Above: Arnaud Calleja
Agfa says its digital printing and chemicals division is set to become the biggest growth driver for the company in 2024.
During a press conference at FESPA Global Print Expo in Amsterdam, Vincent Wille, president of Agfa’s digital print and chemicals division, outlined the company’s growth strategy, stating Agfa is repositioning its focus to “three main growth engines: digital print solutions, healthcare, and green energy solutions”.
“We are really focused on these three growth engines moving forward,” Wille said.
“In 2024, digital printing and chemicals will become the biggest part of Agfa. We grew three per cent as a group last year, and digital printing grew about 13 per cent last year. Digital printing has become and will continue to be more and more important for us in the future.”
Also speaking at the FESPA press conference, Arnaud Calleja, vice president of digital print solutions, said the company expects to see further accelerated growth in packaging following the launch of Agfa’s SpeedSet Orca 1060 late last year, which has been developed for the folding carton market.
“We’re not trying to be number one everywhere, we are focused on these three growth areas that we want to excel in,” said Calleja.
“We want to excel in sign and display, and we want to grow in packaging.”
Last month, the Delta Group became first to sign for the SpeedSet Orca, with production set to start in the UK.
“To grow, we need new products and best in class solutions, and we’re accelerating with our new product launch plan. The [Delta Group announcement] shows that the market sees value in our solution.”
At FESPA Amsterdam, Agfa also unveiled its expanded and rebranded inkjet printer portfolio as well as its new brand identity, ‘Powerful by Nature’.
“This is a new Agfa that you see today. [The new brand identity] is not just about shiny colours…we want to show the market and our customers that our new brand identity reflects our values and our mission to lead the market in best-in-class technology.”
During the press conference, Calleja also hosed down rumours that there will be a merger with EFI or a takeover of EFI following their recent decision to share technology.
In late January, Agfa and EFI announced they had entered a global relationship to access each other’s technologies. As a result, EFI has sourced the Agfa Tauro platform, and Agfa has sourced EFI’s five-metre platform.
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