Gallus & Heidelberg management interview
An interview with Ferdinand Rüesch, anchor shareholder Heidelberger Druckmaschinen (Heidelberg) and senior vice president Global Cardinal Accounts Gallus, and Rainer Hundsdörfer, CEO of Heidelberg. In their answers the two management leaders speak about the failed sale of Gallus to Benpac and point that Gallus has regained its freedom of action while standing to bask some of the comforts and synergies within the Heidelberg grouping.
Firstly, in what are unprecedented times, how accept the final 18 months been for Gallus?
Ferdinand Rüesch – Aye, the last 18 months have been a very challenging time for anybody. But really, Covid-19 made united states fast-track a few things that we might not have washed and then speedily, supporting a wider strategy to reposition the business organization, improve efficiencies and drive profitability via a number of new initiatives and business changes.
Rainer Hundsdörfer – Indeed, the pandemic impacted the whole world and none of usa were immune. Yet, at the same time, the bear on of our transformational process for the wider Heidelberg business organisation started to deport fruit, and with increased sales throughout the twelvemonth, business recovery was much faster than expected, which has evidently helped every concern within the group too.
Ferdinand Rüesch – But nosotros still take many pandemic made issues to overcome, such every bit electronic parts availability, how to socialize with our team and the wider market, restrictions on travel and much more – it's far from over, but nosotros are very positive with regards to our futurity and the potential of the business.
Q – In terms of Gallus, what specific changes have you fabricated to the business concern?
Hundsdörfer – Well, to realize the potential that Ferdinand talks about, we embarked on another transformational program that had begun many months before, which was and so expedited once the Benpac acquisition had run its course. To do that, we completely restructured the Gallus business, providing it with the flexibility and autonomy to make its ain decisions and exist active and creative once again. As a member of the Heidelberg Group, Gallus has sole responsibility for all business within the labels market place, and this customer segment is important to united states.
Today, Gallus has split sales, service and R&D operations and tin can respond very rapidly to specific customer requests or wider marketplace trends. Gallus and its management team report simply to me, which makes decision making much quicker. But the Gallus team has also been able to retain the Heidelberg elements that fabricated sense, such as manufacturing its digital elements at our avant-garde manufacturing facility in Wiesloch, as well as use our in-state market presence for a wider reach. It has the best of both worlds. We've likewise seen the render of several ex-Gallus employees – really talented individuals from all over earth who know the business organization and our customers and are now instrumental in driving the business forward.
Q – Sounds impressive, but I'1000 glad you mention Benpac – what was the state of affairs there?
Rüesch – Well, when Benpac approached us at the starting time of 2020, Gallus wasn't actually for sale. But post-obit early discussions with them and our internal review, strategically, the sale made sense for the wider Heidelberg concern.
Hundsdörfer – However, the acquisition procedure wasn't typical. It took several turns that through no fault of our own, either completely stalled progress or fabricated united states very uncomfortable, with the auction eventually collapsing.
Rüesch – Only since then and with a committed team, nosotros oasis't looked back. With all the changes nosotros've made – a solid strategy in place, the right people, amazing products and the forcefulness of Heidelberg beside u.s.a. – we now have all the avails and potential to lead the labels and packaging markets and make a huge contribution to the grouping.
Q – Does this hateful that Heidelberg is no longer seeking a buyer for the business?
Hundsdörfer – That's correct; Gallus is definitely not for sale. During the pandemic, nosotros received a very expert offer – but now nosotros are very happy that we did not sell the business. Gallus helps us in the packaging concern, which offers excellent growth potential, and it also perfectly meets our quality requirements. We are giving Gallus all the freedom information technology requires to grow and further develop the highly specialized label business, and nosotros will offering our synergies wherever this makes economical sense. On this basis, we are expecting Gallus to make a valuable contribution to the Heidelberg Group result in the future.
Rüesch – I would like to emphasize once again that we are 100% committed to the business and our people. Moreover, we're excited to bring further innovation to the labels and packaging markets, crucial in enabling customers to not but improve their operations, simply to leverage new assisting applications as well.
Q – For Gallus, what has been the result of these changes so far?
Rüesch – The attitude of our people has changed dramatically. We now have a defended team with the thinking and flexibility of a offset-up business, where inventiveness is encouraged, and nothing is impossible. Where we were firefighting problems earlier, we're fixing them now.
Another big change has been in our ability to honor customer commitments. Our independence has enabled this to happen, and it has already seen customer relationships blossom again. In addition, with Gallus R&D now back to total speed, nosotros're increasing cost efficiencies and overall production quality within the supply chain which is having a big bear upon on revenue. In fact, by the end of 2021, we are on target to be profitable for the kickoff time in many years.
Q – Have you fabricated any changes to the existing Gallus portfolio?
Rüesch – Yep, we accept been doing a lot. I can't discuss also much, but I can mention that we will shortly be conducting field trials of a new Gallus Labelmaster 570, which promises to deliver many new client benefits. We also started selling the Gallus Labelfire with a Depression Migration adequacy, and from the cease of 2021, the world's first 'flexible UV Inkjet Ink' for 1200 dpi volition be available on the Gallus Labelfire for digital folding carton production. With this new ink you will exist able to die cut and crease folding cartons without great or splintering, and we will extend this innovation to other applications e.g., tube laminates etc.
We accept also ramped-upwards our secondhand press business, renamed 'Gallus Classics,' where we buy, refurbish and sell warranteed pre-owned Gallus presses. Nosotros also provide a 'matching' service, putting buyers and sellers of secondhand Gallus presses together. And considering there was big demand from customers looking for parts for older machines, nosotros have developed upgrades for those presses that are at the end of their 'electronic' life but would otherwise continue for many years. For example, Gallus Classics provides control system upgrades for Gallus EM Lines and the Gallus TCS 250.
Utilizing our all-encompassing R&D feel and in-depth application understanding, together with our customers, we besides develop highly customized solutions on a project base – these aren't intended for series product.
Finally, we are going to launch a new production system at the very meridian end of our product range, information technology is too early to denote details, merely it will be exciting.
Q – Can you tell united states more about the benefits of the 'Low Migration' capability of the Gallus Labelfire?
Rüesch – Labelfire is a hybrid, up to 7-colour plus white and 1200 dpi, digital inline characterization printing combining the benefits of digital and conventional press with further processing engineering science in i organization. But for customers that specialize more in food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics we needed to provide further assurance insofar as ink migration.
So, we were delighted to pass all the necessary industry certifications for that, and more importantly, our UV low migration inks meet the requirements of Swiss Ordinance and Nestlé Guidance – a huge milestone for Gallus and our customers. With this now all in place, we believe that Labelfire offers the highest quality UV inkjet solution on the market, with the ability to integrate into whatsoever label workflow without limitations. What's more, our total cost of ownership calculation shows the everyman toll per print over all run lengths. And now, the press opens-upwards the nutrient, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics sector with low migration.
Q – Is the new low migration capability for the Gallus Labelfire commercially available today?
Rüesch – Yes, it is.
Q – Switching to Heidelberg, what did yous practise to enable the business turnaround?
Hundsdörfer – Likewise much to summarize succinctly, but we take been making fundamental changes to how the Heidelberg business concern thinks and behaves. Nosotros are learning to exist humble, and that impacts every element of the business organization from equipment and product life cycle to customers and addressing their needs. After 200 years of working in a unmarried industry and serving it in our way, old habits dice hard. Internal culture change has been one of the biggest barriers to moving united states of america to where we need to be, but with some truly inspiring leaders, we've made amazing progress – and success breads confidence and farther success.
Q – Given that we are, hopefully, turning a corner with the pandemic, what are both your thoughts as to the immediate future of the industry?
Hundsdörfer – Interestingly, in terms of Heidelberg, business organisation performance in June 2022 represented our best month for 10 years. Some of this was due to a pandemic bounce-back, merely our transformation process and new business lines were also a huge correspondent to this turnaround, and we come across this trend continuing.
Rüesch – Nosotros are besides very optimistic. Not only are we making swell progress, only we are seeing sales increase across the portfolio, especially for Labelfire and its ability to meet the new demand for 'profitable' digital label jobs and a postal service-Corona consumer boom.
Q – Finally for Gallus, where do you encounter the business in v-x years' fourth dimension?
Rüesch – Well, we patently have a long-range business organization program that we're mapping progress confronting, but firstly, we need to go on the transformation process. What's more, and like any manufacturing business organization right now, we have the bear on of the pandemic to navigate – and as previously mentioned – the nearly immediate issue involves sourcing parts, specifically electronic parts for our presses.
From a product perspective, we will have a portfolio that caters for every labels and packaging customer requirement and upkeep. We are pretty close already, but inside the next five years we will shut all the gaps with new, innovative products. In add-on, we will continue to evolve our presses to drive the innovation and efficiencies that our customers demand, and that ways continuing to develop our digital offering. If we continue equally we've started, we expect to be a strong, growing and profitable business organisation in the coming months and years.
Source: https://packagingsouthasia.com/covid-19-pandemic/gallus-heidelberg/
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