Consumables
Flint Group Consolidation of Flexographic Prepress Adds Value for Flexo and Letterpress Customers
Monday 11. January 2021 - Over the years, both organically and through acquisitions, Flint Group has amassed a great deal of knowledge and expertise about flexographic prepress, from using innovative materials and technologies to create flexographic plates, to processors with a minimal environmental footprint, to software solutions that help automate and control the entire flexographic prepress process.
As the new year kicked off, The Flint Group made an important announcement for the flexographic industry.
Now all of these resources are consolidated under one umbrella in a new Flint Group division called XSYS that combines Flint Group Flexographic with Xeikon Prepress.
During the press conference launching the new division, its President, Dagmar Schmidt, stated, “XSYS is an established brand associated with Flint Group. And it perfectly fits with our strategy and our existing product brands – ThermoFlexX, nyloflex, Xpress and other brands – plus Systems – leading to our new name: XSYS. It combines the knowledge of Xeikon in selling equipment and software with the expertise of Flints flexographic sales team and expertise in plates. With a complete portfolio and a distinctive name, we want to inspire not only our customers, but also our colleagues. Understanding, Flexibility and Consistency are our core values and also our promise to customers and partners. Our values are what sets us apart from competitors as a proactive, future-oriented company. Our customers can count on us and on the quality of our products and services. At the same time, we are able to offer our customers flexibility and freedom in their decision-making – a key requirement in todays world and even more so in the future. So its not so much dusting off an old name as it is leveraging a known Flint Group brand and modernizing it to fit the needs of today and tomorrow.”
To do that, the company added two taglines. The first is Print Solid. Stay Flexible. It is designed to convey the companys dedication to bringing vibrant and innovative solutions to the market. The second is Be Brilliant. Schmidt explains, “This reflects our belief that the world needs brilliance. Brilliant ideas and developments to meet the challenges of the future. Brilliant people who have the courage and will to do the right thing. Our story started with a brilliant idea, and brilliant ideas are what keep us going.”
Its a lot to live up to! To be honest, many of us have wondered for some time why these groups were separate. Schmidt noted that they have been working closely together for some time, but formalizing the organization in this way breathes new life into the effort and streamlines the organization to deliver even more innovation more quickly. The new organization is also likely to free up and make more efficient other corporate resources, such as Flint Group Digital Printing Solutions, which formerly housed Xeikon Prepress.
At the inception of XSYS, the senior leadership team will consist of Dagmar Schmidt as the president of the division supported by Eva Freudenthaler, Friedrich von Rechteren, Martin Cadek, Katja Stuhr and Uwe Stebani, names that are familiar to many of us.
During the press conference, the senior leadership team also praised the work the groups did bringing Catena+ to market, a fully automated and fully integrated plate processing solution that can be sold bundled with Flint Group plates. It includes a wash-out unit, drying, light finishing and stacking for a complete process. Schmidt noted that not only has the company placed more than 19 Catena modules, but it also received a technology innovation award for Catena+, validating its belief that this is indeed a unique market position.
XSYS will consist of three subdivisions serving the flexographic and letterpress markets: Prepress, Plates and Sleeves. Each will have its own P&L and revenue targets, but all will work closely together.
Normally an announcement like this would be made in conjunction with a major trade show or at least an in-person press event. But due to the special circumstances surrounding the pandemic, the company chose to use a virtual platform for the announcement. It went off without a hitch, and the senior leadership team was quite open in answering all of our questions.