Gallus Group has opened the Gallus Experience Center, designed to drive market transformation and launched three new products to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
The new Gallus Experience Center is designed to serve as an industry touchpoint for customers, industry experts, stakeholders and public members to drive market transformation as part of the company’s ‘Gallus Experience Days’.
Dedicated to the digital transformation of the label and narrow-web industry, the centre aims to foster collaboration to drive innovation and sustainability.
In addition, Gallus will use the facility to showcase conventional, hybrid, and digital Gallus products, software, and cloud-based solutions, next-generation machines being produced, and supplier partner technologies.
Heidelberg chief executive officer Dr Ludwin Monz said, “As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Gallus, Heidelberg is delighted to stand alongside the Gallus team this week – unite as one group. Together, we are even stronger and have a robust growth plan looking ahead.
“With labels and packaging now representing 50 per cent of the group’s total sales, the new digital and automated solutions we see introduced by Gallus today play an important role in the future of Heidelberg. As a result, Gallus is an important pillar within the company’s growth strategy, and we’re more committed than ever to its long-term future.”
Packaging and label printing is an important core area for the company. In line with its dual-track strategy, Heidelberg also focuses on growth in digital printing.
According to the company, digital printing used in label production, for example, offers some of the greatest growth opportunities in the printing industry. One-third of all labels worldwide are already printed digitally today.
Digital printing is thus driving change in this market segment, with an annual inkjet growth of around six per cent. Heidelberg intends to expand its position here with the Gallus One.
Gallus Group chief executive officer Dario Urbinati commented, “We are committed to being in touch with the market and forecasting, and then responding to, likely trends that could impact our customers and brands.
“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.
“What’s more, utilizing our new Gallus Experience Center, we have a team devoted to exploring new technologies/processes – such as artificial intelligence and Industry 4.0 – that could be integrated into labels and packaging to better inspire and engage future generations.”
Gallus has also unveiled a new Heidelberg Customer Portal (HCP) that automates customer touchpoints. Claimed as an industry first, future iterations of the solution will also provide predictive capabilities utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to provide recommendations to increase productivity, reduce maintenance, and boost profitability.
The new platform is expected to save customers, on average, up to 35 per cent in both time and money.
The company has also presented its new Gallus One with Converting. It features a digital printer with an in-line flexo station and a semi-rotary die-cutter that can change a job within one minute and process up to 70 metres per minute. It also includes vision inspection systems to ensure quality and minimize waste.
Moreover, Gallus has announced the option to upgrade an existing Gallus ECS 340 flexo press with a digital printing unit (DPU), transforming it into a Gallus Labelfire 340 hybrid press, but without the additional platform investment.
Customers can now access the flexibility and versatility of digital printing, with the reliability and precision of conventional printing and further processing technology.
Dario Urbinati concluded: “We are thrilled to welcome so many friends and colleagues this week to help celebrate our centenary in business and to have the opportunity to share our exciting new products and thank the many amazing people within our business who have worked so hard to support us, as well as our incredible portfolio of customers.
“But this week is as much about the next 100 years and what we do next. This is why we’re excited to look beyond the graphic arts toward other industries – learning from how they’ve leveraged new technologies to welcome in the new digital age and cater to the next generation – so that we can modernize the labels and packaging industry and further increase our future success.”
