drupa 2012 proves resounding success for Xeikon

Customers and innovation take central stage on Xeikon booth

Xeikon announces record sales and lead generation in all three of its business areas – Xeikon digital presses, ThermoFlexX and basysPrint – at drupa 2012, which was held last month. These excellent results have more than compensated for the slower start to the year due to the so called “drupa effect”: a decline in sales orders that typically precedes the quadrennial tradeshow for almost all capital equipment suppliers.

Over the fourteen days of the show, visitors to the Xeikon booth were treated to a world of customer-driven innovation. Alongside demonstrations of the company’s latest product releases, visitors were taken on a journey of innovation covering all the technological advancements Xeikon has brought to the market over the last 20 years. After crossing a bridge to the future, visitors had the opportunity to experience Trillium™, Xeikon’s latest achievement that the company believes is the future of printing. Overall sales numbers for Xeikon at the show were almost 250% higher than the target that the company had initially set for drupa.

Trillium – a real game changer
Xeikon promised visitors a journey of innovation at drupa 2012 and that is exactly what they got. Xeikon Trillium technology was predicted to be a game changer and the visitors to the booth – from all market places – agreed. The first implementation of Xeikon’s High Viscosity Toner (HVT) technology will enable printing at high speeds and lower costs, while maintaining the highest level of image quality and eco-sustainability.

“Trillium was a real draw card,” says Wim Maes, CEO at Xeikon. “But while visitors were keen to get a glimpse of the future, they also showed high levels of interest in all our new product announcements – from the new 8000 Series, 3030Plus, Label Application Suites and Xeikon Color Control – to the new range of ThermoFlexX imagers and basysPrint UV platesetters. There was just no respite for the sales team over the whole fourteen days as they were busy answering questions from visitors, and in many cases this interest turned into immediate sales. Drupa is truly an international show drawing visitors from Asia to Africa, Chile to China and Dubai to Düsseldorf. And we have literally taken orders from everywhere.”
Letting customers do the talking
Xeikon also gave its existing customers a very important place in its drupa plans, with the daily “Walk of Fame Star” ceremonies. These ceremonies recognized the valuable role customers play in the innovation process at Xeikon. Each “Star” customer stayed on the booth for two days discussing their Xeikon experience with other customers and potential prospects.

“Xeikon’s innovation is very much due to our customers – and we have seen plenty of them here!” says Michael V. Ring, VP of World Wide Marketing. “Being close to our customers, day in, day out, enables us to get the input we need to develop future products. It was just great to have the opportunity to recognize their input – and for them to join us on the stand so visitors could openly talk with them about what it’s like to partner with Xeikon.”

Customers on the “Walk of Fame” came from across Europe and included First Data (Greece), Ypsilon (Belgium), Data One (France), Howard Hunt (UK), VSP (Germany), W&R (Netherlands), CS Label (UK), Etichete Flexo (Romania), Color Gruppe (Germany) and TagG Informatique (France).

Results of innovation process
The results of this innovation process were clearly visible on the Xeikon stand with a full array of new product announcements. These included: 
 
• The new Xeikon 8000 Series, designed for the document printing market and offering a scalable solution for the smaller short-run print shops up to large print service providers. 

• The Xeikon 3030Plus, a new entry level press for the label and packaging market, capable of handling media widths up to 330 mm and boasting a top speed of 15m/min (50% more productive than other entry level machines)

• Three application-specific Suites for the label & packaging markets (self-adhesive labels, heat transfer labels and newly announced folding carton)

• ThermoFlexX, the launch of a new product line of reliable, high quality imagers for the flexographic and letterpress markets.

• Xeikon Color Control, a cloud-based  professional color management service that enables printers  to offer their customers repeatable and predictable colors and the best simulation of custom spot colors

• Next generation of basysPrint UV-Setters, in 4-Up, 8-Up and VLF format, for the commercial CTP market.

ABOUT XEIKON
Xeikon NV (XEI: AEX) is an innovator in digital printing technology. The company designs, develops and delivers web-fed digital color presses for labels and packaging applications, document printing, as well as commercial printing. These presses utilize LED-array-based dry toner electrophotography, open workflow software and application-specific toners.

As an OEM supplier, Xeikon designs and produces plate makers for newspaper offset printing applications. Xeikon also manufactures basysPrint computer-to-plate (CtP) solutions for the commercial printing market. These proven CtP systems combine the latest exposure techniques with cost-efficient UV plate technology, high imaging quality and flexibility.

For the flexographic market, Xeikon offers digital platemaking systems under the ThermoFlexX brand name.
ThermoFlexX systems provide high resolution plate exposure including screening, color management, as well as workflow management.

All the Xeikon solutions are designed with the overarching principles of profitability, quality, flexibility and sustainability in mind. With these guiding principles and a deep, intimate knowledge of its customers, Xeikon continues to be one of the industry's leading innovators of products and solutions.

For more information, visit www.xeikon.com.