Heidelberg USA’s President Reflects on the U.S. Printing Industry

Weimer: I thought about a need for companies investing not only in peak performance technology, but also in processes and in people. I find this true while now being a year responsible for the U.S. operation. That is the reason why Heidelberg is permanently increasing its offering in service, consulting and education. Today’s technology is so advanced, printers need to take care about this part too to get the utmost out of their invest.

Nick: The surviving “commercial printers” in the United States are becoming “marketing service providers” in the business of effectively managing content across print, Web, mobile and social media outlets. As Heidelberg is a mirror of its customers, how are you responding to these changes?

Weimer: Our offering today compared to 10 years ago is completely different; beside the changes in offset technology, which have been massive, we have invested heavily in our digital printing offerings. Beside our strategic partnership with Ricoh, we have our Anicolor technology—best in class for short-run printing—and signed an agreement with Landa for Nanography technology.

Stay tuned; there’s much more to come! We are continuously increasing our offering in performance services and consulting, helping our customers in this transition.

Nick: What are the biggest challenges and opportunities you face when it comes to the current state of the U.S. printing industry?

Weimer: America is a big country. Therefore, we are challenged to have our offering available all over the country. We are doing fine, but it is not easy. On the other side, we need to increase our offers constantly. Just machines are not enough these days. Therefore, we invested in our infrastructure for selling consumables in North America.

Nick: Being president of a highly respected, major press manufacturer is quite an impressive accomplishment. Looking back on your career, what is the biggest lesson you learned that helped you reach this position?