A Brief History of the Princeton South Jersey Chapter
by John Zoller, CFPIM, CIRM & Rick Cathers, CPIM, Jonah

The APICS Chapter we now know as the Princeton South Jersey Chapter (PRSJ) began in the early 1970’s as the Princeton-Trenton Chapter. It was formed to address the extensive manufacturing base along the Route 1 corridor.

During the 70's and 80's we had heavy industries (DeLaval Turbine, Fisher Guide Plant, Congoleum, American Standard), high tech industries (RCA Astro Space, Princeton Applied Research, DataRam) and a host of start-up manufacturers all needing education in Materials Management.

In 1984 the Princeton-Trenton chapter spun-off a new chapter, Monmouth-Ocean, to provide local meetings for members in the Eatontown, NJ area. These were halcyon years for both chapters as membership continued to grow. Professional Development meetings and course attendance was high and the future looked bright.

As we moved toward the late 80’s, manufacturing companies began to leave New Jersey and both chapters experienced a decline in membership and attendance at educational events. This loss eventually led to the formal merging of the Princeton-Trenton and Monmouth-Ocean chapters in 1999.

At this time, Chapter activities were focused at the host company Shiseido America, Inc. in East Windsor, NJ, which received the first Company of the Year award. CPIM and CIRM education classes, monthly Professional Development Meetings, and the occasional chapter sponsored seminar were the building blocks cemented in place by a newly chartered Board of Directors.

From these new beginnings, the Chapter had a revitalization in membership and services. Several Board members went on to serve in the APICS regional and national organizations. In 2006 a third Chapter, South Jersey, was merged with Princeton-Trenton Monmouth Ocean to create the Princeton South Jersey Chapter (PRSJ), as it is known today.

With the expanded territory now stretching from central NJ to the southern tip, a few changes were in order.

In 2006, a second CPIM education center was opened in Mt Laurel, NJ. This supplemented the training that was already occurring East Windsor NJ. Recently the new Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) education classes were added to the chapter portfolio of services, along with the new APICS national sanction of our instructors under the Instructor Development Program.

In 2009, the PRSJ chapter’s professional development meetings (PDM’s) have also been expanded. For the first time, four PDM’s have been added at more southern locations in our territory to ease the travel for our southern based members.

The current PRSJ Chapter has a strong and dedicated board of directors and is continuing its strong foundation of monthly Professional Development Meetings and certification training while looking for even more ways to serve its membership. Our Chapter Board and members look forward to a bright future with the PRSJ.