SUPPLIER news
Heidelberg Puts Accent on Education
KENNESAW, GA—The calendar said December, but the menu at Heidelberg's recent "Brats & Dots" customer event gave it the feel of an Oktoberfest, minus the beer. This open house at the company's Print Media Demonstration Center (PMDC) was followed by two days of classes for printers in its Print Media Academy and a briefing for industry editors.
On the first day, printers were able to witness live demonstrations of Heidelberg's prepress, press, direct imaging and postpress solution in the 33,000-square-foot PMDC facility. The clear stars of the show were its new 40˝ Speedmaster XL 105 sheetfed press platform and the Dymatrix diecutting and embossing system.
UV technology and processes proved to be a hot topic for those attending the seminar on day two. Then, Joe Merritt of Mod-Pac in Buffalo, NY, and Rob Anderson of Crowson Stone Printing in Columbia, SC, teamed up with Heidelberg experts to highlight the benefits of process standardization with on-press Prinect color solutions. A more detailed look at the Speedmaster XL 105 press, which is said to be a new platform from the ground up, capped off the seminar series.
Educational seminars on a range of topics are offered at the Atlanta academy on a regular basis. Having the demo center in the same facility enables these sessions to include a combination of classroom presentations and live demonstrations.
In a presentation to the media, Jim Dunn, president of Heidelberg USA, said the company has identified five areas of emphasis for 2006. Stressing that the order wasn't significant, he listed these as being packaging, small business, the Speedmaster XL 105 platform, workflow and service.
Dunn noted that the packaging sector is growing at 4 percent, or double commercial printing sales. He added that it's important for the company to think in terms of a small printer's needs rather than focusing on the format size in bringing solutions to the market. Simply equating small format and small business is a wrong assumption, since those companies face the same challenges as other printers, he asserted.
On the technology front, Dunn pointed out that the XL 105 is just the first model to be based on the new press platform, which can support higher speeds (beyond 18,000 sph) and larger formats. When it comes to workflow, "well considered" investment in technology to boost efficiency is one of the factors that sets profit leaders apart.
Customer satisfaction after the sale, particularly as it relates to service, has been and will continue to be the single biggest point of differentiation for Heidelberg, Dunn added. The company is following a different business model that puts the stress on maintaining machine uptime—at peak performance levels—rather than just reacting after a problem has come up.
This approach has been formalized in the systemservice 36plus service package Heidelberg launched at PRINT 05. The company is looking to "partner" with customers and share responsibility for the effort to increase uptime and get maximum performance, according to Dunn. It is offering customers 36 months of comprehensive service and support, beyond the traditional warranty, with the intent of encouraging them to follow through on regularly scheduled, routine maintenance.
Included in the package are ongoing support services, an annual Heidelberg inspection and maintenance service call, and full coverage of all repair services and parts for 36 months. Among the resources made available to customers are around-the-clock access to Global Expert Network (GEN) support, Web-based remote service, eSelfhelp online help and the Machine Component Scout electronic parts catalog.
For those times when an on-site service call does still become necessary, the company is equipping field service technicians with pocket PCs running a mobile service application to improve communications and streamline the process.
Mitsubishi Imaging's board of directors has named Christopher Hung vice president of its Graphic Arts Div. Hung joined the company in 2004 as general manager of technical services.
Gane Brothers & Lane is now an authorized distributor of On Demand Machinery's line of bindery equipment. Gane Brothers will add ODM's complete product line of machinery.
BCC Software, a BÖWE BELL + HOWELL company and a developer of software and solutions for mailers, has been certified to offer United States Postal Service (USPS) ANKLink processing to mailers who request USPS NCOALink Limited Service Provider (LSP) address-updating processing. The company has also released Truck Direct Mail, an online logistics engine that generates free, no-obligation quotes for mailings drop shipped to Destination Entry points by private carriers.
Dr. Peter Weiss has succeeded Hans Max as president and CEO of MBO America. Weiss has been with Demag Plastics Group in Cleveland since 2003.
KBA North America reports a partnership with EFI to integrate its KBA Logotronic Management System with EFI's MIS solutions. To date, KBA's Logotronic system is integrated with EFI's 22.05 version of Logic. Future plans will include all MIS solutions offered by EFI. In other KBA news, Chris Travis has been named technology manager and will be in charge of the newly expanded 8,000-square-foot customer demonstration center in Williston, VT. Also, Crystal Flutur has been named product specialist with an emphasis on KBA's Logotronic, Densitronic and Qualitronic systems.
Enovation Graphic Systems has welcomed Lane Palmer as the distributor's new director of newspaper sales. He formerly held positions with Western Litho, Lastra and Agfa.
Agfa Corp.'s Graphic Systems business group announced that long-time ECRM Imaging Systems executive Peter Wilkens has been appointed as Agfa's director of newspaper operations, North America.
Sappi Fine Paper North America has broadened its advocacy of print by joining The Print Council, an industry coalition dedicated to building the market for the print medium.
xpedx has announced the appointment of Thomas Kadien as president and named Richard Lowe, James Connelly and Thomas Weisenbach as executive vice presidents of the company's three U.S. regions. Kadien, a 27-year veteran of International Paper, most recently served as president of IP Europe, the company's European paper and packaging businesses. He is now based at IP headquarters in Memphis.
Xerox Corp. worked with the Georgia Army National Guard's Family Readiness Group, a military-operated support group for the families of soldiers, on a holiday card drive that put thousands of custom-designed greeting cards in the hands of troops overseas. The "Let's Say Thanks" card drive was designed to give people back home an easy way to print, sign and send one of three distinct greeting cards to the more than 4,000 men and women of the 48th Brigade Combat Team serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
David Lane, a veteran executive recruiter, has announced the launch of his new professional executive search firm. Located in Woburn, MA, Lane Partners is an executive search firm geared towards the graphic communications and document technologies industries.
EnvelopeAmerica recently added Dan Brethauer and Lori Smith to its team. Brethauer will work as both EnvelopeAmerica's and FileAmerica's national sales manager. With her previous experience in customer service and operations, Smith's sales role is a welcomed addition to both companies.
Jack Haworth passed away November 10, 2005, of natural causes. After nearly 40 years with Heidelberg, Mr. Haworth's career was distinguished and noteworthy for his contributions and character. He joined the Printing Press Service Co. in 1950 as the first full-time press sales rep for Heidelberg in the West and held several sales and sales management positions within the company. Mr. Haworth introduced both of his sons to the graphic arts field and supported several schools with equipment donations and support.
Daniel Siewert is the new general manager of MAN Roland's Southern region, overseeing sales, service and support of sheetfed presses in a territory that ranges from North Carolina to Texas. He spent the past 21 years with Williams Printing, an RR Donnelley company.
Marc Hein has joined Day International as director of technology, Chemical Product division. In his new role, he will oversee research and development efforts to improve the product development process for new product identification, selection and commercialization.
Eastman Kodak's Graphic Communications Group (GCG) has selected Beth Hogan Scott, a communications professional with 25 years of industry experience, as director of worldwide public relations. In other news, Isidre Rosello has been named general manager and vice president of Kodak's Transaction & Industrial Solutions (T&IS) operating unit. Rosello replaces Nachum "Homi" Shamir, who will take on a special assignment for GCG.
Brandtjen & Kluge has hired Timothy Kirkland as the new Eastern region sales manager. At Kluge, Kirkland will continue his 19-year industry career, including posts at Heidelberg, Printcafe and Esko-Graphics.
Masthead International and NELA USA have announced a collaboration in the sale and installation of locks and equipment for web reduction on newspaper presses.
Stora Enso has appointed Shaughnessy Kniep Hawe as a new distributor of its full line of coated and uncoated papers in the Midwest.
Diamond Holding has appointed Nick Gianaris to the position of technical sales representative, Midwestern region, for its Diamond Roller division. Recently, he was with Pitman as a pressroom specialist.
