Executive Q&A: Greg Blue, CEO, manroland Web Systems

IA. Tell us a little about your company, the segment of the market it serves, and what you consider to be your "core" users.

GB: manroland web systems was founded in 2012, the result of the splitting of the web and sheetfed divisions of manroland, which has been in the business of making printing presses in one form or another since 1844. Since the establishment of the company, our focus has been creating groundbreaking print technology through utilizing our strong engineering and R&D core with out-of-the-box thinking, but also maintaining our strong focus on service. As the world market leader in web offset printing, our dedication to the full spectrum of service and a 100 percent customer focus creates an added value for our customers which we believe is unlike other manufacturers. We create custom solutions which take into consideration the complicated nature of the ever-evolving landscape for printers.

Our core users are newspaper, publishing, and commercial printing houses. With the addition of our finishing lines and workflow software packages for digital inkjet, our user base has expanded to those in the publishing and commercial realms who have digital inkjet press equipment. With our well-tested, well-engineered, and reliable product base, manroland web systems is in the business of creating productive pressroom environments which are equipped with the right tools, not just for their present business model, but also for future changes to their business 

IA. How did you get involved with the company? What is your background before that?

GB: I got involved with manroland web systems after a four year hiatus from the printing industry. I found that manroland web systems in North America, which has a strong focus on technology, project execution, and aftermarket services, was a great match for my experience.

To the job of CEO of manroland web systems in North America, I brought with me 19 years of leadership experience in the printing industry, including many years of service knowledge and management experience in a host of critical areas, ranging from application engineering, project management, and aftermarket business development.

IA. What do you consider your greatest achievement in this market to be?

GB: When I began with manroland web systems in 2013, I was excited to create new growth opportunities which would strengthen existing relationships with our customers, and I believe we have done that. Our customers are some of the most successful and well-known companies in print, and we consider ourselves to be their business partner, contributing to their success. I’m consistently focused on creating steadfast relationships with our customers, on listening and reacting to their needs, and the only way they will share that critical information with you is if they trust your vision and alignment with their values.

In addition, we have also continued to improve our responsiveness and flexibility to changes which fit our customers’ needs and budgets, through continued expansion and customization of our services portfolio. We can now create customized programs, not only for service upgrades of all kinds, but we have also re-tooled our entire parts pricing system, to become a more competitive provider, without losing sight of the importance of high-quality components.

IA. If there was anything you could change, either about your career in regards to the print industry, your company, or the market as a whole, what would it be and why?

GB: I think that although some of the most successful companies in print have made it to the top by thinking innovatively, at times the industry as a whole, particularly in the past 7 years, can be extremely cautious, and unwilling to take the risks that might be necessary

to get to the next level. We understand the importance of making every dollar count when it comes to investing in print equipment, which is why we encourage our customers to carefully choose, but not limit themselves with outdated technologies. So many tools are out there – workflow advances, hardware retrofits, hybrid pressroom configurations – that in today’s market it doesn’t make sense to invest only for today. You have to think about the business you are going to want to get for tomorrow, and what technology will be able to get you there.

IA. What do you consider the greatest challenge to be for the industry right now? Why?

GB: It hasn’t always been the case, but right now, print technology is moving fast. So much focus is on what’s the latest “exciting” innovation – whether it’s the increased speed and adoption of variable data for digital inkjet, nano printing, 3D printing, a lot of the focus is on what the newest “buzz” is in printing.

Instead, the focus really should be on what makes money for the majority of pressrooms that are in operation, not what’s the latest trend that will get people talking. 85% of print is still coming off of offset machines, most of those machines are over 5 years old, and those machines need to be evaluated, updated, and maintained.

In other words – service might not be “sexy” – but it’s literally the thing that makes the bottom line. A press isn’t going to be making money, or saving money, if it is running with obsolete and aging components. That’s why my focus has always been to provide our customers with an arsenal of tools and talent to increase productivity, eliminate waste, and create new revenue streams by utilizing each press to its fullest potential.

IA. What do you consider the greatest asset to be for the industry right now? Why?

GB: Right now, our industry is stacked with knowledgeable people. The talent I see coming out of not only the manroland web systems organization, but also out of the pressrooms themselves is at such a high level. Engineers are thinking outside of the technological norms for our industry, creating products with open architecture, allowing for a level of flexibility that has never before been available.

Print engines are no longer “purpose-built”—particularly in the world of newspapers. Presses are expected to run constantly in a 24-hour period—with job changes and format changes done more quickly than ever before. The companies that are going to be successful in this industry are going to diversify their products, and get the equipment that makes all that possible, whether through innovative retrofits and upgrades, or through the purchase of future-proof equipment.

IA. In your opinion, what have been the biggest changes to the way we communicate with one another in the past few years? How would you recommend this industry take advantage of that? 

GB: I can’t imagine anyone not being “connected” in today’s day and age via the internet, and of course electronic media. Information is constantly pouring in through every device we use – cell phones are now used more for communicating through electronic means than they are for having actual voice conversations. These communications are becoming more and more personalized. Even the ads you see on social media are now placed there because your browser told it what you clicked on, and what you might have been interested in. Everything you see has been selected based on your own likes and dislikes.

The personalization of print is our industry’s answer to that. With the continuing development of digital inkjet, we now have the ability to provide readers of publications with information that has been selected just for them. Newspapers can now focus on micro-zoning, providing hyper-localized information to their subscribers. Digital inkjet print heads can now be fitted to existing offset presses, integrating variable data into high volume environments. The technology now exists for print to speak to a generation of people who have come to expect their information to be customized to their own preferences. 

IA. Looking ahead, what major innovations or technologies do you believe will shape the future of the industry? Why?

GB: I have seen a major shift in innovation in the area of workflow and controls. The integration of many types of technology into a single pressroom is now becoming a reality. It used to be that each press line was a separate entity, and had to be controlled by different systems, requiring operators to have to use different consoles or workstations to run each system.

Hybrid pressrooms can now have digital inkjet, sheetfed, heatset web, and coldest web all talking to each other, and all controlled by one system. Through open architecture that collects and analyzes JDF/JMF data for workflow pre-settings, we now have automated workflow systems that can easily assign print jobs to the machine and in the order that utilizes the equipment to its fullest potential, and in turn, creates the best opportunity for revenue.

This means that the possibilities for formats, styles, and types of printed materials that can be produced in a single pressroom are literally endless. Existing equipment can now be seamlessly linked with new equipment, and the workflow systems which manroland web systems are developing even allow entire pressrooms with several different kinds of press elements (and different brands) to be linked to other plants, efficiently managing an entire company’s plant holdings, and assigning print jobs to the right plant, on the right machine, at the right time, and for the right price.

IA. What is the biggest piece of advice you would give to printers and others involved in this industry? 

GB: This industry is cyclical, and in my 22 years of experience, I have seen trends come and trends go. The one thing that has always remained the same is that whatever equipment you are using needs to be kept updated to reach its greatest potential. There’s just no excuse anymore for using equipment which wastes more than its share of resources, because the industry has the tools. An initial investment in something as simple as high quality consumables or components will pay off quickly through increased reliability and production efficiency. In the end, a printer will make some money from its printed materials, but it will make more printing them on a well-maintained machine.

IA. Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

GB: manroland web systems clearly understands the market and financial pressures that exist in the print industry for both our customers and competition. Our future strategies will continue to be based on the belief that print will survive and we will continue to take the necessary actions to maintain our focus on being the last man standing.

Personally, I am a believer in creating trusted relationships and communications with customers. As is the case with any business, open lines of communication lead to a more successful synergy of resources. This is what differentiates a partnership from a vendor/purchaser situation, leading to better success on both sides of the relationship.