The equipment orders included 25 SM52 printing units, including both Anicolor and standard presses, two XL75 presses, and 20 units of guillotines, folders, binders and CTP equipment, as well as workflow systems.
HAN managing director Andy Vels Jensen says, “Nobody expected sales or visitor numbers to be anywhere near what we experienced in 2005, but I am very pleased with how things went. We always saw PacPrint as an opportunity to promote and invest in the brand of Heidelberg, as well as to sell equipment. Our notion was to accept we are in a recession, but depression is optional and not something we wanted to entertain. The relationship-building opportunities at PacPrint will see us through the current recession and well into a more positive future. We came out of the show with 300-plus leads for potential business opportunities. So in that sense our PacPrint work is not yet over; the fat lady known as PacPrint has yet to sing!”
Jensen adds, “Any show is not just about taking the orders in, though this is important. Giving back goes beyond staging a show, to the education seminars we ran and our comprehensive demonstration schedule. We launched new initiatives, such as the Heidelberg Advantage Program which rewards customers who buy their Saphira consumables through our online shop.
“We fully supported PacPrint and we did this for the industry in as much as ourselves. Without shows such as PacPrint there is no revenue source for our industry organisations, and we should thank all of the suppliers and visitors for coming and supporting the show, as well as the PacPrint organisation for a fantastic event, staged in fairly challenging times.”
Vels Jensen has made his views well known on those suppliers who chose not to bring equipment to the show, believing they are short changing not only themselves but the industry a whole. He will be a strong voice in the discussions over the format of the next PacPrint, discussions he wants to begin sooner rather than later, and which may result in a radically different show. However with his own company selling $13.8m worth of kit and the only two other vendors that had presses on the stand, Currie with Shinohara and Cyber with Ryobi, both reporting surprisingly strong sales and leads, it may the other press suppliers who have to rethink their approach.
Vels Jensen says, “We invested a lot into our exhibit – not only in dollars but in the time, dedication and the expertise of our people. We moved in, built the stand, ran the stand and moved out without incident – no injuries, loss or damage, except for a few sore heads on the Sunday morning after our wrap-up party – and all this was done below the modest budget we set. Considering the tonnage, the voltage and the logistics of getting in and out of Jeff’s Shed, as well as knowing something ‘always goes wrong’, that is an extraordinary achievement.
It took us 18 months to plan our exhibit, and the accolades, awards, deals and visitors vindicate the effort and investment. There is a reason why we used the motto ‘HEI Value, HEI Performance’ for our exhibit. I believe that in tough times, when there is a lot of uncertainty, buyers will gravitate towards the strongest and longest-standing suppliers in the industry. Quality and support is more important than ever when operating in difficult conditions. You need someone you can rely on. We’ve been supporting our customers here in Australia consistently since 1925 and we have no intention of making any changes in this regard. In fact, we have a few new innovative ideas in the works which will improve and increase even further our business and service in our region; but more on this later in the year.”
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