Print 4.0 goes transatlantic
⦁ The VDMA and the US American association of the graphic communications industry NPES continue their close collaboration and add networked process chains to their agenda
⦁ New NPES President Thayer Long meets Dr. Markus Heering, Managing Director of the VDMA Sector Association, on the occasion of drupa 2016
⦁ Positive résumé of drupa
Düsseldorf, 10 June 2016 – On the occasion of the leading global trade fair drupa, Dr. Markus Heering, Managing Director of the VDMA Printing and Paper Technology Association, and Thayer Long, the new President of the US-American NPES (Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies), agreed to continue the close collaboration between the two associations.
After the meeting with Heering, Thayer Long, who succeeded the previous NPES President Ralph J. Nappi in April 2016, was above all visibly impressed by the progress made by the German printing technology industry towards Print 4.0.
Exchange of information and joint research topics
“As NPES President, I wish to assist our member companies in their efforts to operate more successfully in the market and to become more profitable. Digital networking of printing technology is key to that,” said Long during his visit to the VDMA stand in Hall 7a/B13 on the Düsseldorf fair ground, adding that this was the reason why he and Heering agreed to collaborate more closely in this area. “We have a keen interest in the initiatives of the VDMA in the area of Print 4.0, and I think that we can learn a thing or two from our German colleagues, in particular as regards the industry standards,” he said. The ultimate objective should be a joint industry standard for digital networking in order to ensure an optimal combination of the various technologies of the manufacturers on both sides of the Atlantic and to make their respective strengths available for customers.
Furthermore, the associations wish to support the establishment of better political, legal and economic framework conditions, continue their dialogue about norms and standards as well as topics relating to basic and further training, and, last, but not least, explore possibilities for collaborative research. According to Heering, one advantage as regards the latter is that some companies are members of both associations. “Furthermore, the involvement of the VDMA and the NPES in national standardization bodies offers many chances for an in-depth dialogue. The printing technology industry can only benefit from that,” Heering explained.
VDMA sees a positive outcome from drupa
According to Heering, the drupa exceeded the high expectations. “Not only our own VDMA stand was the center of enormous attention, but the feedback from our member companies also indicates that the quality of the talks as well as the number and volume of contacts and new orders were more than pleasing,” he reports. “Our manufacturers used the last few rather difficult years to develop tailored solutions for the changing demands in the printing industry,” says Heering, underlining that the VDMA Printing and Paper Technology Association supported the reorientation, inter alia, with the “Print 2030” workshop series in order to create positive guiding principles and identify new chances in markets like industrial printing or 3D printing. Both are now focal topics on the VDMA stand in Hall 7a/B13 and highlight themes of the drupa. “We have every reason to look ahead with optimism. Printing is an industry with a future!”
