Jürgen Rautert — The View from ‘Hei’ Above

In life cycle assessments we analyzed that the environmental impact in the use phase of a printing press is much higher than during the manufacturing. Therefore, we strive to improve not only the productivity of our presses, but also to continuously improve the energy efficiency, and reduce the consumption of resources and emissions. Only if we think economically and print ecologically will press manufacturing continue as a highly valued and dynamic industry,

As for our customers, we use different opportunities to address and stimulate environmental activities. You might know that we recently awarded the HEI ECO Printing Award. The worldwide feedback was encouraging. The two top prices, by the way, were won by a North American printer who scored first for the most sustainable operation and a Japanese printer who was decorated for the most innovative idea.

We also offer the the most comprehensive color management and measurement portfolio in the industry. The potential is huge, if you figure 200 sheets of paper per makeready saved by using Heidelberg Inpress Control. Do the math, if this technology is adopted by many printers: Within a few years we talk about millions of tons of paper.

PI: Where will the lion’s share of Heidelberg’s revenue come from in five years’ time? What will your product/service mix look like?

Rautert: As noted earlier, we have been particularly successful in expanding our consumables, parts and services businesses. Despite the current state of the machinery market, we have achieved growth in both these areas and increased our share of the total order volume. We see half of our potential revenue coming from the promotional print market, a quarter from packaging print market and a quarter from service and consumables.

PI: What is Heidelberg’s position on the perceived “threat” from digital printing technologies, especially high-speed, industrial inkj-et?

Rautert: I don’t know who sees digital print as a threat. Quite to the contrary, we continue to see digital print as an interesting supplement enabling our customers to explore new business opportunities. Talking to (offset) clients—especially here in North America —I have seen a lot of innovative digital print solutions that complete the offering of the print shop and that enable cross-selling of offset printing to digital clients and vice versa.