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Keypoint Intelligence has started to publish a series of State of the Industry reports that shine a spotlight on the labels and packaging space. It’s a lucrative growth industry (to the tune of $980 million, according to our forecast from last year) and it’s even attracting players from the commercial side looking to diversify—who eye packaging as a new avenue to pursue.
Newly promoted as Agfa’s Head of Packaging Printing Digital Solutions, Matt Brooks has been on our radar since PRINTING United…but he’s been a hard man to pin down—and for good reason. Keeping him busy is Agfa’s “full throttle focus” into becoming a complete inkjet solutions provider, building on the back of its inks and chemistry as well as following the acquisition of Inca last year, where he worked on developing UV inks for the Inca Eagle flatbed printer line.
There’s a good synergy to the whole ink story and Agfa, one which needs to be heard.
Jean Lloyd, Principal Analyst of Keypoint Intelligence’s Labels & Packaging Advisory Service, spoke at length to Brooks to learn more—and there’s a lot of ground to cover. With the ever-increasing shift from analog to digital, what are some of the key things he’s hearing from converters? (Clue: It’s not just about personalization). What has Inca brought into the Agfa stable? How is Agfa addressing the needs of the folding carton market?
The latter question alights on Agfa’s forthcoming 40" SpeedSet 1060 press, which promises to handle 11,000 sheets an hour. Lloyd and Brooks discuss how the oversize B1 press will answer a lot of questions that he feels haven’t been addressed in the market to date, and why customer buy-in and partnerships are just as key as transactional sales.
| Matt Brooks, Head of Packaging Printing Digital Solutions at Agfa |
Stepping back a little, what of the zeitgeist of our times: Sustainability? The packaging sector undoubtedly is interlaced with the movement towards greener corporate and consumer behavior. Agfa takes its sustainability ambitions seriously, putting it at “the heart of [its] activities and way to operate.” From setting its own house in order (e.g., the installation of 2,855 solar panels on the roof of its headquarters in Mortsel, Belgium that accounts for 905 MWh of green energy per year and avoids 158 tons of CO2 over the same period) to implementing initiatives like the GreenWorksSM program (which is designed to encourage and promote more sustainable printing practices, such as reducing ink consumption, in the graphic communications industry), clearly Agfa understands that sustainability is an imperative for anyone who cares for their business to be thriving in the years ahead.
See what Agfa is up to at PRINTING United Booth B2, Stand 832, from October 18-20, 2023!
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