FINAT managing director Jules Lejeune reported on the latest market review
Gathering converter and supplier members, the second annual FINAT European Label Forum (ELF) took place on 7-9 June. The main theme was digital and the change it brings, both in the world of consumers and in the print industry. Neel Madsen reports from Berlin.
Now in its third year, the European Label Forum replaces FINAT’s annual congress, to meet the changing needs of the label and packaging industry. ‘With the new event, we aim to encourage business and opinion leaders to address topics relevant to the longer-term future of our business,’ said FINAT managing director Jules Lejeune.
Change, Industry 4.0 and digitalisation were the topics of many of the presentations at ELF 2017. Change was also on the cards in terms of the format of some of the sessions, while a change in presidency took place on the final day when Thomas Hagmaier of Hagmaier Etiketten, who had served as president for the last two years, handed over to Chris Ellison of
OPM Labels.
Be your industry’s Uber
An expert on change and helping organisations with the challenges that it brings is the “other” Michael Jackson, who has worked with the likes of Microsoft, Virgin, HP and Qatar Airways. A renowned international speaker, he favours project-driven thinking, teamwork and finding a common purpose for all employees. ‘Simplify, smarten up and specialise,’ was his advice.
‘Change is boiling right now,’ said Mr Jackson in reference to the famous frog in a pot experiment, urging the participants to jump before the water gets too hot. ‘Think about the change in your own industry and find out what sets you apart,’ he said. ‘Be your industry’s Uber. Simply continuing to do more of the same will lead to your demise. If you are not disrupting your industry, you’re rapidly becoming outdated and irrelevant.’
Jan Denys of analytics company, Randstad Group, talked about branding your company in the age of the digital generation. Today, there are new profiles for employees, created by new forms of work, which demand new talents and skills in social media, design, innovation and trans-disciplinary thinking. He shared 10 golden insights saying that Industry 4.0 is bringing new forms of working and we all have to learn new skills. Talent matters more and more.
Stephan Lechel, partner Porsche Consulting, discussed the fourth industrial revolution and what it means for manufacturing processes. The consultancy company has done a survey of 500 businesses looking at the challenges of digitisation. Interestingly, 75% of those surveyed realised that without digitisation of processes, they would lose market share, however, only 35% are actively working on a strategy to meet this demand.
In terms of innovation, Mr Lechel explained that cycles are getting much shorter and that consumers want variation and individualisation. New business models are more successful as is modular product development. He said, ‘Don’t wait until you something works 100% to go for it, try at 60%. Think big, start small and scale up what works.’ He also encouraged the attendees to leverage their potential, change and/or strengthen their business activities to achieve strong customer loyalty and to automate repetitive processes.
Products as assets
The Internet of Things (IoT) is the focus for Andy Hobsbawn’s company Evrythng, which works with the likes of WestRock, Avery Dennison and Crown. He spoke about how smart products are transforming brand relationships, claiming, ‘The age of smart products is happening now, but most products are still underused assets.’ He predicts that 99% of all products will become part of a connected network as digital assets, or as Evrythng calls it an Active Digital Identity (ADI). This offers huge amounts of data that can be used in a wide variety of ways.
Digitally activated products can create supply chain efficiencies by helping reduce inventory, eliminate stock redundancy, improve logistics, lower product recalls and reduce the counterfeit market. Consumer patterns can be traced and full cradle-to-grave history of each product recorded to improve sustainability.
‘The digitisation of products is a central pillar in the digital transformation strategy of every manufacturer and retailer,’ said Mr Hobsbawn. His advice to label printers was to see if they can help their customers solving pinpoints with technology making more money in the process.
Andy Hobsbawm, Stephan Lechel and Jan Denys then took part in a panel discussion about the future facilitated by Marc Büttgenbach, which covered topics such as exploiting digital interaction in business-to-business labelling applications; using digital tools to promote label recycling; and how web robots – or bots – can deliver real value.
Group sessions within guided workshops offered forum participants a new level of involvement
A new approach to getting the participants involved was guided workshops. FINAT had commissioned De Ruijter Strategy to conduct a scenario planning project were small groups discussed the imaginary case of Enrico, a second-generation owner of label company FinatCo. The groups had to develop the story of this company for the next five years, based on four possible scenarios taking into consideration fragmentation/consolidation of the market, technology disruption and labour shortage.
Digital printing
Corey Reardon, principal and CEO of AWA (Alexander Watson Associates), gave an overview of the market for direct digital printing onto packaging containers and the drivers for growth and substitution, based on a report released in 2016. He said, ‘Disruption is not typically a word we use in the label industry, but direct digital printing could be considered a disruption. Time will tell whether it is.’
Printing directly onto moulded containers is set to grow over the next five years as the format improves. Removing the need for a separate form of product decoration could significantly reduce costs and improve sustainability, said Mr Reardon. Barriers to entry currently include high cost of ink, slow line speeds, high cost of capital equipment and no metallic inks, amongst others.
Jennifer Dochstader and David Walsh, founding partners at LPC, presented the results of the FINAT Digital Label Study 2017, which looks into the current and future development of digital versus conventional printing in Europe.
According to their research, of the 2000 digital presses already installed in Europe, 76% are toner-based and 24% inkjet or hybrid, but research indicates that inkjet presses will grow at 14.5% per annum to 2022. It also shows that 28% of European converters are planning to purchase a digital press within the next two years, but challenges for converters remain. Cost of ownership, press downtime due to service issues and finding enough business to fill the available digital capacity were the three top-ranking concerns.
United Europe
On the final day, Joschka Fischer, the former German minister of foreign affairs and vice chancellor 1998-2005, gave the closing keynote presentation.
Speaking about the future of the European political and economic landscape, Mr Fischer had plenty to get his teeth into as his presentation fell on the morning when the UK general election result came in. Referring to the chaotic situation in the UK and also the election of Donald Trump in the US, he said, ‘We are talking about an annus horribilis. The UK result is a disaster for the EU negotiations. There is no clear direction and we have a messy situation. The UK and the US have de facto withdrawn their support to the transatlantic committee. Unfortunately this is reality, not a script from Monty Python!’ He emphasised the importance of Continental Europe staying together and said that the French presidential election was one positive. Security will now be top of the agenda as Europe moves forward to stabilise itself and becomes stronger.
He said, ‘Europe means diversity in a united front, to peacefully protect and promote its continued success and happiness because, after all, there will be a shift of power from west to east – and who will then take care of us? Our common destiny will be very important!’
In a move opposite to Brexit, the FINAT presidency is now in UK hands. Thomas Hagmaier, managing director of Hagmaier Etiketten, presented the president’s chain to Mr Ellison, during a ceremony at the members’ dinner. Mr Ellison has served as vice-president over the past two years and now takes over the top job. He said, ‘As I take over the presidency, I feel energised and positive about the agenda. The key element in our agenda is to further engage interest and commitment of a broader, stronger FINAT.’ He highlighted FINAT’s five star programme, which is dedicated to getting more members, particularly young people, and stated that he would like to see more converters join and encouraged existing members to get more involved in activities.
The winners of the FINAT Label Awards were also announced during ELF. There were five groups of categories covering various applications and print technologies. Winner of the Marketing/End Uses group and Best in Show was Royston Labels for the King’s Cross label, which the judges described as ‘outstanding’. The label was printed in UV flexo, six colours on a metallic substrate with both matt and gloss varnish, and depicts a leaf in the shape of southwest London with The River Thames highlighted.
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