What do you feel were the main trends and key industry developments in 2024?
Seaber: Consolidation continues within our industry with more mergers and acquisitions. Automation in printing, finishing and binding continues to grow and smart factory technologies are gaining more and more interest as every company looks to reduce production costs and lower energy consumption.
What do you expect to be the main trends, key industry developments, and biggest opportunities for printers in 2025?
Seaber: More company mergers and acquisitions will continue in 2025. Investments in digital automation, particularly with Artificial Intelligence, will grow very fast in 2025.
What are IFS’s own hopes and aims for 2025? Can you tell us about anything exciting in the pipeline?
Seaber: 2024 was a Drupa year and was also one of our best Drupas, with record sales of high quality fully automated Horizon print finishing and binding machinery. This continued after Drupa all the way through to the end of the year. We hope this trend continues throughout 2025 and beyond. During 2025 we will be promoting our new partnership and products from Smyth to produce high quality sewn books alongside all the fantastic solutions showcased by the Horizon Smart Factory event last year.
Keane: Well we must be doing something right, as 2024 has been another record year for IFS, which has positioned us as the top selling Horizon dealer in Europe. This success is testament to the hard work of our fantastic team here at IFS, aligned with such amazing products and systems from Horizon, systems that are in demand because they bring high levels of automation to the print finishing processes. We have orders booked for delivery well into 2025 and we see this investment wave continuing. I predict another very busy and successful year ahead for IFS.
How can suppliers better help printers navigate the challenges and seize the opportunities in 2025?
Seaber: The best advice I can give is to encourage printers to talk more to each other and also with suppliers as this is where ideas and solutions come from. It’s good to talk!
What did you think of Drupa? Do you plan to attend the show in 2028?
Seaber: 'Super Drupa'. We will be there in force in 2028 and look forward to meeting UK and Ireland customers and visitors.
Keane: I attended my first Drupa in 1982 and I have to say that in all my years that this year's event was the happiest and most enjoyable one that I have attended. The engagement with customers and the enthusiasm and investment in the booths of our manufacturers, coupled with the hard work and commitment from the IFS team, was fantastic and guaranteed it was a success for us. We secured several large new orders that had not been pre-arranged. In fact, our team enjoyed Drupa to such an extent they didn’t want to go home and were suffering withdrawal symptoms on the following Monday. Düsseldorf had become their home. We will definitely attend the 2028 show and have our accommodation already booked.
