"We are venturing into new territory from now on"

Kolbus in Rahden, Germany has grown over its 243-year history to go the leading bookbinding machine manufacturer worldwide. Early on 2018, the company surprised the industry by selling its gluer binders and bookline business concern to Müller Martini. Kai Büntemeyer, managing partner of Kolbus and chairman of VDMA Press and Paper Technology, explains in an interview the reasons for their new and clearly divers focus on the packaging marketplace, the applied implementation of the transfer and the challenge of convincing their staff of the benefits from their change of course. Excerpts from an interview with Kai Büntemeyer, managing partner of Kolbus.

Mr. Büntemeyer, what is left of Kolbus after its surprising sale of its gluer binders and bookline business to Müller Martini?
Kai Büntemeyer: It is not as bad equally it sounds. I conceptualize that the Kolbus Grouping turnover volition fall by around xv%. We are indeed relinquishing a big role to Müller Martini, but at the aforementioned time, nosotros are significantly expanding our components business. In 2017, we had a total turnover of more than EUR 135 million, to which component manufacturing for other manufacturers contributed EUR 12 million. Our turnover in this sector volition grow considering nosotros will be supplying components to the new 'Engineering Works Muller Martini Bookbinding Systems.'

What happens to your staff in your custom machines plant?
Kai Büntemeyer: The changeover means 253 staff members will transfer to Müller Martini and develop, manufacture and marketplace bookbinding systems at that place. In the run-upward to the transfer, nosotros spun off a visitor with these members of staff and the appropriate patents and designs. Müller Martini then took over this visitor in its entirety. We plan a two-brand strategy in which our product range continues to be available and the sales and service contacts for customers remain the same. We have deliberately sold to a traditional company that plans for the long term, and not to finance investors.

Will y'all keep your 150 R&D staff and your viii.5% R&D quota?
Kai Büntemeyer: In relation to turnover, the R&D quota will drop because component manufacturing is growing then strongly and over one-half of our R&D employees volition be transferring with our bookbinding systems to the new company. However, nosotros will be conspicuously increasing R&D in custom motorcar manufacturing for the packaging sector.

Why the new strategic focus on packaging?
Kai Büntemeyer: The market for bookbinding systems is saturated and is stagnating. It has go a and then-called 'sunset industry.' In contrast, nosotros foresee double-digit growth rates in manufacturing custom machines for packaging, which is why in hereafter we want to concentrate vigorously on packaging made of cardboard and paper—specifically on luxury packaging.

Kolbus Kai Büntemeyer, managing partner of Kolbus and chairman of VDMA Printing and Newspaper Applied science

Can Kolbus utilize its existing know-how for this?
Kai Büntemeyer: Yes, the classic Kolbus casemaker already has the engineering science that volition class the courage of our new packaging range. So, our packaging technology is actually based on established technology, and in the cease a book comprehend is also the book'due south packaging. The marketing approach taken by brand manufacturers using our packaging engineering is not then very different from the way a book is marketed as a hardcover volume. In both scenarios, information technology is all about bonny, high-quality appearance and make image.

Even if some things stay the same, does 2022 mark a new era for Kolbus?
Kai Büntemeyer: Yeah, definitely. Nosotros volition still continue the tradition of casemakers but from now on we will exist venturing into new territory. At that place will be much that our staff will discover different. In futurity, component manufacture will operate as an independent entity. Hither we will be investing in modernizing our machines, but nosotros too await in return that this sector will seek out new, lucrative markets and assertively accost them. And the packaging sector will feel like a start-up for the next 3-iv years. We will demand to ready a product range quickly, act creatively and grow dynamically.

Volition y'all succeed in committing your staff to this modify?
Kai Büntemeyer: This is, of form, ane of our greatest challenges. At kickoff we met with a lot of scepticism, which I can understand. We are taking a lot of problem to explain our new strategy considering we need to boldly tackle this change and main it together.

How practise you explain leaving the printing and newspaper applied science sector?
Kai Büntemeyer: Information technology isn't that we see no future for printing and paper technology merely the growth forecasts are, to put it mildly, modest. Market book will remain huge and ensure good business in the future but I see a problem for us machine manufacturers in that the printing industry volition continue to rationalize and will demand to massively boost its productivity. This makes it hard for equipment suppliers. Admittedly, the packaging market is also not a goldmine but the cost pressures are not quite so pilus-raising.

Is the cost issue the greatest divergence between the two markets?
Kai Büntemeyer: Customers expect more than and more than that our machines will reduce costs and this is something customers in the packaging sector also want. Nevertheless around half our projects are about developing new solutions and options. The book is a product that has been perfected. In packaging, development is never finished: you ever demand new ideas to generate interest for your products.

Are there any points of contact for digital and analogue printing technology in packaging?
Kai Büntemeyer: Nosotros usually process loftier-quality printed and surface-finished substrates. Our experience in laminating cardboard with high-quality printed substrates is in peachy demand. A typical customer for us will exist someone who also works as a printer in the packaging sector. The process chains here are still not as closely linked as in book press although this is at present changing. Procurement cycles are becoming shorter, which leads to a need for new, networked workflow solutions. A smart, Impress iv.0 approach can also exist merely as interesting for short-term, event-related campaigns as for optimizing logistic chains.

A terminal question: Where practice yous run across Kolbus in 2030?
Kai Büntemeyer: I think the custom automobile manufacturer of the future volition offer his customer much more awarding consulting and support. You can see it commencement at present in packaging design and in hereafter it will securely impact production processes. I am convinced that for Kolbus the future lies in such in-depth consulting service business models. Nosotros will have to run into whether customers will ain machines or guild product capacity from us. Whatever happens, we volition be ready for it.

The book is a product that has been perfected. In packaging, development is never finished: yous always need new ideas to generate involvement for your products.

As you bring together us today from Republic of india and elsewhere, we have a favour to ask. Through these times of ambiguity and challenge, the packaging industry in India and in virtually parts of the world has been fortunate. We are now read in more than 90 countries as our coverage widens and increases in impact. Our traffic every bit per analytics more than doubled in 2022 and many readers chose to support us financially even when advertising fell to pieces.

As we come out of the pandemic in the next few months, we hope to again expand our geography and evolve our high-impact reporting and authoritative and technical information, with some of the best correspondents in the industry. If there were ever a time to back up the states, it is now. You lot can ability Packaging South asia's counterbalanced industry journalism and assistance to sustain the states by subscribing.

Subscribe Now

smithchismakey.blogspot.com

Source: https://packagingsouthasia.com/packaging-production/we-are-venturing-into-new-territory-from-now-on/