New series featuring the voices of ERA members
Member Spotlight: Bobst
Welcome to the second edition of our ‘Member Spotlight’ series, designed to shine a light on the diverse perspectives and experiences of our member organisations. Spanning the globe, our members offer unique insights into industry trends, challenges and innovations. By featuring their voices, we aim to foster a deeper understanding of the gravure printing landscape and wider print industry.
We’re delighted to be continuing the series on a strong note, with not one, not two, but three members of Bobst, one of the world’s leading suppliers of substrate processing, printing and converting equipment and services for the label, flexible packaging, folding carton and corrugated industries. Answering our questions are Sara Alexander, Marketing & Communication Manager (Flexible Packaging), Davide Rossello Process R&D Manager (Gravure) and Giacomo Truffi, Product Marketing Manager (Gravure and Laminating).
Industry trends and challenges
ERA: What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the gravure print segment today?
BOBST: There are two: one is to be competitive for short runs as well as more traditional/typical gravure longer runs, and the other is to be flexible enough to print many design variables of the same packaging while keeping high-quality printing with new substrates (paper and film).
How has digital transformation impacted your business in the print industry?
We have worked a lot on digitalization of the rotogravure printing process and pre-press and developed BOBST Connect + The impact of digital transformation has just begun; all the information we will be able to get from the machines will change the way we set-up and evolve the machine and change the way we do maintenance on them.
“Sustainability will shape the future
of the print industry.”
What emerging trends do you believe will shape the future of the print industry?
Sustainability, mono-material, recyclable packaging and recyclable inks and adhesives. But also innovation in terms of automation and digitalization, where we bring more and more know-how to the equipment, reducing the risk of human error, downtime and waste, therefore increasing efficiency. This is what customers are seeking.
Technology and innovation
Which new technologies have had the most significant impact on your Gravure printing operations in the past year?
Without a doubt the introduction of smartGRAVURE, but also the new concept high efficiency dryer, Advanced Register Control, as well as printing in oneECG on many different substrate types and thicknesses (including thinner films brought by the trend for downgauging).
How do you see automation influencing your business in the next five years?
Information coming from the machines will change the way we develop the machine automaton; it is key to evolving in the right direction. If we use AI to our advantage (as we are already doing with some of our solutions) we will not only digitalize processes by managing and transforming data, but also use this to our advantage to automate processes, which will in turn save time and improve efficiencies.
Are you currently using or planning to invest in process or material change to make your products more sustainable?
Absolutely, and we have been doing this for years. We are looking at five years of highly intensified R&D activities in this field with a series of different partners and working ecosystems. Understanding the process is key, but it is the combination of the right partners, materials, chemistries, application methods, machine type and configuration that builds the base of our process know-how, hence the importance of partnerships. This is in terms of process to help our customers produce (print and convert) these new solutions and new applications in the most effective manner. In terms of equipment process, we are streamlining our production processes in terms of how they are used at our customers’ sites (consumption playing an important role for example) as well as how they are designed, processed and constructed on site.
Business development and growth
What strategies have you found most effective for business growth in your industry segment?
Digitalization of the printing process and pre-press has a big impact. BOBST smartGRAVURE is a great example (revolutionizing the traditional gravure process, whilst maintaining the gravure technology).
“The shift towards remote work
has enabled a welcome change in
mindset.”
How has the shift towards remote work affected your business operations and client relationships?
It has enabled a welcome change in mindset to a way of working that in the past was not globally accepted. On one hand, it has intensified working hours as we are all available always and anywhere (narrowing the gap due to distance and different time zones). As with everything, if managed with the right balance and mindset then remote work offers a huge set of advantages for more efficient, immediate working – with some economic advantages too.
What are your biggest challenges in attracting and retaining skilled talent in the print industry?
The mindset of the younger generation is totally different. In the past people “married” into a company, they spent their entire career there and grew within it. The know-how was in the person, the expert. Today the younger generation has a different mindset, with career hopping becoming increasingly common. This makes it difficult to retain staff and adds to the pressure behind the need to digitalize processes and bring the know-how to the machine itself, which again is what we are already doing with our offering (in gravure and other technologies).
Sustainability and Environmental Impact
What steps has your company taken to reduce its environmental impact?
We have a sustainability structure, divided into three main management channels; corporate, equipment and end products. In terms of the environmental impact, we are making changes to the actual building, such as adding solar panels over the factory, NRG (thermal and electrical) automatic control/optimization on the office building, LED lighting, collection and re-use of rain water etc as well as financial and social sustainability of course. In terms of equipment, we are working on sustainable production and sustainable operations of our equipment at our customers’ sites. And in terms of end materials we have created our Hero Samples and oneBARRIER family. With reference to oneBARRIER we have now taken the process one step further as we have carried out an LCA to show the impact on producing these new sustainable packaging solutions.
How important is sustainability to your customers, and how has it influenced your service offerings?
It is of the highest importance. We are all influenced by sustainability on a daily basis, at home and at the workplace. BOBST centres much of its work on all sustainability-related topics which has, over time, influenced our offering in terms of equipment but also know-how and processability of sustainable materials on our equipment.
What impacts are you expecting to see from EU or local government legislation?
Consumers are becoming super aware, governments are stepping up and trying to bring out some uniformity, clearer rules and deadlines, while companies in some fields are rebelling as some of the future landscape milestones may not be viable, so we see awareness and lobbying. We also see that brands, retailers and converters who initially made commitments and pledges about the recyclability of their materials back in 2019 are moving the deadlines or updating their commitments. What does this mean? Some say it makes it less likely to happen; others say they are moving to a more realistic time scale based on the knowledge gained over the last five years, but we don’t really know. The book around the future of flexible packaging is still being written.
Networking and Community
How valuable is your membership in the ERA for networking and professional development?
It is a good platform to get to know new people and to consolidate relations. Especially with cross-functional positions.
“Events are key to staying connected
and engaged with other professionals
in the print industry.”
How do you stay connected and engaged with other professionals in the print industry?
Events are key – conferences, seminars, educational sessions, all networking opportunities including exhibitions of course and then on-site events where we can add the demonstrations and illustrate equipment and all round solutions.
Future Outlook
What is your outlook for the print industry over the next 5-10 years?
We foresee increased solutions to help customers maintain quality and increase efficiency – with easier and faster machines set-up and less effort/manual intervention from the operators.
What advice would you give to new entrants in the print industry today?
To be focused on new digitalized printing processes and pre-press. The former space for an “Artistic way of printing” will be a niche. If we want to make a difference and tick all of the boxes that the market is requesting from us, we need to hit the buttons of colour consistency and consistent quality, limited manual operations, less downtimes/more off line pre-press activities, and bringing the know-how to the machine; therefore digitalizing processes.
What changes or innovations would you like to see in the print industry in the near future?
smartGRAVURE is a no brainer, as is oneECG in gravure. We could even imagine a space for a hybrid gravure + digital + in line barrier coating solution.
Thank you, Bobst, for taking the time to answer our questions! If you’ve enjoyed reading this and would like to get involved in our ‘Member Spotlight’ series, get in touch with Stefani Dhami at stefanidhami@era-eu.org
