Craig Nethercott, managing director of Océ Australia is planning to bring the lessons he learned on the rugby fields of Wales and West Australia to the restructured business. At the beginning of the year Océ Australia Pty Ltd was established as a separate business division from parent Canon Inc, 

and tasked with delivering winning solutions to the Australian commercial print fraternity. Appointed to the role of CEO Nethercott will be best known to Australian printers, those in WA at least, as a rugby professional where he spent several years in the last few years of the previous century.

 

Following his retirement from rugby Nethercott returned to the UK and worked in various sales and marketing roles for the entire Océ range, rising through the ranks to be business unit director. He was a figure in the integration between Canon and Océ in Europe in a model that was replicated around the world. 

 

Here in Australia though the company has decided that Océ will run as a separate legal entity, and will become the interface with the commercial print industry. Canon itself still has a strong presence, thanks to its Canon imagePress digital print engines and its imagePrograph wide format inkjet printers. Océ though will supply and service the range of high speed inkjet webs that lead the market, as well as the world’s biggest selling UV flatbed printer Océ Arizona, and the new UVgel Océ Colorado.

 

Engagement

 

The feeling was that the focus was a little diluted, with Canon a huge consumer and office products company, both markets that have significantly different expectations to the production print sector. Nethercott says, “Commercial printers, copy shops, franchises, they all need a high level of engagement. The print solution is the core of their business, it plays a totally different role to say an office photocopier or a consumer camera. So the decision was made to create a separate company to manage the production print sector directly in this region.”

 

"Customer intimacy is at the heart of everything we do" says Nethercott.  This move brings the customer closer to the manufacturer with the benefits of expertise, passion and understanding that a direct dedicated approach brings.

 

When it came to his role at Océ Nethercott says, “I had no concrete plans to come back to Australia, but when the call came to consider the role of leading the business here I had no hesitation in making the move over. 

 

"Australian print business owners are known as being early adopters of technology, and Océ will be bringing a lot of technology to the market. It is an exciting time to be here. We are all in business to make a profit, and for Océ we will make a profit if our customers are profitable. With Canon's huge R+D budget behind it Océ has the resources to develop innovative print production solutions that will enable our customers to stay ahead.”

 

Nethercott is keen to emphasis though that Océ is selling solutions rather than boxes. 

He says, “Under my tenure Océ will not be product centric, we will be customer focused with a commitment to delivering the solutions that will help each and every business move forward, we will engage and deliver an appropriate solution.”

 

Océ will be telling its customers there are two key routes to improving profitability, through diversification and cost reduction. Nethercott says, “The Océ Colorado for instance can replace three or four existing wide format print systems. The Océ VarioPrint i300 cut sheet inkjet printer with inline finishing means much reduced labour costs, and far quicker time to market. It also enables a wide range of applications – mailers, books, manuals, marketing collateral and the like –  so the print service provider has the confidence to enter these markets knowing they can absolutely service them with unrivalled fire power.” The Océ i300 is an B3 sized printer, Canon is also developing its Voyager, a B2 sized inkjet printer, visitors to drupa two years ago saw the basic concept.

 

Océ has long been market leader in the high volume inkjet web market, it has its ColorStream and new ProStream solutions, the latter able to print direct onto offset stocks.

 

The sheer range of Océ inks is remarkable, it supplies Océ CystalPoint technology for its ColorWave printers, which is toner in pearls, UVgel the exclusive new technology for its Colorado printers, toner of course and inkjet for both sheetfed and webfed presses. 

 

Nethercott says, “Océ Inkjet is opening up new markets, and is driving a move to variable colour in some applications that were previously offset shells with monochrome overprint.”

 

Nethercott says, “We have a ‘Prince2’ outlook for project manage-ment with customers to take us through how we engage with them. 

 

"We start with orientation, getting to know their business, the investigation phase, where we get to understand the business, which essentially breaks down into an analysis and then a design scope, what should the future look like and how can they get there, then followed by implementation. It is a long way from selling boxes.”

 

This solutions approach is perhaps demonstrated best in the sheer range of Océ ink technologies that it has developed. 

 

Appropriate solutions

 

Nethercott says, “Océ will be able to provide print businesses with solutions appropriate to their market sectors. Nethercott says, “There is a vision for this business to make a difference in the commercial print world. With the backing of Canon we are well placed to release that vision. The market will see changes, for instance the showrooms will be converted into customer experience centres.

 

“Oce will succeed because it has the technology, and the engagement to understand where the best value lays. It is not just financial, we have the experience and expertise to deliver and to develop long term partnerships with our clients. We are really focused.” 

 

Just like you have to be to win professional sporting contests, of which Nethercott has plenty of experience.