economic, social and global supply chain challenges, we continue to see strong activity for holography with brand manufacturers and countries bringing forward their anti-counterfeiting plans. Micaal will help the industry to continue to grow and innovate, which remains the mission of the IHMA, as well as supporting the sector meet the challenges it faces.

“In this respect, the implementation of ISO14298 standard for the management of security print and security foil production processes, meeting international image registration requirements and highlighting the benefits of holography against competing products and technologies remain priorities for the IHMA.”

Since its foundation in 1993, the IHMA has expanded its membership from a dozen initial members to nearly 100 of the world's leading hologram companies. Through participation in the trade association, members actively cooperate to maintain the highest professional, security and quality standards in support of their customers.

In particular, membership of the IHMA signifies that a company is committed to meeting the rigorous requirements of an industry Code of Practice, assuring customers, suppliers and partners of ethical business practices and quality products.

Learn more at www.ihma.org.