Gallus has settled on a new direction for the label business on the back of a deep investigation and analysis of the forces driving brands and converters. In short the company has realised that the next generation of consumers engages with the world in a completely different way. Gallus has to change to remain relevant in the face of demographic changes and other micro trends that are underway, in turn increasing the challenges its customers, the converters face.
The challenges include a renewed push for sustainability, the shortage of skilled personnel across the sector, as well as the need for shorter runs, more variety, and greater impact to drive consumer purchases.
In turn this requires the digital transformation of the label sector Gallus believes. This means greater levels of collaboration and partnerships between converters and suppliers and between suppliers and suppliers. The manifestation of this approach is the Gallus Experience Centre that has been opened in Switzerland to mark the company’s centenary and deliver a firm statement that Gallus is back.
The company flirted with disaster through a proposed sale away from Heidelberg which fell through at the last minute. Heidelberg has since awakened to the potential of packaging, in all its forms, has renewed its commitment to its subsidiary.
At the opening Heidelberg CEO Ludwin Monz remarked: “Heidelberg is delighted to stand alongside the Gallus team this week, united as one group. Together we are even stronger and have a robust plan looking ahead.”
That plan includes the introduction of new digital presses that address the challenges the research has turned up. This the Gallus One gains flexo units and inline finishing to create a standalone proposal for a first digital press that is flexible and simple to operate. Users of its ECS340 flexo press can add a digital print module creating a hybrid press to the same specification as the Labelfire press. Further developments will follow with expansion of the Gallus One platform likely to ensure it can fight for share in a sector that is growing 6% a year.
There are many others that have also responded to the changing market and have produced solutions for the expanding digital print sector.
Gallus CEO Dario Urbaniti explains that the new approach means closer contact with the market, forecasting and responding to trends that “could impact our customers and brands”. He adds: “As a result, Gallus and Heidelberg are committed to leading the new digital transformation, driving ‘smart, connected printing’ to unlock revolutionary levels of production automation and manufacturing efficiencies. Key to solving the labour issues of today, this will enable customers to reduce costs and increase both profitability and sustainability.”
This is achieved through the Heidelberg Customer Portal to make booking in and ordering jobs muck slicker and using artificial intelligence to present choices to the user. The platform will save the customer an average of 35% for both time and money on a job.
