What are the key trends that are affecting your customers?

I have two words: personalisation and automation. These are very important for our industry.

Should shows like this be about the latest technologies or new applications?
Both are important. We cannot say one is more important than the other – you have to find a balance between the two.

But does the rise in the adoption of digital technology mean you are working much more closely with press vendors nowadays?
Yes. For example, we are cooperating with six digital vendors here and each of them realises that they can’t just sell a press, so they prefer to work with us because without a suitable post-press solution it’s difficult for their customers to unlock digital’s true potential. Print and post-press have to work together.

Has the global recession brought you closer to your customers
I’m not sure if it is just because of the recession, but we don’t just sell machinery any more – we have to sell a solution now and we have to work even more closely with our customers to understand their needs.

But are there any particularly strong areas of growth for you?
As you would expect, we are seeing a lot of growth in Brazil, Russia, India and China, where there is a growing interest in a high level of automation.

What piece of advice would you like to share with printers?
We always say to our customers: focus on your post-press and the value it can add. Adding value increasingly comes from post-press, not just print.

What one thing will you take away from this year’s Drupa?

Print is alive and well, and will never die. A lot of growth is coming from Brazil, Russia, India and China, where interest is growing in automation.