Flint combines flexo and Xeikon prepress into XSYS
Flint Group, one of the largest suppliers to the printing and packaging industry worldwide, has launched a new division for the flexo and letterpress sectors, combining Flint Group Flexographic with Xeikon Prepress to create XSYS.
XSYS has three subdivisions: plates, sleeves, and pre-press equipment, and is branded with the tagline 'Be Brilliant'. The company says the new division will work with its customers to honour its claim of 'Print Solid. Stay Flexible'.
The two groups have been working closely for some time – Flint bought Xeikon five years ago – in support of the flexographic and letterpress markets. Flint says this formal alignment will “bring even more collaboration and innovation to the group and to its customers”.
The existing products and brands that will be incorporated into XSYS include nyloflex flexographic solvent and thermal plates and equipment, nyloprint letterpress plates and equipment, nylosolv, rotec sleeves and adapters, ThermoFlexX TfxX Imagers, ThermoFlexX Catena Plate Processing equipment, and surface screening solutions. All will operate under the divisional brand XSYS, keeping in place all existing brands.
“With the integration of Xeikon Prepress with Flint Group Flexographic, we are now connecting the dots and are implementing an important step of our strategy to become a full solution provider for the flexographic prepress industry,” said Dagmar Schmidt, president of XSYS. “In forming this new division, we bring together what belongs together: plates, processing equipment (solvent-and solvent-free), imagers, sleeves, and adapters. And with this move, we expand our expertise towards our customers. The name derives from ThermoFlexX, nyloflex, Xpress, and other brands that feature the X, combined with Systems to form the name XSYS.”
Friedrich von Rechteren, global commercial vice president of XSYS, said, “With a complete portfolio and a distinctive name, we want to inspire not only our customers, but also our colleagues. Understanding, flexibility, and consistency are our core values and our promise to customers and partners. Our values are what set us apart from competitors as a proactive, future-oriented player in the flexographic industry. Our customers can count on us and on the quality of our products and services. At the same time, we are able to offer our customers flexibility and freedom in their decision-making – a key requirement in today’s world and even more so in the future.”
Schmidt said, “Our division is primarily focusing on the prepress part of the value-chain complemented by sleeves, which gives us excellent access to the printing press room. We are organised in three subdivisions, which will all work closely together: prepress, plates and sleeves.”
Flint Group employs some 6,500 people. Revenues for 2019 were €2bn. On a worldwide basis, the company says it is the number one or two supplier in every major market segment it serves. XSYS will operate from 37 locations around the world, including in Australia and New Zealand.