Heidelberg to help printers improve business through Performance Services
Flying visit by Marcel Kiessling, member of the board of management, reveals a company confident of its place in the industry, even as it changes its mix.
According to Kiessling, talking with Print 21 straight off a plane from Europe in Sydney on Monday morning, Heidelberg will re-enter digital printing before the end of its financial year [March]. The board is yet to decide which of the digital manufacturers to partner with.
If that seems an admission that digital is the future, Kiessling is far from convinced that digital is the best course of investment for the industry leader’s customers. “The majority of print done on digital systems should not be there,” he said. “It can be done cheaper, more economically on offset presses.”
Kiessling (pictured with Andy Vels Jensen in Martin Place Sydney) is in the region to talk with Heidelberg customers and staff and the message he brings is of a company that has seen the edge of the abyss but has successfully recreated itself for ‘stand alone’ success. Since April Heidelberg has changed its focus away from simple press manufacturing to a concept of Performance Services. In this Kiessling acknowledges that many of the restructuring initiatives were first done in Australia/NZ, where Andy Vels Jensen has pioneered the move towards Performance Services in addition to the world first digital tie up with Konica Minolta.
Kiessling sounds positively evangelical – perhaps something to do with his six years heading Heidelberg in the USA – when he propounds the benefits of printers signing on for the company’s Performance Services. ““We go the full nine yards, for our customers,” he said, in term of delivering on production efficiency, process optimisation, operational efficiencies and business development.
It involves the company getting into areas previously unknown such as the imminent release of a dedicated Web2Print offering for printers.
He makes the point that far from operating in a diminishing market, print is expanding and there is plenty of upside for printers. The best figures suggest the size of the printing market is E432 billion, growing to E455 billion in 2015. Digital presently accounts for 8% of all that. His estimate is that digital’s share will increase to 18% in 2015.
But there is a better way for printers to increase their profitability than by investing in an ”often expensive digital solution.” Kiessling points out that while the average return on print turnover in the USA is 1.5% the profit leaders are making 10% and more. “There is a huge potential to improve,” he said.
And not surprisingly he believes one of the best ways is for printers to adapt the Heidelberg model of Performance Services.
Kiessling (pictured with Andy Vels Jensen in Martin Place Sydney) is in the region to talk with Heidelberg customers and staff and the message he brings is of a company that has seen the edge of the abyss but has successfully recreated itself for ‘stand alone’ success. Since April Heidelberg has changed its focus away from simple press manufacturing to a concept of Performance Services. In this Kiessling acknowledges that many of the restructuring initiatives were first done in Australia/NZ, where Andy Vels Jensen has pioneered the move towards Performance Services in addition to the world first digital tie up with Konica Minolta.
Light at the end of the tunnel
It has been a horror couple of years for Heidelberg as the GFC brought offset press sales almost to a standstill, everywhere outside China. Kiessling says it is getting better now a view reinforced by Andy Vels Jensen, managing director Heidelberg Australia/NZ. “October was the best months we’ve had in over two years as pertains to order intake and the prospect base is at the best level since drupa 2008.”
It could all have been much worse for the industry’s largest sales and services organisation if the local operation had not moved early away from relying solely on press sales. Ten years ago overhead coverage with non-equipment income was below 20%. Today almost 70% of HAN costs are met from non-equipment revenue.
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