A multi-million dollar dedicated training facility for HP Indigo operators is a major addition to industry infrastructure. Kitted out with two HP Indigo presses and certified by HP, the standalone facility near the Currie HQ in Hawthorn Victoria is redefining digital print training in the industry.
With the ability to control enrollment numbers, Currie Group is ensuring every operator gets to sit up near the teacher in order to get the very best learning experience. According to Phillip Rennell, sales & marketing director, the establishment of the training facility is primarily in response to the needs of customers.
“Customers want their operators to be effective quickly so they can maximise opportunities. We looked at the options of training on site or in demo facilities, but decided that a dedicated training facility would allow us to deliver a more comprehensive and thorough curriculum that would meet our customers’ expectations,” explains Rennell.
Alain Barel, formerly with HP, heads up the Centre. He was the educator who set up HP’s Centre of Excellence in Singapore, the company’s major training facility in Asia. HP has certified the Currie Centre, which means that anyone who successfully completes a course is qualified to work on a HP Indigo press anywhere in the world.
“The HP certification is very important to us because we want to make sure that we stay within the HP framework, which is recognised and respected. And our customers want to know that they have a trainee who is HP certified. We have to pay for that certification, but that is an investment we wanted to make.”
Setting up the Currie training facility was not a cheap exercise, and Rennell says there are ongoing costs with ensuring that the technology is current and that trainers are kept up to date. “Our commitment is not just to set up the facility, but to make sure that we are at the leading edge of training and that means investing in our own trainers by sending them overseas on courses.”
The Centre offers a variety of training packages from standard and advanced operator training to higher levels. “It’s a structured program that is part of a curriculum that HP has developed. In addition to standard models we have additional levels of training that we can provide, which give operators a level of independence beyond the basics.” That level of independence enables “shared maintenance,” which Rennell says allows operators and Currie’s qualified engineers to work more closely in diagnosing problems and finding solutions.
The Training Centre has been designed to allow for future expansion. Rennell says that when the user base of customers expands in the B2 and label press segments it may warrant the installation of other machines and the implementation of dedicated training programs for these product lines also.
“The B2 space is still fairly new, so training for these machines in the short term will continue to take place at one of the HP dedicated training facilities of which there are only a couple around the world. Longer term, as those models start to proliferate, we will have greater need for more training courses and therefore the investment will be able to be recouped,” he said.
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