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The Oil & Colour Chemists' Association is a Registered Charity within the UK and a Company limited by the guarantee of its Members. SURFEX Limited is a wholly owned trading subsidiary of the Association. Its principal activities are the organisation of Surface Coatings Exhibitions - SURFEX, publications and advertising.
The structure and organisation of the Association has developed in response to changes in the industries it serves and the requirements of its Members.
The Association is governed by an elected Council. The Council is chaired by a President, who is elected for a two year term of office. Members of the Council, Honorary Officers and the Finance and Executive Committee are responsible for specific areas of policy.
Specialised Committees, Sub-Committees and Working Parties undertake policies agreed by the Council. Sub-Committees and Working Parties report to relevant Standing Committees who, through their Chairman, report to the Council.
There is permanent staff, based at Association's headquarters in North West London. The General Secretary is the senior member of Staff and is the policy advisor to Council.
There are four grades of membership and each Member joins a locally organised Section or Branch.
The activities and membership of these Committees can be found in the Association's Annual Report. This is available from the General Secretary on request.
The Association seeks nominations to all Committees, Sub-Committees and single-issue Working Parties.
Current contact information for the Chairmen of the Committees should be requested from the General Secretary or Assistant General Secretary.
All Members pay an individual annual subscription direct to the Association. Members resident overseas, attached to specific Sections, pay their subscriptions in local currency. These Members are not able to participate, to the extent that UK Members are, in UK organised events. In consequence, the overseas Sections are able to retain a proportion of their Members' subscription, to help fund local activities.
Income is generated from the sale of subscriptions to Surface Coatings International and of other publications. Profits from conferences, symposia and exhibitions, investment income and the profits of SURFEX Limited are a significant source of income.
In addition to income generated from its own resources, the Association is the Trustee of the Ellinger-Gardonyi Trust. The income from the Trust specifically supports education and training projects.
The Association also maintains a Benevolent Fund to assist Members in distress and administers other smaller bequests, on behalf of its Members.
Some Sections are financially supported from central funds, others remit their surpluses. Many Sections, when doing so, prefer to fund specific items or projects. This gives an identity to their financial successes, such as their symposia. It also signals an indication of their independence.
The Association is a UK-Registered Charity and, as such, is required to apply its surplus income to education and training, within the International Surface Coating Community. This is hardly an imposition, as one of the long held aims of the Association is education and training. Much of the Association's activities are devoted to it.