drupa cycle no longer key to product releases - Heidelberg press conference

Heidelberg doesn't believe in springing surprises on its customers by holding releases back for trade shows, not even drupa.

At this year's media conference in Heidelberg last week, CEO Bernhard Schreier (pictured) said customer satisfaction is the number one priority for Heidelberg and for this reason, it does not make sense to unveil a new product only moments before the doors to drupa open.

Drawn further, he commented that: "We will be there with our large format presses – this is a certainty. Packaging will also be one of our highlights; we will have a packaging theme.

"But we won't just open a curtain at drupa and show a new thing," he said. "When customers are serious about making an investment they really need time to consider it; there should not be surprises anymore."

Schreier also confirmed the common belief in the industry that trade shows are losing their impact. "Today, we offer new things ever year," he said. "A four-year rhythm doesn't work anymore."

After experiencing some particularly tough years in the wake of September 11, 2001, Shreier believes the Heidelberg's future is positive, thanks largely to its ongoing innovation. "If there is not a drive for quality, improvement and innovation then nobody will invest in our equipment, and why should they? I think we have a fantastic set up at Heidelberg today," he said.

Time to sober up
Environmental initiatives took precedence at the conference, a reflection of the growth in corporate sustainability being practised in businesses worldwide.

In his address on sustainability, Juergen Rautert encouraged the public to form a balanced opinion, pointing to extremists on both sides of the fence trumpeting views that are ill-considered.

"There is a lot of exaggeration out there and I would encourage [people] to read publications from both sides," he said.

"There has been an increase in the number of printers and environmental initiatives in the past few years. A lot advertise that they print 'green' but in most cases they are good business people and know that they can make money by charging people more."

Alcohol-free printing is widely hailed as a revolutionary initiative for printing, but Rautert is suspicious of how effective it is. "What is used as a substitute for alcohol is not always better than alcohol," he said.

"We believe that using zero per cent alcohol might be less beneficial to the environment than using three per cent alcohol."

Statistics show that more than 80 per cent of Heidelberg customers are using alcohol in their printing. In response to this, Rautert asserted that Heidelberg would make it a priority to see that this number decreases.

"There is a lot of room for improvement and we have to improve a lot in alcohol usage," he said. "Running at eight per cent is the minimum obligation that every printer should adhere to."

Pictured: Heidelberg's big guns(L-R) Hans-Dieter Siegfried, head of corporate communications;
Dr Juergen Rautert, board member;
Bernhard Schreier, CEO and chairman; Bent Mortensen, head of region Asia Pacific; Walter Staehlin, head of region Europe and Marcel Kiessling, head of region America.

 
Bringing sexy back
Much has been made in Australia of the skills shortage crisis affecting the industry. Bernd Schopp, head of the newly opened Educ@te Centre in Eppelheim, believes that the crisis is reverberating on a global scale.

"Attracting people to become printers is a worldwide problem. As a profession, it's not too sexy," he admitted.

Journalists attending the conference were given a tour of the Educ@te Centre, which runs courses for people of all ages at different stages of their careers. While most attend five-day courses, there are some as extensive as six months which cater for those embarking on a career in print.

Pictured: Bernd Schopp, head of the Print Media Academy with Print 21 journalist, Mitchell Jordan, and Wolfgang Pretzsch, head of training operations/press.

"We hope that our Print Media Academy can show people how attractive printing is," Schopp said.

"The encouraging response from customers and staff ... underlines the demand for professional basic and advanced training courses in the print media industry."

Even though Heidelberg claims not to be planning any surprises at drupa, curiosities  of the journalists were whetted on the Educ@te tour at the sight of sealed doors and buildings that housed products currently being developed for drupa.

"There will be some surprises," Schopp said.