11.7.16 Baumann Maschinenbau Solms GmbH & Co. KG networks and automates processes related to cutting. The medium-sized company with 80 members of staff focuses on research & development as well as module-based technology in order to be able to respond to changes in the market rapidly. In this interview, General Manager Volkmar Assmann explains why he sees the fully networked printing house as a chance for his company. He also talks about growth opportunities within the graphics industry offering chances for growth.
Mr. Assmann, would you please describe your company in just a few words?
Volkmar Assmann: With pleasure. The beginnings go back to the 1960s. At that time, the Baumann Group was a distributor of Wohlenberg cutting machines and began to develop peripheral equipment for them. The aim was to be able to supply cutting systems. This approach made good progress and resulted in the establishment of Baumann Maschinenbau Solms in 1978. Since then, we have offered joggers, pile hoists, air tables and loaders that we now develop, build and distribute with a staff of approximately 80. Our own share in total production is more than 80 percent. Our training quota is over 10 percent, including three to four students enrolled in dual study courses that alternate work experience with academic training. Most of these are then taken on full time. In research and development, we have 10 employees. Therefore, we are in a position to implement ideas and to respond to changes in customers´ wishes rapidly…
…and this keeps your company young…
Assmann: That`s right. In fact, it`s fun to see the young men and women gradually assuming more and more responsibility and using their creativity in tackling tasks at our company. Over the last few years, a change of generations has been brought about, and we now have some men and women in managerial positions who are younger than 30 years. The difficult situation in the recent past also made us focus on further developing technology and qualifying staff. The market has changed fundamentally and requires other machines and system solutions than ten years ago.
You focus on Cutting 4.0. What does this mean?
Assmann: A cutting process that is fully networked and automated as far as possible. That`s what we presented at drupa 2016. We now have automated solutions for all format sizes and aspire to offer our customers the suitable solution for all tasks connected with cutting. We listen closely to what our customers say and provide them with a made-to- measure system solution from our range of components. We have designed our machines on a modular basis and have automated the processes in which they are integrated.
To which extent do your solutions support frequent job and format changes?
Assmann: That´s what they are exactly made for. Internet printing houses have strongly changed the market. Printing companies that previously only handled print jobs now also offer print processing and finishing. The cost pressure is huge, the delivery times are short and the jobs become smaller due to the shorter print runs. The only possibility to remain productive and successful in economic terms nonetheless is automation. Cutting 4.0 is our contribution to the fully integrated process world of Print 4.0. Digitisation offers the chance to eliminate make-ready times in the cutting process completely. Our Gamma system uses the prepress data for the automated preparation of cutting programmes for job changes and combined sheets. Jogging, intermediate storage of jogged reams, transportation to automated cutting and unloading are carried out completely automatically. These processes are all integrated into the ERP system. The process is transparent; the production data can be viewed in real-time. Job and cost control are ensured automatically, as is the continuously up-to- date material management by Service 4.0.
Where does the demand for such solutions come from?
Assmann: From printing houses in high-wage countries that feel the cost pressure and have to respond to it with automation. At drupa, we felt an intensity in the talks and a demand for information that I would not have thought possible before experiencing it. The printing companies don’t just talk about Print 4.0, they are pressing ahead with its implementation.
Does Print 4.0 hold the risk for smaller suppliers that the big ones will share the process chain as total system suppliers among themselves?
Assmann: I don´t see that risk. We offer independent solutions for the cutting process, a process that was often neglected during recent years. The machine pools comprise many machines from the 1970s. Now, the automation pressure triggers investments. Moreover, our solutions are in demand above all because the integration into the process chains based on the JDF standard is pretty problem-free. Apart from minor adjustments, we can dock on to every JDF-based system. Therefore, integration is possible independent of the manufacturer and as a rule already functions by plug&play already now. Since we embed our 4.0 solutions into higher-level ERP systems, I do not see any risk of being displaced from the market. I rather see growth in the graphic sector.
The industry shows fresh courage. Are you thinking about diversificating nonetheless?
Assmann: We have pressed forward with that since 2008. The largest sector up to now is still the graphic industry. However, we also have four other pillars: Securities production, the packaging market, loading systems for measuring machines and contract manufacturing. They all make continuously increasing contributions to our sales – and supplement each other very well. What we develop for the securities and packaging sector can often be transferred to other fields as well.
What about internationalisation?
Assmann: 90 percent of our machines and system solutions still remain in Europe. At the drupa, we held intense talks with distribution partners from Asia, Oceania as well as South America and entered into some contracts. For us, it is important that the partners are active in the graphic and packaging sectors. We wish to address both markets overseas – and grow in both.
What is your vision of Baumann Maschinenbau Solms in the year 2030?
Assmann: First of all, there will be a new managing director because I will enjoy retirement at that time. But besides that, I think that we have chosen many right tracks and that our recently positive development will continue. The graphics sector will remain a supporting pillar, but it will not grow as much as our packaging sector. We must maintain our flexibility and creativity in order to keep pace with the high investment speed. I have great confidence in our young generation that they will succeed.
