Landa was interviewed by CTech, a technology news site that is part of Israel-based finance daily Calcalist. The interview was focused on his Lusix venture, which ‘grows’ diamonds in laboratory conditions using chemical vapour deposition technology.
The article talked about Landa’s track record as an innovator and his preference for being involved with privately-owned businesses that can take a longer-term view than publicly-quoted companies subject to the pressures of quarterly reporting.
It stated: “Landa always bootstraps his companies until he runs out. He invested $300m of his own money in Landa Digital Printing, only looking for outside support when he couldn’t add any more. German businesswoman Susanne Klatten invested $500m in the company over the past five years through her companies SKion and Altana.”
Last year Landa Digital Printing received an additional $300m investment from Klatten, taking the investment to $400m at the time.
According to Altana, it invested a further $50m in Landa Corp at the beginning of this year, and maintained a 33% stake in the business.
Landa's roll-out of printing presses is gathering pace, and the business aims to have all three of its press models – including the web-fed W10 for flexible packaging – operating in the field by Drupa next year.
Landa Digital Printing held a VIP customer event in Israel last month, attended by companies from around the world, including Qualvis Packaging from the UK.
A partnership with print inspection firm EyeC, using EyeC’s quality control system in combination with a Landa contact image sensor for 100% inspection, was announced at the event.
Mark Young, head of Route 1 Print, appeared on a customer panel via video link talking about the installation of the Landa S10P B1 perfecting press at its Rotherham supersite, which is nearing the end of the installation process.
Landa also announced a number of new customers and the move into serial production for the S10 model.
Illinois direct marketing printer Quantum Group has signed for a Landa S10P, Mexican folding carton printer Grupo Mondi will install the first Landa in Latin America, and point-of-sale printer Marketing Alliance Group in North America has also installed an S10.
Landa chief executive Yishai Amir commented: “2019 has been and continues to be a great year for us at Landa. With presses in the market and their benefits seen and felt by the industry, we see demand for Nanography building rapidly. To meet that demand, we’re focused on expanding our manufacturing facilities with our third plant now in operation and construction of a fourth underway.
“We’re also bolstering our service and support teams to ensure a seamless customer experience. We expect to install dozens of presses over the next 12 months, and we look forward to updating the wider print community on our progress at Drupa 2020.”
The CTech article also referenced a Calcalist interview when Landa, who held his 70th birthday party at Drupa 2016, joked about retirement.
"When will I retire?... My dream is that on my last day on earth, someone will want to enter the lab and find the door jammed. When they finally get it opened, they'll discovered it was my dead body on the floor that blocked it."
