The new Xsys operation was unveiled yesterday (7 January).
The Xsys name dates back to 2005 when BASF Printing Systems and ANI Printing Inks merged.
Later the same year the business acquired Flint Ink, and in 2006 the holding company was renamed Flint Group. The Xsys name continued to be used until 2008 at its narrow web wing.
Its revival for the new Xsys operation plays on the ‘x’ that features in many of the brand names involved.
Xsys is helmed by president Dagmar Schmidt, who held the same role at Flint Group Flexographic. She said that Xsys had 600 employees and sales of around €300m (£540m).
The division’s fresh identity includes the message “Print solid. Stay flexible”, and its slogan is “Be Brilliant”.
“This repositioning includes not only a new name, but more importantly a new vision and mission,” Schmidt said.
“We are here to bring more brilliance into the packaging industry, into the lives of our customers, partners and colleagues, using brilliant products and services for brilliant print results and business success.”
The flexo, letterpress and plate-making brands included in the division include: Nyloflex, Nyloprint, ThermoFlexx, Catena and Rotec.
Global commercial vice president Friedrich von Rechteren said he believed the business had advantages over rivals such as Esko because of the portfolio of products.
“We have equipment, software and a whole portfolio so we can touch all the different steps of the value chain and also combine them,” he stated.
Schmidt emphasised that the Stuttgart-headquartered operation had no plans to consolidate any of its production sites.
She also said that there were no plans to spin the operation off as a separate entity, and said Flint and Xsys remained open to the potential for further acquisitions in the future. Flint acquired Xeikon in 2015.
Schmidt also commented on the UK business with regards to Brexit.
“We had enough time to prepare including switching customer focuses and raw material supplies, and optimising our logistics chain. For all the businesses of Flint Group I would say at the beginning we were thinking it would affect us much more than it now actually does.”
Regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, she said that 2020 had been a “rollercoaster” with periods of stock-keeping by customers, followed by de-stocking. Overall, she said the performance had been “quite robust across all divisions” with its sleeve business particularly strong.
The new division also has a new website, at xsysglobal.com.
Flint Group is the world's second-largest ink maker, behind Sun Chemical, with sales of around €2bn. Last summer there was some speculation that its private equity owners could put it up for sale.
