Fujifilm, Heidelberg Report Successful Debut of Primefire; Further Collaboration
Chief executives from Fujifilm and Heidelberg (Shigetaka Komori (r) and Gerold Linzbach) meet at drupa 2016 during the world premiere of the Heidelberg Primefire 106 powered by Fujifilm Inkjet Technology.
HEIDELBERG, Germany — June 7, 2016 — At drupa 2016, the CEO’s of Fujifilm Corp. (Fujifilm) and Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg), Shigetaka Komori and Gerold Linzbach confirmed successful partnership and agreed to seek further collaboration between the two companies to target growth potentials in the printing industry.
World Premiere of New Industrial Digital Printing Machine Sets Industry Benchmark
In the digital area, Fujifilm and Heidelberg celebrate the successful world premiere of Heidelberg Primefire 106 (‘Primefire’) powered by Fujifilm Inkjet Technology in drupa 2016 and are looking forward to driving further growth of the digital printing market. The completely new sheetfed production inkjet device is the first commercial offering resulting from the collaboration, establishing a new category for industrial printing applications in the B1 format. The launch at drupa 2016 will be followed by a planned first customer shipment in 2017.
Exploring New Market Segments Strengthens Service and Consumables Business
Additional synergies are expected by leveraging sales strengths and global customer service network in each organization. In combination with the application knowledge and skills, the high performing products from both partners to support future customer needs. By introducing the new digital system into the graphic arts market Heidelberg and Fujifilm expect respective consumables businesses to benefit as customers focus on sourcing the best performing consumables from partners with strong global reach.
Both Companies Will Continue to Seek Collaboration Areas Together
Both companies have complementary expertise, with Fujifilm enjoying deep strengths in material science, core inkjet capability and system development, Heidelberg’s second to none system design, manufacturing and end-to-end workflow capabilities.
“The great response we are experiencing here during drupa is very exciting. We are now seeing the outcome of our strong partnership resulting in this completely new system design in less than 24 months through our co-development with Heidelberg. This collaboration illustrates the unwavering commitment of Fujifilm to drive innovation from our proven Fujifilm Inkjet Technology as a key element of our strategic direction,” said Shigetaka Komori.
Fujifilm is releasing a new branding campaign “Fujifilm Inkjet Technology” during drupa to highlight unique strengths in high-quality imaging and reliable inkjet printing from printheads, digital inks and the image optimization technologies. Fujifilm will expand this capability to industrial manufacturing for high quality imaging and process improvement to simplify the process.
“Heidelberg’s customers have been waiting for an industrial digital inkjet printing solution to enable both operational excellence and new business models for an expanding set of new applications. This collaboration is a great example of our 'Simply Smart' campaign, the launch of Primefire underscores the traction we are getting with our new digital strategy,” relays Gerold Linzbach.
Heidelberg is driving a course towards growth during the trade fair drupa 2016 in Düsseldorf and will be presenting the industry’s digitized future under the motto “Simply Smart.” In an industry environment that is still changing rapidly, print shops need to continuously improve their efficiencies and respond to the global demands of end customers in ever faster and more flexible ways. It is important when doing so to shape the digitization of their own business model and involve print buyers in this process.
The two organizations are continuing to explore new opportunities for cooperation through utilizing their respective proven technologies as they introduce the Primefire.
About Fujifilm
Fujifilm Corp. is one of the major operating companies of Fujifilm Holdings. Since its founding in 1934, the company has built up a wealth of advanced technologies in the field of photo imaging, and Fujifilm is now applying these technologies to other new business fields. Fujifilm brings continuous innovation and leading-edge products to a broad spectrum of industries including medical systems / life sciences, graphic arts, document solutions, highly functional materials such as electronic materials, optical devices and digital imaging. Fujifilm aims to help enhance the quality of life of people worldwide by providing top-quality products and services with its leading-edge, proprietary technologies. Through its corporate philosophy, Fujifilm demonstrates its commitment to making a significant contribution to society.
About Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft (Heidelberg) has been a major provider and reliable partner to the global printing industry for many years. It offers customers all the components tailored to their requirements for successful business operations, primarily focusing on efficient and reliable production processes, economically optimal investments and smooth access to all necessary materials. Its business model is based on the three pillars of equipment, service and consumables. These form the foundation for Heidelberg's future growth as it continues to develop from being a technology-driven company to a market- and customer-oriented one. Heidelberg’s goal is to increase the share of consolidated sales attributable to services and consumables to over 50%. With its own sales and service branches and via partners, Heidelberg supplies its customers all over the world with products, services and consumables, generating consolidated sales of around € 2.5 billion in the 2015/2016 reporting year.
Source: Heidelberg.
