PRINT Romania january 2020, english version

CONTENT

Romanian market matures and no longer accepts compromises More than 25 years ago, Adriana and Sebastian Boureanu started Graphic Open System, when more than a few were not confident about the big step undertaken inside the packaging world.

“Textile printing and 3D printing hold the power to visibly change consumer behavior” interview with Florin Vâlcu, Executive Director at Leykom

A gift for Pope Francisc from Artebiz The historical visit of Pope Francisc to Bucharest had multiple meanings, being a statal, a pastoral and an ecumenical one. Logistically, operationally and diplomatically, it proved to be a complex one.

The Efi FabriVu 340i purchase sent us to the Big League

For Romanian print suppliers electoral campaigns are a pipe dream

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“I would never trade the team’s steadiness for higher profits”, says Gigi Nicolae, general manager and founder of Sothis Print.

Robert Buta may as well be considered the pioneer in Romanian digital textile printing. The company which he currently runs, Rofobit, started in 2004 and, ever since, has known constant evolution.

OOH will always be a relevant market for a performant and consistent large format printing supplier The company he runs has recently celebrated 20 years of activity. Geo Baraian is one of the most experimented entrepreneurs currently working in large format printing in Romania.

Succes out of the box As with all successful stories of Romanian entrepreneurs, which began in the ‘90s, the history of packaging supplier Hecomin marks the starting point inside the commercial industry.

High IQ packaging

The care for the HeadPrint brand image starts with the concern for details

We chose Mihai and Diana Dărmănescu, the founder and the current CEO of the company, to tell the story of one of the most well respected packaging manufacturers in Romania: DMF Poliplast.

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Andrei Bârlățeanu brings to light the ingredients of this successful recipe and how they have been put to good use.

PUBLISHER Relu LICIU - relu.liciu@print-romania.ro Radu MIHAI - radu.mihai@print-romania.ro COLUMNISTS Romulus CRISTEA - romulus.cristea@print-romania.ro Cristian FAUR - cristian.faur@print-romania.ro Irina TOMȘA - irina.tomsa@print-romania.ro LAYOUT, DTP & PHOTO Gabriel COLȚA - gabriel.colta@print-romania.ro

The one extra that makes the difference Ana Maria Petrișor and Cristian Petrișor are older friends of our magazines. Intelligent Labs is the company they started and launched a series of production systems manufactured on a first run in Romania.

ILLUSTRATIONS Andreea CHIRICĂ PROOFREADING Elena TĂTARU TRAFIC COORDINATOR Roxana STAMATI - roxana.stamati@print-romania.ro ON-LINE Cristina PETREA CONTRIBUTORS Cristina CALAFETEANU, Marius BUICULESCU

ADRESS 20, Peneș Curcanul Street, district 3, Bucharest, ROMANIA +4021 326 66 30 C.P. 51- OP 32, 11032 PRINT ROMANIA, SIGN ROMANIA and PACK ROMANIA are magazines published by Semantika Publishing SRL (ISSN 2066 - 2998) The articles published in this edition are protected.

Print Romania, Sign Romania and Pack Romania are registered trade marks.

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PRINT ROMANIA

Print Romania Team

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After spending 10 years in IT & Advertising, in 2004 Radu Mihai sets the foundation of Print Romania’s first editorial shapes. Together with Relu Liciu, he is one of the producers of the online show “Print and start over”. Additionally, he is following his first passion, as a film director.

Relu Liciu is one of the founders of Print Romania. Having a vast sales experience, of over 25 years, he manages to establish close contacts with various personalities, by using his honesty and simplicity to form authentic and lasting relationships.

With an experience of over 28 years of journalism, Romulus Cristea manages to smoothly combine the precision in economic analysis with the accuracy of a documentarian. He is passionate about Bucharest’s secrets and was the author of numerous books on the tumultuous history of the 90s.

As polyglot and practitioner of martial arts, Cristian Faur succeeds in catching the essence of every event, without, of course, placing it on the current context. He is constantly preoccupied about new technologies and how they fit into our lives.

Irina Tomșa studied History and Art Theory at UNARTE. She is an eminent advertiser, with over 20n years of experience in ATL, BTL and online.

She enjoys writing press articles and every subject is challenging her to uncover all the details and outline new interpretations.

The world seen through Gabriel Colta’s camera lens is more colourful and able to surprise than reality itself. A former weight thrower, Gabi easily places his images next to his colleagues’ articles, by arranging them onto a page.

Cristina Petrea has enthusiastically contributed for the past 20 years to the communication strategies and marketing campaigns of numerous brands. She likes beginnings, she enjoys learning new information every day and she is passionate about building, step by step, sustainable projects, with long term results.

Roxana Stamati is the information coordinator inside our editorship. She is the youngest member of our editorial team, has an excellent observation skill, is a great communicator and manages to bring a smile into every member’s face.

With over 8 years of online development in online projects for Iasi established companies, Cătălin Mărgarit moved his focus onto Bucharest’s entrepreneurs.

He is in charge of the magazine’s online infrastructure and the one responsible with 21st century technology access for the entire team.

INTERVIEW

Romanian market matures and no longer accepts compromises More than 25 years ago, Adriana and Sebastian Boureanu started Graphic Open System, when more than a few were not confident about the big step undertaken inside the packaging world by a mathematics professor and a foreign trade specialist. The 25 years-long adventure is now being analyzed with ease and understanding, while we review every step of the journey.

How did the first year of activity evolve for your company? What would you change if you could travel through time? Which were your first signed supplier and, of course, your first client?

December 1994. Celebrating twenty five years of flexographic printing. It is, now, hard to believe. But, if you take a closer look around us, at our partners – suppliers and clients, at the experience gathered through time, at aour accomplishments and, of ocurse, at our most valuable and oldest employees, you might conclude...Yes, we managed to get here! Our first year, as the few ones that followed, was extremely intense, since we had to accumulate knowledge in this completely new and fascinating field, bith for us and for Romania. No one ever heard of the products we started with: photopolymer pad printing plates for clichÊs, which were replacing the lead usage inside printing houses. Everyone was asking us what was our profession?, how do we know that this particular process would actually work?. A former 3

PRINT ROMANIA

math teacher and a foreign trade expert were not so reliable and trustworthy inside the still small and poorly informed printind industry. The printing industry was, in 1994, in Romania, at least 50 years behind the Western one. Our first partner, the one with whom we managed to install these piece of equipment in many state-owned poligraph printings and from which we began to import water-corroding letterpress clichés, was the company Horst Müller, from Germany.

From the letterpress tehnology to the flexography we only had one small step.

It all started with an issue of FLEXO magazine, published by FTA, where we discovered a whole new world, unseeen on the Romanian market: that for flexoprinted sticker labels. We were charmed by the possibility of supplying label printing machines able to deliver the final product at the other end of the machine.

Thus, the adventure began.

KDO, with its avant-garde flexo printing machines, was the first supplier and, the local company Cortex, from Constanta, our first client. They were two brave people, working in accounting, whom felt this business opportunity and gave us their full trust. From now on, we started a brand new avdenture, since, along with the printing systems, we had to supply pre-press tehnology, double adhesive tapes for installation, flexographic clichés, anilox rolls, scrapers, matrix bearing magnetical cylinders, flexible matrix and theoretical and technical support.

We were happy to have them as guests at last year’s PAck Expo exhibition and also, to find out that they have new investiments plans. Also, Rottaprint, Barleta, ABC Impex were amongst our first clients. We were supplying flexographic clichés and double adhesive tape. During our first four years, we installed five new KDO flexographic systems, for sticker label printing. As a result of rise in demand and quality, in order to fall inline with external markets, we started looking at Mark Andy manufacturer, who also helped us earn a more important place inside the market. I strongly recall this moment: it was 2005 when we installed five new flexo systems, all for sticker labels printing. Again, from sticker labels to flexible packaging we only took one small step forward. We have evolved from the innocence and bravery of beginners to the stability of solid knowledge about what you are doing and which are your future plans. This stage brought along first rank partners: Esko, DuPont, Heaford, AVT, Mark Andy, Comexi, Praxair, Rotometrics, Rotoflex, Daco 4

Solutions, Karlville, Remele, Alphasonics, Polymount, Swedev. We are confident that, if we were to travel in time to those times, we wouldn’t do things diferently: we will still walk in the shoes of our clients, we would have been as transparent and fair, would have invested the same amount in knowledge and we would have had the same fair play behaviour towards our competitors.

How does the packaging market look today, in comparison with the one witnessed 25 years ago and how many of your plans have been changed along the way?

The flexible labels and packaging market is now extremely different, but in a good way. After, an exaustingly few years when second-hand machines were being sold like warm bread, nowadays the companies are investing in new systems, most of them currently undertaking their second or third stage of purchases for new equipment in wide web. For narrow web, this process started long before. Our clients’ requests are extremely precise and documented, which shows maturity in drawing their path and investment plans.

We notice how our clients shift their interest and are, finally, going towards quality, not only based on new systems, but also on modern know-how. Some of them have managed to exit onto external markets, and this is a motive for joy for us, since this means qualitative technologies, which will enable them to compete, thus they will be taking into consideration our solutions.

The market is also different from a funding perspective, since this was unavailable for a while or just very difficult to acces. Nowadays, our clients acces European funding for their production facilities, having acces to modern technologies and ways of managing their business.

We are witnessing how the second generation of managers is replacing the one that started the business, which means that modern and young people will take things further, to a less “romantic” place, a more precise one.

Also, our competition is much more outlined, more professional, which means that we have a constantly live interest to be better.

We have drawn, along the way, many plans and hopes. Some of them we fullfilled, some of them not. What kept us always alive was the constant desire to serve our clients and suppliers. We have adapted to the market, we stayed loyal to our suppliers, with whom we have built strong and longlasting partnerships.

We have learned that there is a place for

We appreciate and cherish all those people who, the same as us, had the courage to invest their energy, time, skill and money into a field unkown to everyone in 1990. everyone and, much more important, we have learned that we mustn’t thrive to have all the existing clients in the market.

The lost transactions once regreted are now being transformed into experiences that enrich us. We are very confortable with our clients, the ones that are able and choose to work with us, since we rely on mutual trust and a harmonious relationship that not only last longer, but may be definitive.

GOS is a well-known name in the printing industry, for the variety of brands that currently represents and markets, as well as for the quality of rendered services. How hard was for you to build this name? Which ingredients do you believe to have contributed to this recipe for succes?

It was not that hard, it was simply fascinating to discover, understand and to offer for the Romanian market the solutions we thaught were aplicable for open and bold people. This approach anticipated (without our knowledge at the time) and suggested the name we have chosen for our company that December of 1994 – graphic open systems.

We have built and we continue to do so with passion and idealism – we were on a 10 year average ahead of “our time” – and, so, our reputation came with itself.

Our main concern was to learn and best serve our partners’s interests – both suppliers and clients. Since we didn’t do this on our own, we put together and invested –not only with classes and exhibition trips - into a trustworthy team.

We did not choose the path in order to become popular, but we did it in order to become the best – in a natural way.

This type of guidance gave us a minor relaxation compared to our competition, since we never took it into consideration.

The main ingredients of our business are seriousness, fairness and thoroughness in knowledge. Seems unbelievable, but we have never used selling strategies. We have always relied on correct information passed to our client, regarding to what he may achieve with our proposed solution,

INTERVIEW

without involving marketing strategies that “dress” the information. This was our recipe. We have been rewarded with the trust of our suppliers and clients, withn whom we have gone through stages of seller-client, then partners and, afterwards, much more difficult to achieve: the friends level.

What percentage from your turnover is represented by equipment sales and what precentage of materials and maintenance?

We have grown alongside our clients, each year. The entire value of the equipment sales is not mirrored in our turnover because, since we were dealing with large amounts, all the transactions were processed directly. The sales results and the service/maintenance ones have, generally, the same weight as the ones gathered from supplies and services sales.

When you don’t focus on having a profit “no matter what” and your main concern is to best serve your client, the results occur naturally.

How many of the pieces of equipment in your portfolio have become digital? I am, of course, talking about the ones for small series production.

I would say 25-30% at least, for starters....This question was formulated – by chance or not- correctly if looking at our traditional partners type of evolution: both Mark Andy and Comexi, popular manufacturers for flexo printing machines, have developed hibrid solutions (flexo+digital), in order to address the clients’ demand for small series of labels and packaging.

Are there any other fields you are thinking of focus on? If yes, which are the ones selected?

If this question reffers to other fields, completely different from the labels and packaging printing industry, then I am most certainly not interested. If this question targets our field, then my answer is yes: our attention is already focused on digital printing of labels and packaging, but not in the “digitally pure” notion, but more as in the hybrid direction (flexo+digital), as well as in the path of waste management resulted from labels and packaging production. We are ready for the digital future, as always with avant-garde solutions.

How much different are your clients? What brings them closer and what divides them?

When you are constantly trying to “walk in someones else’s shoes” and act only based on this concept, no matter how different, the shoes are still shoes. Along

these 25 years of activity, we placed ourselves in many different types of shoes, but we always felt confortable. You can never fail if you choose this approach.

There are many things that brings us, those involved in flexo printing, together.

We believe that the most important thing is the courage to surpass ourselves. We are thankfull to those brave, competent people from which we have learned and whom have helped us grow.

If you were to make a top 3 for most inspired decisions in these past 25 years, which will these be? What about the most uninspired ones?

I have to say I would definitely mention the decision the become independent after 1990, the most inspired choice we ever made, both personally and profesionally. We haven’t regreted it until now, even though we had a rough track and even though we had to make compromises into our private life, mainly inside our families.

Another inspired decision was the flexography. It is a field that deals with the beautiful and the art of printing.

We are blessed to know and work with beautiful, special people. We also had the privilege to travel around the world.

The choice we made, to reach the best manufacturers in the industry, with whom we started strong partnerships, which turned into friendships with time, was another great choice. We did not agree with this term at the beginning, but often the road to excellency needs time and patience.

I do not think that what I am going to reveal next was a choice, but, more of a lack in orientation for our business: around 1997-1998, we held 100% in flexographic cliches, which we were importing from Müller. They were Japanese products, for which we were paying 30% in customs taxes.

Immediately after joining European Union, the customs regulations changed and all European imports were taxfree. We did not realize that we were exposed to European competitors and we did not think to start a partnership with an European manufacturer.

Thus, in two months we lost all of our clients - DuPont wiped us from the market. In retrospective, we believe that this happened because we valued our partnerships and never liked the games to play in business. Nevertheless, in this case, the decision to change the supplier was imposed by the objective development of the market.

Since everything happens when it’s supposed to, we have a 7 year long partnership with DuPont, with really good results, that match our efforts.

Our competition is much more outlined, more professional, which means that we have a constantly live interest to be better.

Do you believe there are major differences between our packaging industry and the ones in other countries? I am reffering to the quality of the printed object, that reaches the shelf.

We believe that the differences – that existed until a certain point – have started diminishing, the market matures and no longer accepts compromises. We were behind due to reasons applicable to the entire local business environment: diffivult acces to funding, accentuated instability of the economical environment and lack of real competition. More than that, we must take into consideration the fact that flexographic printing was a pioneering one for Romania, one that needed time to develop and which needs to finish another few steps before reaching its maturity. We are still feeling a certain conservatism in choosing each solution. If we manage to overcome this, in our opinion, would be the necessary next step in the alignment process.

The information is now available through various media, our seminars being amongst them. We have always searched to get the latest and best information, from first hand suppliers and our expectation is to see that it truly contributes to a better understanding for all processes. This was built on top of a lack of culture in the field, derived from lack of specialized education. We appreciate and cherish all those people who, the same as us, had the courage to invest their energy, time, skill and money into a field unkown to everyone in 1990.

Which do you believe will be the packaging industry trends in 25 years?

I might say that the future will be digital or nothing, but necessarily as in the famous André Malraux quote, but more as in the digital printer will definitely weight more and more inside the packaging printing industry – as it currently has a significant weight in label printing. We want to congratulate you for the standard and quality of Pack Romania magazine and thank you for giving us the chance to share the joy of 25 years anniversary.

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PRINT ROMANIA

“Textile printing and 3D printing hold the power to visibly change consumer behavior” interview with Florin Vâlcu, Executive Director at Leykom

Mr.Vâlcu, two years have passed since our last interview. At that time you were just starting a rebranding process. What has changed for Leykom from 2017 to 2019?

Time passes fantastically quick, and we are evolving at the same speed. In the company’s DNA, there was always the idea of change, of development. During these two years I finished the rebranding process, which was not an easy one. I have launched a new logo, a new slogan, we have met our clients’ desires with sic new product sample boxes, four catalogs, but also with a new online platform. We have acquired and implemented a new integrated management system, SAP, designed to optimize the workflow. The product portfolio has grown considerably.

We have added to the list of partners several other internationally renowned companies: HP, d-gen, Polaroid, JM Technical Textiles etc. We are preparing to launch a brand new showroom for equipment, all built to international standards, but also to attend the Print & 6

INTERVIEW

Sign 2019 exhibition.

What will be different for you at this edition of the fair, compared to your attendance two years ago?

This year, as in 2017, Leykom will have the largest stand at the event. At the previous edition of the fair we had about 270 sqm, now we requested over 350 sqm. For four days we will perform live demonstrations on 22 equipment. Many of them were recently launched on the international market and have not been presented in Romania until now. We managed to bring 15 internationally renowned specialists, who will come especially to Bucharest to be present at the Leykom stand. They will provide information, tips and hold training sessions. The largest surprise at the exhibition will be Massivit 1800, a spectacular 3D printer, with a height larger than that of a basketball player. This

equipment will be an absolute premiere at Print & Sign, taking into account the fact that, so far, in Romania, it has not been possible to watch LIVE a 3D printer of such size and with such high technical specifications. We are talking about an equipment that, this year, helped print various applications for the best known companies in the world: Coca Cola, Louis Vuitton, Armani, Karl Lagerfeld, Carolina Herrera, Nike, and the list can continue.

Also, during the event, we will launch a new series of applications and catalogs. Of course, we will display applications and samples from all categories of products in the Leykom portfolio: flexible materials, rigid materials, aluminum profiles, LEDs and transformers, packaging materials, display and clamping systems, etc.

On the international market, digital textile printing, as well

as packaging, have seen a rapid growth in recent years. Has this growth also been felt on the advertising industry market in Romania?

The digital textile pattern grows larger each year but, at the moment, in Romania, it only grows for small volumes and niche markets. Textile digital printing has the power to visibly change consumer behavior, it can generate a reconfiguration of the market. As proof, this year, two of our customers bought Efi FabriVu textile printing equipment. We forecast, that by the end of the year, many more of these printers will be purchased.

Is it the right moment to talk about a reconfiguration of the industry, when it comes to textile printing?

In this moment, the total production of printed textiles is expanding, of course, but there is no talking about a reconfiguration of the industry. Certainly, the industry is developing and maturing, but it will be several years before we can talk about this process.

Another developing market is that of 3D printers‌.

Due to the ability to optimize costs, customizations and other process improvement options, 3D technology is becoming more and more popular in large areas of activity. Including in clothing.

For example, last year, Balenciaga fashion house used 3D technology to create an exclusive clothing line. It was sold for over a million euros. In just one year, many other fashion houses have launched similar outfits. The diversity of the dimensions for these equipment is clearly an advantage.

Leykom’s portfolio includes small 3D printers, such as Up Mini 2, but also very large systems, such as Massivit 1800.

How has the market changed over the last two decades?

It’s changed a lot. The internal market matures and no longer accepts compromises. The client wants quality, but also productivity, speed in execution. Thus, companies are re-technologizing with new, high-performance equipment. Their requests are much more documented, which shows that everyone is mature in their investment plan. Many of them are already working externally, which means we can talk about alignment with the international market when it comes to the quality of the work. Of course, this whole development process is also possible due to the funding programs, which were difficult to access until a few years ago. Currently, customers are getting much easier European funding, which helps expand their production capacity.

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PRINT ROMANIA

A gift for Pope Francisc from Artebiz The historical visit of Pope Francisc to Bucharest had multiple meanings, being a statal, a pastoral and an ecumenical one. Logistically, operationally and diplomatically, it proved to be a complex one.

TEXT Marius Buiculescu

These sort of events are well prepared a long time ahead and involve multiple resources, but, most of all, an increased attention for the details. I know very well what does high level protocol mean. This is why, I have decided bring my contribution to the joy of experiencing the Pope’s visit to Bucharest.

The initiative “a gift for the Pope” turned out to be a beautiful story, with a happy ending. I took the liberty to describe inside this article all the details for involved in the preparation of this gift. In building this project, we involved personal knowledge from the printing industry, the promotional industry details, production information, art and packaging processes. I wish that this article is read by industry

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entrepreneurs, especially because they will understand that we are living times when

the value and rate of success of any project hide in the collaborative process.

We have all watched on television how the Pope was overwhelmed by gifts. Of course we anticipated the competition. I know very well the claims and demanding sides of great personalities. It is not at all easy to get confirmation for a gift at this level.

This is how we came up with the idea for “Catholic Bucharest”.

With help from photoreporter Dan Călin, we have gathered images picturing all Catholic settlements in Bucharest and Ilfov. Next, we talked with artist Bogdan Calciu, whom we gave the photos to, in order to recreate them in pencil and ink, in black and white, with his own artistic interpretation.

Then followed a small graphic processing, printing

processes, laser engraving, special plates, intricate finishing processes and, of course, a completely unique box. They were all viewed as an unique, custom project.

The entire route was a slow one, since all things were handled with patience, completely opposite to the standard working conditions. The entire project lasted more than an year. Some of the operations precipitated towards the end, but the graphic and artistic parts were started long before, in order to ensure a job well done.

The engraving collection consists in 20 pieces. How was I to include them in an elegant, compact, easy to transport and easy to handle gift? I speak from experience when I say that a gift’s value is inside the packaging, idea and ends with the material value. The final cost of a gift is not directly proportional to the emotional value of a gift. In high level protocol, the joy and emotion generated by a gift are always greater for the one that offers the gift, rather than felt by the one receiving it.

The entire gift weighed over 5 kgs. We needed a strong box, made in leather, with a handle, simple, but elegant, with fine archaic ornaments in white and yellow. Who was going to manufacture such an object? I have the extreme luck to know Nina Tudor, from Unika. She quickly understood what I required and served me with celerity. I needed materials and a lates generation laser equipment. I received help from Florin Pantelimon, from Rubin 2000. I needed special inks for UV printing, with a Mimaki system and I got help from Lazăr Panov, at Geko. This list may continue. I got entrepeneurs involved, high end craftsmen. I must ask for forgivenes from those I did not mention by name.

One final question rose: who will gift the Pope with this special object? I said to myself that the most fitted person will be Ioan Robu, the head of Catholic Church in Bucharest. It is not suitable to ask him directly, so I procedeed to an archaic approach: I asked the priest Francisc Ungureanu. How easy and elegant may a collaboration be when you are working with an intelligent, educated person, whom only uses a few words....

From the moment I met this person, everything went smoothly.

Of course, I got other entrepreneurs involved. Some of them helped me achieve educational projects, such as Artebiz. In the end, we chose to classify this project as a civic action.

And so on, little by little, each person contributed to this collective project. Some of them will remain anonymous. In the end, the Catholic host in Bucharest gave the Pope two gifts: a religious icon and the box with the works of graphic art “Catholic Bucharest”. The ceremonial gifting event took place inside St. Joseph’s Cathedral, on May 31st 2019 and was broadcasted live on almost all television channels. I was assured that internal procedures will be respected and all gifts received by the Pope will be transported to Vatican.

On the evening of May 31st, a dinner was hosted at the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest, to honour the Pope. While walking to their table, in passing the large hollway, all 400 guests have seen the 20 works of art with “Catholic Bucharest” from another perspective. All the projects were larger and more detailed. This exhibition will be moved to different other locations along the way. Images and videos with these moments are available online, at Artebiz’s Facebook page.

All we have to say is that the initiative and collaboration work together!

This is a real story, a successful one. Pope’s incentive “Let’s walk together!” can make us all better. I rarely praise myself, but this time I really did it right. Someone even told me that I am currently at the peak of my career, as a protocol gift supplier.

I should withdraw within my glory. Maybe this is the reason I became a cummunication consultant, special events planner and a civic activist. My incentive for you is trivial: Always dare for more!

The stationery trends.

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PRINT ROMANIA

For Romanian print suppliers electoral campaigns are a pipe dream “I would never trade the team’s steadiness for higher profits”, says Gigi Nicolae, general manager and founder of Sothis Print, with a surprising statement, at first sight, but one which hides one of the successful secrets that placed this printing company among the first five printing houses in Bucharest. The team is the main argument which Sothis Print’s manager uses when talking about their success in the past five years, idea strongly prooved by the constant evolution of the staff number during the past five years.

TEXT Radu Mihai

Where would you place Sothis Print in a top best printing houses in Bucharest?

It has been a long time since Sothis Print is in the top five best paper offset printing houses in Bucharest. We have reached the top, we strive to mantain our place and, at the same time to improve it.

What element in Sothis Print’s development strategy sets you apart from other competitors?

What sets us apart are the temperate, wellanalyzed and constant investments. We are in a continuous technical development process, we are always looking for solutions to optimize pre-production and production work flows. Another segment of development for our printing house are the constant investments in personnel. We are relying on a young, united and ethusiastic team. Of course, we are constantly promoting people from our productin 10

INTERVIEW

department on analysis and executive positions. We are teaching our operators via specialized people, in order to get the best from our machinery and our people.

May you compile a ranking of the following criteria, having in mind the managament’s vision: level of customer satisfaction, the profitability of this business, the stability of the team? Do you believe this ranking will change with time?

Our team’s steadiness is an aset for us, thus, we always take this subject on the first place.

As a small bracket: we have a few colleagues whom have been working with us for over 10 years, since finishing high school, being taught here how to do their job.

Secondly, I would say we appreciate more the customer satisfaction. We are not perfect, but we try to deliver quality and I might say we have done so successfully, until now. We have clients who have been working with our printing company since the beginning and they continue working with us, because we deliver quality.

Unfortunately for the shareholders, profitability ranks third place. Why is that? Because of raw materials cost increase, because skilled labour must be remunerated accordingly and sales prices must always be kept low. I would hardly say that I would ever wish to change this ranking. I would rather like it if every top like this one becomes a ranking in which every of the mentioned attributes takes the first place, but I am aware that their classification creates the basis for a healthy evolution. What I mean to say is that I would never give up the team’s steadiness for greater profitability. In fact, there is

a close connection between these three components: you can never have one without the other.

Sothis Print has an impressive production capacity. However, you chose to have investments for machinery that further enhance your production capacity. Does your recent investment follow a plan to manufacture new items, one you were not able to do until now, or is it an investment meant to increase your productivity?

As I said before, we only invest after a long time analysis and, when we finally decide to go further with it, we know very well why we chose to do so.

Our latest aquisitions helped us develop the cardboard packaging series, which range from medicine boxes to large surface boxes, all made out of micro corrugated cardboard.

All the details meant that, at this moment, our technological process is automated.

Right now, none of the finishing operations is manual, and they are complex ones: hot foil, Bopp film windows, etc. Early 2019 we installed a new offset machine, the first of its kind for 70x100 format in all printing houses. Clearly, this system increased our productivity, along with our response time for short term deliveries. After a close analysis of our production capacity, after installing the printing system, we decided to invest into a brand new folding equipment.

And, since well-taught investments bring along results, we were able to deliver 1.500.000 flyers in three days. All printed, cut and folded. Just to synthesize, all the investments were intended to increase out production capacity, but also to access other sypes of projects, especially in cardboard

ELECTORAL CAMPAIGNS ARE LIKE „FATA MORGANA” FOR OUR COUNTRY. WE CHOSE TO EVOID THESE TYPE OF MIRAGES AND MAINTAIN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT LINES. packaging.

The last five years were rather fluctuating in terms of turnover.

How can you explain this situation?

The Romanian print market is not one based on clear contracts between beneficiary and supplier. There are very few contracts being signed for more than a year, so you cannot predict a clear outcome. In our industry, the lowest price is the best one, and even from there, you may be able to find a lower one. This sort of approach determines the turnover fluctuations.

Another issue for the printing houses in Bucharest is the European funding segment. The players here invest with their own funding, the ones in outside cities are investing with European accessed funds.I am glad we have this option, but it should be available for all of us. From my point of view, this separation creates unfair competition.

Please describe Sothis Print’s latest investment.

Our latest investment was a 32 pages folding Stahl machine. We took this decision after a ascertainment for the

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necessity for a large format folding system. In other words, it is futile to have Mercedes, if you don’t have the appropriate wheels to go on a certain road. The investment cost is confidential, but, at the same time, we are great negotiators and we are willing to pay for good quality. Since we made this investment in order to lower our delivery times and to offer better quality, our clients could not have been happier.

How do you see the print market in 2020? Which are the fields you believe will develop more?

Which are the applications that will decrease in demand amongst customers?

The market evolution in the following year will be similar to what we experienced in 2019, maybe slightly influenced by the two electoral campaigns which will take place.

Studies estimate an increase in volumes for

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packaging and for commercial advertising, all due to a rise in consumption. The shopper marketing segment is decreasing, as parts of the budgets allocated for this sort of communication are redirected on the online environment.

Does the fact that 2019 and the coming year are election years influence in any way Sothis Print’s activity? Do you have any projects for this area? If so, how profitable are they? If not, why didn’t you choose to take such work?

Electoral campaigns are like „Fata Morgana” for our country. We chose to evoid these type of mirages and maintain sustainable development lines.

Appart from the recession effects, what do you think has changed in the past 10 years for the printing

market in Romania? Is this change positive or negative?

The Romanian printg industry is still under development, many state-of-the art qeuipment comes in, which brings an increase in quality and speed for technological processes, thus this aspect is a positive one. As for the minuses, there are several which can be listed and I want to mention here the lack of labor, a market were demand is declining, lack of road infrastructure, which creates a competitive disadvantage in accesing export markets in Western Europe. Unfortunately, the list can continue.

Which do you think is the word that best synthesizes the Sothis Print’s activity?

I will allow myself not to confine myself to just one word: team, stability, young collective and seriousness.

INTERVIEW

The Efi FabriVu 340i purchase sent us to the Big League Robert Buta may as well be considered the pioneer in Romanian digital textile printing. The company which he currently runs, Rofobit, started in 2004 and, ever since, has known constant evolution. All of this, while also being the first local company to exceed the 1 million euro milestone, exclusively from digital textile printing services. The year of 2019 finds Rofobit at another premiere threshold: the largest investment in the company’s 15 years of existence.

TEXT Radu Mihai

You are the first Romanian company to have exceeded the turnover threshold for 1 million euro, exclusively from textile printing. What is the history of this premiere?

This, probably, happened because we were among the first ones to exclusively supply textile printing. We received constant requests for textile printing, even from the beginning, thus, we positioned ourselves on the flags segment. When everyone else was printing banners, vinyl or other media, we have chosen to supply digital flag printing services. We were amongst the first ones in Romania to purchase digital textile printers. Our first equipment was a DGen and, every other two or three years, we bought another new printer. We ended up with the entire product portfolio for this Korean producer. We still have a DGen operating in the workflow.

Which are your current printers?

We own two ATP printers, installed last year, a DGen Grande and, our most recent purchase – the Efi FabiVu. Our product offer comprises over 20 types of textiles, a lot compared with our competitors, who, even in Europe, only work on three-four materials. Each system is able to print a certain types of textile. Some materials are less requested, but we have sought

to have a diverse range, in order to meet any demand. That’s how we became able to print both carpet and a 50 g/sqm veil fabric. For example, we only print flags on our DGen, more print sensible fabrics on the ATP and, for the FabriVu, we use 4-5 textiles, mainly for displays, backlit projects or presentation systems.

store was more of an order placement facility and, as this function is better fulfilled by the online, we decided to go online. We have been supplying the largest online retailer for years. Now, 50% of our sales come fromthe online environment, the rest being attributed to business-tobusiness transactions.

Which is your most sold product?

We are well-known as flag producers, but we provide a wide range of textil applications for displays, presentation systems, blockout or backlit and, of course, home decoration items. For the latter, the sales are managed by a different entity, but the objects are manufactured inside our production facility. The total turnover for both companies is somewhere around 1,5 million euro, so, from this point of view, I would say that home decor applications have a substantial percentage. We are talking about: curtains, drapes, blinds, upholstery. This is an activity that we have successfully carried out for 11 years.

You were among the first to tackle textile prints for the fashion area.

What was your experience with these products?

Indeed, we have been pioneers in this field, but two years ago we sold the reactive print line. We have used it for six years.

We gained great experience in textile printing. We had to make a decision about this: either go to the next level or close it. After a careful analysis, we decided to sell that line to a company in another country. Getting to the next level meant a larger investment and we had to choose whether to invest in the fashion area or in the area where we were recognized.

These two activities cannot be undertaken together, if you aim for performance. We tried to do so for six years, but it was very difficult. Our textile industry is a lohn one, based on finishing services. It was never a creative one, based on its own brands, that is why the competition had to be treated with countries like Turkey, Bangladesh,

How are the home decor products being sold?

We had a store for a few years, but we decided to close it. The level of personalization for these products is really high and this type of business does not match the standard retails scheme. The

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INTERVIEW

Pakistan, India or Italy. For example, in Italy the situation is simple: one company handles the printing, another one handles the treatment, and, finally a different one manages washing and other similar operations. We did all of this in-house.

What is the story of your most recent investment?

We reached the decision for this purchase being driven by objective needs. We required an equipment able to deliver both high print quality and high printing speed. The issues that apperaed was if we ought to buy two low level equipment or to take a larger step to the next level. After a few visits and teste, we ended up buying the Efi FabriVu. We took the analysis for a very long period, since the value of this purchase was considerable. For example, last year at FESPA, Efi sold the the 100th equipment from this series. We found out that a company a company in England had purchased the second sold FabriVu and had been using it for several months.

Having gathered all this information, reinforced by the results of our analysis, we only had one simple decision to make, which meant buying and installing this equipment, which has been running at full capacity since March 2019.

How did you financially manage this purchase?

We used an investment credit. I do not like the leasing type of funding for these

printing systems. We have a really good relationship with our partner banks and we used credit lines for all of our investments, which uses a type of payment for interest on the balance. This recent investment is the largest one in our entire history and it reached 250.000 euro.

How does this system perform, three months since it has been installed? Does it fit within the predicted parameters?

It is very precise. It is a type of equipment which has positioned us on a different level of development. I was, actually, talking to my colleagues at some point and we concluded with an analogy from the sports world: if we were the top in our field until now, after this purchase we have entered the Champions League. I believe that says it all.

What share does the export activity hold in your turnover?

This depends on the year you are analyzing.

For example, two years ago, the ratio was 60% for export and 40% domestic, but, last year and, probably this year, marked the revearsal of this percentage split.

Indeed, it is very difficult to export. The competition is very powerful from Eastern European countries, and the focus is mainly on the price. We refused to enter in this storm of unjustified price dropping, only prooving a hunger to gather more

projects. Textile printing is an activity in which the added value is the one making the difference; we have always chosen a way to highlight our products’ added value.

Our coste are optimized, but we cannot work for the sake of just working. We take part in international exhibitions, where the investment is not small. Only the rent for a 30 sqm stand is 9000 euro, plus the construction of the stand, the cost for travelling and other promotional related costs. Next year we will go to EuroShop, this year we attended Print &Sign Romania. From all of our experiences, we have concluded that the optimal frequency of repetition for specialized fairs attendance is two to three years.

How do you value your relationship with the supplier for this equipment?

Our relationship with Leykom is a longterm one. We started working with them for the supplies and materials segment and we figured it was time to buy equipment from them. I said it and aim to repeat it: we are now inside the Champions League and we have reached this level based on the support received from Leykom. I know the market for materials and equipment in textile printing very well and I can say that, for sure, with the installation of Efi FabriVu we have reached another leve. We are already thinking about a new investment to make and I am certain this one will also be Efi FabriVu.

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The care for the HeadPrint brand image starts with the concern for details TEXT Radu Mihai

What is the story behind this impressive leap from a 600.000 euro turnover in 2016 to a million euro in 2018?

I think the story is a very simple one and it is about keeping track our mission, that is to gain the respect and appreciation of our customers by not only being product suppliers, but also partners. In fact, all we do is fulfill HeadPrint’s mission, to provide flawless services at honest prices.

The number of employees inside the company remained almost the same as the time of our previous meeting, but the financial indicators increased. How do you explain this performance?

The investments we have done over time have helped us make the production process very efficient. We started 5 years ago by developing our own workflow management system, tailored to our own needs, as, from the moment a customer places an order directly on our site and until it reaches the production stage, the time and effort to be minimized. Also, 16

by investing in finishing equipment, we managed to become more efficient, we are now able to deliver more orders in a shorter time, with almost the same number of employees.

How many investments have you made in this time frame (from the last interview)? Which were the most important?

We have constantly invested in print equipment and finishes, all adapted to the company level. We have always considered that these will help us implement more quickly and easily the values we believe in.

Recent investments include the acquisition of the production space in Bucharest, the opening of a state-of-the-art production unit in Ploiești, as well as the purchase of a state-of-the-art printing and finishing equipment.

Please describe your latest investment.

As mentioned earlier, this year we opened a new production unit in Ploiești, where the investment exceeded 1 million Euros

INTERVIEW

I met Andrei Bârlățeanu late in the year of 2016, when we have done an interview together, alongside his partner in Virandy, Virgil Constantin. We are living times in which the attraction for the IT field peaks at the highest levels among young entrepreneurs. Thus, the story of young people who started business in the IT area and then made the move towards printing services did not go unnoticed.

Virandy Grup finalized 2016 with a turnover of around 600,000 euros.

The end of 2018 finds the company with a turnover of 1 million euro.

Andrei Bârlățeanu brings to light the ingredients of this successful recipe and how they have been put to good use.

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and consisted in the arrangement of the production space and the purchase of four last generation printers: FabriVu 340 – Direct digital textile printing; Vutek H3 Ultra Drop – Hybrid printer – it is able to print on rigids, and also works with roll printing; Quantum LX 5 PRO – 5m wide printer, able to print at photographic resolutions Mimaki JV300 – Eco solvent printer.

The systems were purchased after a long period of research and, we believe, are the most suitable to offer what we are most interested in: an exceptional quality of the prince, but at industrial speeds. In addition, part of the allocated budget was directed to the software and certifications part, currently being involved in a Fogra certification process. Customers received the news with great enthusiasm, considering that we were able to reduce production times and costs. We do not expect to reach the return of investment earlier than 5 years. We want to grow step by step and not skip important stages in the evolution process. One aspect in this business is the support we have constantly received from suppliers, and here I want to point out the relationship we have with Leykom, one of our most important partners. The connection was not limited to a simple commercial transaction or the installation of an equipment. The communication we have with them creates a favorable framework for the entire development of our investment strategies.

Together, we have found the right answers to the difficult questions that a long-term business strategy automatically asks.

Is the step towards textile printing

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applications taken because of the saturation of the other areas in which you activate or because there is something in the DNA of the company that makes it always look for something new and innovative?

We have always tried to offer new solutions, we followed the international trends very carefully, and textile printing came as a complement to the range of products we already supplied. This widening for our product range also comes from our desire to constantly develop and come to meet our customers’ needs, and printing on textiles is one of them.

How do you see this market in 2020?

As long as the macroeconomic climate is stable, I think the market can grow in 2020, mainly for packaging sector and for the interior design. The latter I think is a very poorly exploited domain in our country and which can record substantial growth in the coming years.

Does the fact that this year and the following are electoral years have any influence on the company’s activity?

We do not expect our activity to be influenced by this aspect, as it has not been until now. Our clients come from completely different fields.

How do you manage to strike a balance in your customers’ perception between the two names you use - HeadPrint and Virandy?

14 years ago, when I founded the company with my partner, Virgil Constantin, Virandy Group mainly supplied IT

services. Destiny and evolution shifted our activity and made it move quite fast in the area in which we operate today advertising production. After the launch of the first web2print service in Romania, the HeadPrint brand was born, which quickly caught on with our customers and brought us the reputation we enjoy today.

You don’t seem to be a fan of the Romanian saying that the bootmaker has no boots, since HeadPrint is a company that invests a lot in its image. How did you come up with this positioning?

Do you think this strategy helped?

The care for the HeadPrint brand image starts from our concern for details. It was not by chance we chose the motto „Caught with the details”. It is part of our business philosophy, namely to do the best we can.

We believe that this gives our clients the peace of mind that, as we strive to take care of our own image, we will also be cautious with the orders received. It seems to us that the most natural and best feeling is to have a match between what we promote - our image - and what we offer to our customers.

Where do you think will be the company you run, in two years from now, from a financial point of view? What about in the next 5 years?

First of all, we want to continue to develop from a professional point of view, to maintain the quality standards we have acquired and to remain faithful, in everything we do, to the values we believe in. We are confident that if we respect these attributes of success, the numbers won’t take too long to appear.

INTERVIEW

OOH will always be a relevant market for a performant and consistent large format printing supplier The company he runs has recently celebrated 20 years of activity. Geo Baraian is one of the most experimented entrepreneurs currently working in large format printing in Romania. Any conversation with him is always a good occasion to analyze and synthetise the current situation of the Romanian profile industry, but also to see what opportunities does the future hold.

There are more than 20 years since you are managing Impression Graphics Romania.

What was the company’s greatest accomplishment during these two decades?

We experienced many achievements, but, the most important one was the role of market creator: we were pioneers many times; for example did you know we broght to Romania the ftp concept? All agencies and clients had drivers to bring us disks, then CDs, because we were working with large files. At that time, no one imagined there would be another digital solution for this. Today seems hilarious, but that was how the market looked then.

Of course, ftp solution saved time, resources and energy for everyone

involved in this field. This is the sort of mentality we cultivated these past 20 years, in various different situations.

Impression set the standards- quality, delivery terms, speed for execution, new technologies in printing services.

Impression supported the development of a new layer of educated, creative young people, through The Alternative School and by sending the most talented Romanians to Cannes Lions. Today, most of them are relevant players in the most interesting agencies across the world. These are some interesting accolades, don’t you think so?

Which was your most intense failure?

I would rather answer this question by taking a close look at this industry’s

challenges: the guerilla warfare set up by the opportunistic players, who practiced dumping prices and doubtful quality, the artificial pressure of small fees, for an industry that kept the Romanian outdoor market in a constant crisis, long after the 2008 recession effects faded away for the others.

If you had the chance to now meet Geo Baraian 20 years younger and could give him 3 pieces of advice, which would these be?

I would tell him to pay a great deal of attention to the quality of human beings, before shaking their hands in a business deal, advise him to carefully scan the trends and to accurately keep his contacts with international giants, who always set the trends on this field.

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Geo Baraian, General Manager Impression Graphics Romania 20

INTERVIEW

You have witnessed the development of a new generation of entrepreneurs, who have invested on the advertising market. What advantages do you think they now have, in comparison with the ones all of you had, when starting in 1990?

What about the disadvantages?

They all start as a more flexible and hardened entrepreneur. Most of them knew what they get themselves into, knew the rules and knew how to elegantly evoid risks. Regarding the disadvantages? You certainly must ask them.

For a long time you were amongst the champions for new investments in the printing field.

Which were the results f these investments?

A handful of clients with impecable projects and a higher quality standars, which is hard to match on this market.

What is your latest investment?

Would you describe the details involved and which was the inspiration for this particular decision?

We recently purchased an equipment for rigid media printing, as an answer to the market requirements.

Which are Impression’s most oldest clients? Why do you think they remained your clients for such a long time?

Most of the ad agencies and clients

that started their business in 1990 are still loial to Impression. We can only be grateful that they chose us and that they saw in us the passion for quality, innovation and high end services.

Taking a look at the opposite end – which are Impression’s most oldest suppliers? What determined you to keep working with them all this time?

This list is long. There are a few suppliers with whom we have built elite partnerships and managed to work very well together, no matter the context or the market fluctuations. Not only their business, but the human quality of their leaders set the tone for this long distance race. I sincerely appreciate them and am grateful for the unconditionnal support they gave us throughout 20 years of working together.

Impression was always an important player for the OOH market. Is this market still of interest for Impression? How much does OOH fill inside the square metres printed by Impression in 2018?

For any company who managed to obtain performance with large format printing and who is consistent to this tradition, OOH will always represent a major concern. On the other hand, there is no secret: we all have distributive attention and a 20 years old expertize on this field, so nothing in printing is new to us.

“Textile printing and rigid media printing are the two large fileds who will dominate the future of large format printing.” DO you agree with this statement? Please argument your choice.

The market dynamic disctates so, at least for the near future. If you seek to have a career in printing – and we want – you must be very good on the niche areas that have established your name and, at the same time, you must be able to be a pioneer in different other directions.

How did Impression change its activity and production features to accomodate these two applications (textile and rigid media printing)?

We are constantly paying attention to our clients’ requirements and we are counting on our versatility, which was a constant defining feature for Impression. We are constantly investing in resources that help us meet all the industry requirements, no matter what the technology or the media we use for printing. If 3D printers will soon be a must, we will start looking into them.

How do you see the Romanian printing market in the following 20 years? What is Impression’s role in this picture?

The technology and artificial intelligence will set the tone for the entire industry, while Impression will fall into line with the trends, as it has always done.

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Evolution means to invest

Balper Media continues its ascendant road, which started almost 15 years ago, and keeps on going having set a few basic principles, which the three founding partners do not want to break. Monica Drăguț, Cristi Balea and Tiberiu Dumitrescu reveal the entire mechanism that started this evolutive trend they are on.

How did the fiscal year 2018 compare to 2017?

Cristi Balea: Two years ago we started to make major investments. Certainly, they were developed and implemented considering a sustainable business plan, which we designed for a five year period.

Inside the plan, we have included a series of staff investments, other ones aimed for internal reorganization and also in order to access foreign markets.

The moment you start a project based on a well-developed plan, you cannot have a comparative analyze with the previous one, you can only check if you have respected each stage of your business plan. Thus, I will answer in a much simple manner: we are on schedule! We really are pleased by the way things are unfolding.

Was this evolution in accordance

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with your forecasts? How do you explain this outcome?

Monica Drăguț: When developing our business plan, we actually predicted a mandatory implementation period, we considered all the risks this industry could bring along. Having done so, we were able to anticipate our losses, which are inherent. We were not taken by surprise. Of course, there were many more positive outcomes than negative ones. We have noticed significant increases for certain areas of our activity, we have signed more customers, thus, we believe we have reached our targets.

Tiberiu Dumitrescu: Even though we want more, we are determined not to skip the steps. We want to build slowly, but strong and lasting. We are well anchored in the reality, but, of course, we sometimes dream with our eyes wide open!

There are increasingly more voices that say a new wave of recession is on its way, an even stronger one than the one we experienced 10 years ago. How do you see the market now, what is your take on this matter?

Monica Drăguț: I am confident we are prepared to face a new wave of recession.

Last year we managed to acces the foreign market, thus we already have cleints from other countries. This is the reason why we are confident we will manage to overcome all negative fluctuations which may affect the Romanian market. We strongly believe that our business’ flexibility and adaptability will help us surpass another economical crisis, as we have previously done.

You have decided to invest quickly, shortly after completing the previous one, which we covered in our magazine in 2018: the purchase of a new equipment, for half a million euro. Was this a plan all along, or was it generated by the new configuration for the production capacity?

Cristi Balea: As previously said, each step we take is part of our business plan.

First, we purchased a half of million euro piece of equipment, an EFI LX3, then we bought an ARISTO, and, recently, we aquired an BRM. We have predicted from the beginning that one digital system won’t be enough and, in time we should invest in machinery which will help the production flow. All this was necessary for handling inhouse the entire technological process. Now, we are able to supply complete services for our clients, with the high-level standars.

INTERVIEW

Which are the types of projects mostly requested by your clients: indoor or outdoor ones? What is your explanation for this choice?

How do you see this chart in the following year?

Monica Drăguț: The first few years after we started this business, we were mainly focused on outdoor projects, but, somewhere around 2013, we realized that it just wasn’t enough. From that point on, we started to diversify our clients and, of course, the technological process. The results started showing rapidly, which, from outside may seem lucky, even opportunistic. But, Balper Media’s powerful entry inside the indoor market meant a thorough preparation beforehand: hiring new technicians, investments for this, etc. At this moment, we serve indoor clients, both from Romania and outside the country.

We hope that, until 2021, will be able to fundamentally tilt the balance and have more indoor clients, than outdoor ones.

I keep hearing this expression: „There’s no ad blocker on OOH advertising.”. Do you think there might be a rise of this media channel for in Romanian clients’ preferences?

Monica Drăguț: I believe you are reffering to the famous rumour we all hear at the beginning of each year, that says OOH is living its last minutes! I think these are just random words, considering that the past few years we have had clients that shortly migrated towards other channels, thinking the new media is enough. Eventually, they brought back part of or the entire budget back to OOH. I believe it is and will remain a classic channel for the advertising industry, so I wouldn’t

exclude even a rise of this segment!

Only in the past few months you have invested over 200.000 euro in new equipment. How did these integrate in your existent production workflow?

Monica Drăguț: I have said this before and will keep on saying it: when you’re working in advertising, you do not evolve, you lose. Evolution, firstly, implies investment.

Cristi Balea: Indeed, we have aquired the latest generation pieces of equipment, without whom we couldn’t be talking, at this moment, about a rise in financial indicators. They are high finesse systems, which helps us develop our business on external markets.

Sure, we wish to supply better services for our local clients, but, unfortunately, in Romania the price is still the main concern, whereas on foreign markets, the focus is on quality. Nevertheless, we are convinced that, on a national level, things will evolve in the same direction.We are more than pleased about the new systems and are sure they will help us grow more in the future. A few moonths ago, we purchased a large format cutter-plotter, Aristomat LFC 3332C, and, recently, a laser engraving machine – BRM 150300. These pieces of machinery were, along with EFI LX3, purchased from Leykom. They trusted in our business plan and were confident about our ability to grow.

Is there another investment on the way?

Tiberiu Dumitrescu: Indeed, there is one. Our business plan involves many investments, on a five year timeline.

There will, most certainly, be other purchases which will help us diversify our services portfolio.

How did you handle the most recent investment? (own financial resources, bank credit, leasing, European funding, other development programs) Cristian Balea: We chose to handle it with a combination between own financial resources and leasing , which we trust it is adequate for business development, wihout endangering your current affairs.

How deeply saturated do you think the market for print/advertising service providers is, right now?

Monica Drăguț: During the last years, the market has sifted and settled. Thus, a new market of suppliers has risen, a more serious, competitive and professional one, which, simply by natural competition between them, succeds in solving all of the clients’ needs. There will always be new manufacturers on the Romanian market, just as Romanian suppliers acces foreign industries – I trust there is a place for everyone and that professionals will always be standing.

If you had to send a message to your main competitors, which will this be?

Monica Drăguț: Competition is always important in any field, because the customer has the opprtunity to make a comparison. Thus, the best ones will awlays win. We do not consider ourselves fit to send messages to anyone.

We are currently working towards progressing every day.

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THINK ABOUT THE BOX

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Succes out of the box

As with all successful stories of Romanian entrepreneurs, which began in the ‘90s, the history of packaging supplier Hecomin marks the starting point inside the commercial industry. One of this trader’s goals is to become a manufacturer and not a few were those who left the dynamic and unpredictable trade environment for a seemingly quieter one, but as surpising as the production area. Mihai Dospinescu previously worked inside the aircraft manufacturing industry and, in 1994, he started a business in footwear production and distribution. He had discovered success as a packaging manufacturer, the year of 2019 being the 15th since the production of a first packaging box from Hecomin.

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AIRCRAFTS, SHOES, BOXES....

Hecomin Bacău did not start as a packaging manufacturer. Its founder, Mihai Dospinescu, travels from the aeronautical industry. During the tumultuos ‘90s, this particular entrepreneur witnessed the Romanian economical transformation, a transformation wave that also caught him, leading him from an aircraft builder to a trader’s job. After setting up a nationwide footwear distribution network, he came up with the idea of manufacturing packaging boxes for set shoes. Thus, in 2004, after a series of investments and on the go learning sessions, the first packaging product was manufactured by Hecomin. “We closed our first production year with almost 200.000 boxes, ehile only having six employees and we have reached to 2014, to an overall of tens of millions of boxes, with 40 employees and a production facility of over 5000 square meters.”, says Mihai Dospinescu, the company’s founder.

In 2009, when among the conversion equipment in the company’s machinery parc was introduced a printing machine, the road was already paved toward the success story that this Romanian business has known by now. After 25 years of business and a decade in which packaging has become the main activity core, Hecomin continues with the same style, not being shy on equipment renewal with every chance they get. And the chances have not been few, wether we are talking about own funds or European funding. More than that, the moment Mihai Dospinescu consider a reference one for Hecomin is their first acces to European funding, in 2012. Nowadays, the company’s

turnover reaches 3 million euro each year and this value is powerful, given the strong competition in tis industry.

One of Hecomin’s most valuable asset is the human capital. Mihai Dospinescu explains: “We started in this industry with a small number of employees, which are still inside the company, but, with time passing by and with demand constantly rising for recycled cardboard products, we have managed, along with our partners, to develop on this segment and, at this moment we have a larger staff, one of 65 employees.

INVESTMENTS DICTATED BY JUDICIOUS ANALYSIS

The company’s most recent investment was finalized with the installation of a Koenig & Bauer Rapida 142 system.

Manufacturer Koenig & Bauer’s technical expertise and also his local distributor’s, Primatehnic, consulting, was extremely important for the purchase procedure.

The Hecomin team had their eyes set on the newest model from its series, but theri partners advised them to take a step-by-step approach, where they would start with a model better suited for their technological flow and for the sort of products already supplied by Hecomin. The end decision was based on two main arguments. On the one hand, the differences between the two generations of equipment considered were not to be neglected, having in mind the current needs of Hecomin; on the other hand, in terms of return of investment, it was more feasible to adapt a previous generation system, which would be able to sustain a degree of loading that should be able to switch to a system with a higher production capacity. „With a buy-back available

HECOMIN WAS FOUNDED IN 1994; SINCE 2001, THE COMPANY HAS EXPANDED ITS ACTIVITY BY OPENING A CARDBOARD PACKAGING DEPARTMENT, WHICH, IN TIME, HAS BECOME THE MAIN ACTIVITY FOR THE FIRM. HECOMIN MANUFACTURES BOXES AND PACKAGING FOR FOOTWEAR, EDIBLES, GIFTS, APPREL OR TOYS. HEOCMIN’S PRODUCTION CAPACITY ENABLES THE APPROACH OF MORE PACKAGINRELATED PROCESSES: PRINTING, VARNISHING, PUNCHING, HOT FOIL PRODUCTION AND LAMINATING. THE COMPANY IS ORGANIZED IN DISCTINCT DEPARTMENTS, IN ORDER TO FACE THE DEMANDS OF THE BUSINESS WORLD AND OFFERS, AT THE SAME TIME, A FULL SERVICE FOR ITS CUSTOMERS. STARTING WITH THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE, GRAPHIC DESIGN ONE AND ENDING WITH THE FINISHED PRODUCTS, FROM THE PRINTING DEPARMENT UNTIL THE CUTTING AND PASTING, ALL IS COORDINATED AND OPTIMIZED IN ORDER TO GET THE BEST RESULT POSSIBLE. 28

and a two shifts performing equipment, maybe even more, at times, migrating to a higer capacity solution would be a much easier step in the future”, says Dan Popa, General Manager at Primatehnic, also present at the Bacău discussion.

This reached a five year projected range for return of investment on this machine, but Primatehnic representatives believe this project will be successful, if the Moldavian area operator maintains his level of quality for the production and for his partnerships with the clients. Thus, they will help grow their clients’ portfolio and of solutions range on the market.

The equipment, they say, will enable them to do so. This is already visible, add our interlocutors, since, after the machine’s installation, the range of new projects has grown significantly.

THE THREATS OF THE PRESENT TIMES

“We have always worked for export”, says Mihai Dospinescu, asked about how does the revenue split between clients’ origin. A quarter of Hecomin’s products are shipped in foreign countries. The total percentage could be higher, if it weren’t for the, now burdens, mentioned by any other Romanian entrepreneur who deals with outside markets: poor infrastructure and personnel issues.

Here, the printing house, along with the car dealers, have the same issues: the fact that old craftsmne involved in the Romanian print industry, the ones holding the secrets of this craft, either left the country, are retired or have re-profiled; this adds to the problem that the Romanian profile school is practically in clinical death. To all these, Dan Popa adds the constant emergence of new technologies, which have transformed printing and which ask for qualified operators. For instance, this aspect of loading the machine is not the only one observed at the pakaging factory in Bacău. Certain once inaccessible operations are now available on new equipments, process that brings along something else: new clients, for six or seven colors proojects. Hecomin took the same direction, towards new options. Their next notable investment will go towards finishing, one that offers a particular type of freedom for this industry, both internally and for export and that can make the difference inside the competitive environment of the packaging industry.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE BRING

Taking part at a packaging related talk, we couldn’t avoid asking Dan Popa a few questions about future trends,

COMPANY PROFILE

as he is manager for one of the most important players in supplying profile equipment – Primatehnic, the same company that finalized the deal in Bacău.

“In packaging, we see the accent is more often placed on raw materials and their flridnly relationship with nature, as most companies discard plastic materials for others, as cardboard and bio degradable, which will become more and more used for packaging solutions”, says Dan Popa.

His assertion is completed by Mihai Dospinescu, Hecomin’s founder: “Appart from the eco trend, a more powerful one is the digitization of all production processes”. More and more companies, including Hecomin, are heading towards digital printing solutions for the packaging production. These are more flexible and are more suitable for smaller series, but are more sensitive in the matter of pricing. Hecomin’s

manager believes that these prices, being artificially kept high, are the key for the mass absorbtion of this technology inside the printing industry. “Once the prices for raw materials will match the price for the final products, making them more competitive, we will be able to see more digital packaging on the market”, concludes Mihai Dospinescu.

A RELATIONSHIP THAT TRANSCENDS THE TRANSACTION

Getting back to the most recent investment, the one which prompted our visit to Hecomin’s facility, it is a notion we couldn’t evade: the role of maintenance and service operations inside the client-supplier relationship.

Given the importance, as well as atrategical, but also financial of this move, quality maintenance was the sine qua non condition for this purchase.

The raltionship between Hecomin and Primatehnic does not cover local assistance, but it refferes to the entire supply chain for components, this being a vital factor for this bold move inside the local packaging industry. “This investment was necessary, since, inside our customer portfolio there were a few of them who wanted much larger packaging than what we could offer”, says our host. “I have been having for a while the idea of switching to another format. Until a certain point, we had to outsource, but, willingly or not, they have delayed our works twice and we were forced to look for something else – a system dedicated to packaging. We had already worked with Koenig & Bauer. Of course, there are more manufacturers, but, for the packaging sector, the Koenig & Bauer systems are the best”, concludes Mihai Dospinescu.

HECOMIN’S CERTIFICATIONS CERTIFICATE ISO 9001-2008, FOR QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN PAPER AND CORRUGATED CARDBOARD PRODUCTION AND FOR PAPER AND CORRUGATED CARDBOARD PACKAGING PRODUCTION. CERTIFICATE ISO 90012008, FOR IMPLEMENTING AN INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY. FSC CERTIFICATE FOR CHAIN OF CUSTODY (FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL), ACCORDING TO FSCSTD-40-004 STANDARDS. 29

PRINT ROMANIA

Cardboard means the future for advertising displays Interview with Dan Lupu, General Manager, First Advertising Agency You are soon approaching the anniversary for twenty years of activity. How would you describe these years? Which were the hardest moments? What about the most pleasant memories?

Yes, indeed, it was an interesting journey. We are pleased to say that we have managed to grow over these years, both economically, a fact proven by the turnover, as well as professionally and numerically, with a team of over 40 members. We have been through many moments with this team of professionals: we have successfully overcome the crisis of 2009, a difficult moment that we overcame only through a team effort and, ever since, we began to discover segments, new business trends. We focused on the indoor area, on modular and easy transportable materials, dedicated to modern trade and traditional trade. We have many beautiful memories: we have successfully implemented campaigns for which we received „best practice� awards, we have gone through football championships, bowling competitions, team-building trips that provided us with team cohesion.

First Advertising Agency holds an ISO 9001 certification. What advantages does this certification bring to an advertising production company?

Yes, First Advertising holds the ISO 9001 certification. The fact that we have gained such certification helps us to improve our processes, which resulted in increased customer satisfaction. This standard offered the company a series of tools that allowed it to define and measure its processes, both production and management processes, in order to continuously optimize them. The result was, therefore, an increase of efficiency and competitiveness and in the capacity to guarantee the satisfaction among our customers, due to the reduction of the time lost, the supplying of quality 30

products and the execution on time for various applications.

We also hold a Sedex membership, a platform that also adheres to buyers and suppliers which comply with high standards regarding work, health and safety, business ethics and takes into consideration the environmental approach.The fact that we have implemented certified processes helps us to guarantee that our services will not only maintain their quality level, but, also, that they will continue to improve in long term.

What is the most important activity among the ones mentioned on your website: media strategy, events architecture, advertising

production, promotional items?

That would be advertising production.

The advertising industry, in which we operate, often forces new trends, which is why we need to adapt and find innovative solutions. We are a production company specialized in the manufacture of materials for trademarketing activities. We specialized in the design and execution of cardboard POSM’s, which is widely known as an environmentally friendly material. The materials are versatile, have a short exposure time and are very easy to assemble, since they are modular, they are cheap to transport. We are focused on bringing benefits to customers by increasing their sales during the exposure period.

INTERVIEW

Can you give us a description of the technical equipment owned by your company?

We have the most advanced printing and finishing technologies: UV and ecosolvent printing, roll and flatbed, CNC routing and milling, thermoforming, cold and hot laminating systems.

What is the most substantial investment you have made and which were the springs that generated it?

The efficiency of services and the quality of printing are given by continuous investments in equipment and technological innovation. First of all, it’s easy to remember the development of computer solutions suitable for our company. We purchased specific equipment - servers, network and terminal equipment, as we opted for the configuration of several interconnected software designed to optimize the operational flow. We integrated: design software for cardboard stands; specific software for tracking the orders in progress, which schedules the workflows and allows the real-time tracking of their stages, which gives us the possibility to make corrections in time and to reduce the number of errors, thus increasing the efficiency by 10%, as well as the predictability of the production scheduling; Software for

price calculations, which brings a plus, by streamlining the production design and reducing the pricing and delivery times communicated to the customer.

Another major investment that streamlined the production flow and contributed to cost optimization was the purchase of print equipment, worth over 100,000 euros. It is a printer that prints at almost photographic quality, due to the Kyocera heads and is able to print at a speed of up to 50 sqm/h, in production mode. The system uses UV technology (with LED), in CMYK configuration, includes varnish/primer options (for glass, plexiglass, melamine chipboard), arranged on one or two rows, for double speed.

Are there any applications you do for the external market? If so, what is their profile and how much do they hold in the turnover of the company? Otherwise, is this a wish for the coming years and, if so, what do you think its fulfillment depends on?

Right at this moment, we are directly supplying print applications for two external clients, but, indirectly, we have a wider range of clients. We want to expand this area of commerce for the external markets by setting up an online shop, with modular products. Regarding the share in the turnover of the company, this holds 5 percent, and we predicted an increase of at least 10 percent for the next year.

What are your plans for the near future in terms of investments?

The investments have and continue to lead to greater production capacity, reducing costs, shortening lead times, increasing flexibility and better quality control for the product, which allows us to penetrate markets where we had limited access, mainly because of the price and of high lead times for large volumes. Following the European evolution, from 2018 we started developing the production of cardboard stands, which will gradually replace the furniture made out of chipboard or PVC. These solutions have the advantage of a lower costs, which leads to the possibility of using them in shorter campaigns, along with much easier handling, storage and recycling, things that are increasingly requested by our customers.

In the near future, we want to buy a printer that we estimated that would increase our turnover by 15%.

Last year, we noticed a drop in turnover, but a more substantial profit. On whose account do you

credit this situation? Is this a trend that will continue in 2019 or will this year mark a return to pre-2018 values?

In 2018, following internal audits, a restructuring of the group was carried out.The management of the company follows a policy which dictates that, in the next two years, we should improve the cash flow and increase the company’s reserves, in accordance with the market situation, a rather uncertain one during this period, with many legislative and fiscal changes. We constantly follow both the immediate action plans, as well as the medium and long term development plans. The year 2019, however, marks for us an increase in values, both turnover and profit.

What is the structure of the team you currently coordinate: sales, production, etc? Where is the most acute need in terms of human resources?

Within the company there are three departments: commercial, production, financial. In order to become an elastic structure, able to comply at any time with challenges of the market, I diminished the decision-making role of the administrator and I constituted a management board, consisting of three members with executive decisionmaking roles, made up the managers of our main departments, in order to gain in reaction speed and in dynamics.

In the sales area there is an increased fluctuation and the need for qualified personnel is most acute.

There is a trend among local entrepreneurs involved the production field, to hire people from outside Romania.

Do you think such an idea is feasible in advertising production? Please argue your answer.

Right now, I think that such an idea is not feasible. Yes, in Romania there is this trend, especially in the area of constructions, where mostly people from outside the European community are employed, but in our area the costs involved would be too high. We do not exclude this possibility in the years to come, but there is a need for accelerated growth in this sector of production.

Our services are aimed especially at the business environment, where quality, speed and qualified personnel are required, which is why we want to turn to Romanians, who have worked in companies outside the country and come with a different mentality and experience in this field.

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Romania is a paradise Ten years ago, the recognition of the opportunity for the taxi wrapping in Bucharest placed Mihai Drilea, the founder of DCM Design, in the privileged position of being at the head of a market estimated, at that time, at 1 million euros per year. The decade that followed led to a radical change in the transport market in Bucharest, the number of taxis decreasing by about 30%, but the evolution of the company specialized in car wrapping took a turn for the opposite direction to the market which it had initially approached. The reason why today DCM Design is one of the most important companies in Romania car wrapping is related to the change of positioning that Mihai Drilea has made at a certain point. The cars being now wrapped at DCM Design are luxury cars, and car tuning is the word that best describes the activity of this company, founded by Mihai Drilea.

Inside the interview with Print Romania, Mihai Drilea narrates about the half-million euro luxury cars that DCM Design specialists have wrapped by now, but also about the opportunities Romania holds in matters of car tuning.

When did car wrapping start to become an important activity for DCM Design? How have the applications evolved since then?

We started the car wrapping activity in 2005 and, since then, we have tried year by year to keep up with the new trends and why not... to create trends locally, by using exclusive materials, unique designs, etc.

Is car wrapping a part of car tuning services? Do you offer other exterior car tuning services?

Which are these?

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Of course, no car is complete without a special color or without a set of rims which bring it out of anonymity. But, we come with details for exterior ornaments or interior accessories in colors that match the new colors of the car.

What is DCM Design’s customer profile?

What are the reasons they choose for tuning the exterior of their car?

I believe it’s the confidence and the certainty that they will benefit from several top services, in the same place. If you would like to go to a company where

INTERVIEW

for car tuning you can refurbish your wheels and then to a workshop where you can put a film onto your window, you will need two appointments. If you add the fact that you want an increase in engine power, an interior refurbishment and/or a collage, we are already talking about more travelling, more appointments and more headaches.

We are able to do it all in one place.

What is the warranty period that you offer for the works carried out?

Usually, we are talking about a 3 year warranty for the material used and 1 year for the labor. I want to make it clear that the term of warranty granted is closely related to the environmental conditions specific to our country and here I take into account not only every season, with its specificity, but, also the degree of pollution, the high level of impurities in the atmosphere, found especially in the urban environment, where the vast majority of our customers lives.

Which are the top 3 films you mostly use in your line of work?

We use materials manufactured by many adhesive film manufacturers, but the commonly used are those produced by 3M, Orafol, Avery.

What is the time required to become a specialized car wrapper?

I would say it takes 3-4 years. There are many types of cars, each with its own design and particularities and, if one does not go through all the stages, he has no chance of finding solutions for every detail.

How much can an experienced car wrapper earn in Romania? What about in other countries from Europe? What does his paycheck depend on?

Around 1000-2000 euros/month. It depends on each of them, on how much they satisfy the client’s requirements and on what added value they bring to the company.

Do you have information on the value of the Romanian car tuning 33

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market? If so, what do you think is the market share of DCM Design in this industry?

The local tuning market is very large, there are many car services that offer professional car personalization services.

We believe it is very good to have competition on the market. We can all learn from each other, as long as there is fair play.

How much well developed is the phenomenon of external tuning in other countries from Europe, compared to Romania? Have you considered the opportunity to have workshops in other countries in

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Europe?

In some countries in Europe, the tap is already „closed� in the sense that there are constant increasing restrictions on sports evacuation systems, wide body kits (Liberty Walk), etc. Romania feels like a paradise for foreigners, from this point of view and this is a good thing for the consumer market. As for the opening of a workshop in Europe, for now, it is an open topic. We just have to find the right partner.

How much of DCM Design’s activity holds car wrapping activities and how much advertising production services?

I think it is about 50-50%, and this

happens because I have never given up the advertising production services.

No matter how spectacular the car wrapping applications would be and as much notoriety as they would bring us, we considered it advisable to include advertising production services in our offer.

What development plans does DCM Design hold for the future?

We want to develop a partnership with Algernon, in order to raise the awareness among customers regarding the protection of car paint with the Oracal sheets and regarding the ceramic protection applied on films.

INTERVIEW

It’s very easy to press the buttons and it’s even greater when the machine listens to you It is now popular knowledge that, in recent years, the Mimaki brand has registered an accelerated success on the Romanian market. Much of its success is due to the Mimaki master dealer in Romania and that’s why I initially talked to Geko’s leader, Mr. Lazăr Panov, about the secrets of the success of this brand.

To be more objective and credible, the general manager at Geko suggested we do not to publish an interview with him, but with one of the users of the Mimaki equipment. Thus, we reached Marius Buiculescu, general manager of Atip Design, a loyal customer of Mimaki equipment.

TEXT Relu Liciu

Mr. Marius Buiculescu, I have known you for many years and I know that you do not forgive anyone when something does not suit you and most of the people in the guild consider you acid and unkind. That is why we have accepted this interview, which we ask you to approach as objective as possible. The first question is obviously related to the choice.

Why Mimaki?

Let’s leave the politeness and courtesy outside the magazine. I suggest to use the second person singular in the addressing method. Why did I choose to use Mimaki?

For several reasons, the first would be the chemistry we had since our first meeting with Lazăr. This happened many years ago.

Business fidelity is like a marriage, directly proportional to peace and understanding.

Sales techniques have failed to ensure longterm success and manipulation of charisma.

It is hard to define or justify why you like it and especially why you should work with someone in the long term.The second, and probably the following, reasons why I chose to stay true to this brand are my earnest efforts to offer our clients truly new solutions. Specifically, I fulfilled my own wish and the equipment helped me impress every time, even the manufacturers.

How can you fulfill your own wish with an equipment?

Well, it’s easy to hit the buttons and it’s great when the machine is listening to you.

Here’s an example. We had come to produce around 500K of classic business cards. The market price had begun to fall so much that the application was no longer profitable.

Thus, at that time I chose to launch luxury business cards that I mainly produced with the help of Mimaki equipment. I needed something which could help me produce business cards at a ten times higher price.

And we are currently producing these special business cards, which have been used by prime ministers, companies directors, mainly people that care about their image.

You have the reputation of a guy who permanently seeks to maximize profit in anything. Some say you’re expensive in everything you do.

Someone has to be the most expensive on the market and I do not shy away from this positioning, especially in front of those for

whom the ratings are limited to black and white, cheap or expensive. Meanwhile, the market has evolved and the criteria for which a supplier is chosen may be different.

I did an internal study, in the form of a questionnaire with our most important clients, to find out the real reason for buying from Atip. The first two places resulted in speed of reaction and compliance with the promised term. This is also achieved with the help of state-of-the-art precision equipment. I had the ambition to work only with the latest Mimaki equipment.

This offers a lot of comfort in the safety of production processes. Each of us makes a choices. The quality became a record and it would be obsolete to invoke it in the purchase reasons. The market wants something else, it wants more than quality and price.

Are you referring here to innovations?

If you want, I can detail it. How much space can you give me in order to tell you the strategies used in the past 21 years?

Choose one, the one you enjoyed the most while developing.

The preferred strategy is to respect the promises of the brand. I did not intend to be the cheapest, the most expensive or the most innovative, but I aimed to offer our customers the most atypical solutions.

I often test the success or power of a brand through a simple survey. I ask the interlocutor to evaluate me with a single 35

PRINT ROMANIA INTERVIEW

word or a short sentence. If that is „atypical’’, I am satisfied.

Could you appreciate the Mimaki brand with a single word or a short sentence?

Successful experiences.

What is the most spectacular experience brought by the Mimaki equipment?

Connecting with art was the most interesting experience. I have suggested to professional painters and graphic artists to try to sell some reproductions of their works at a lower price, in limited series. This was especially created for those who could not sell their original works.

Graphic art, the sketching genre is excellent on UV print equipment. The 2D, and sometimes 3D, effects can be spectacular, achieved by successive deposition of colors and surfaces. At one point, we realized that we can create a digital art form, but for this you need someone with artistic skills.

I reproduced the Japanese Garden painted by the famous Claude Monet and you had the impression that the work was executed in oil, with irregular embossed elements. There would be a lot of applications to develop in this direction.

Which, would you say, are the most important qualities of the Mimaki equipment you used and what criticisms would you provide, since you are good at it!?

Qualities - reliability, precision, innovative technology, safety of operation. As for the critics, of course I am taking this chance to develop further. Mimaki is an absolutely unknown brand in certain environments, for example inside the universities. Currently, all advertising companies are moderating their investment plans due to the complicated equations of the human resource.

In high schools and faculties of art and design, in polytechnics and architecture, young people should find out and train on such equipment. But, until our teachers discover how school versus market demand works, it will take much longer.

A solution would be private courses for operators on different levels of training and specialization.

Modern equipment can perform much more complex work than is currently being used.

We attend exhibitions where we see showcases with examples of products which we really do not know how were executed. I would like a permanent showroom with Mimaki products, Mimaki operator courses, Mimaki conferences, a Mimaki fan club where I can be inspired by others like me. I am particularly interested in how I can make more money from applications using Mimaki equipment. This is all what is about.

Thank you, Marius Buiculescu, for this interview and sincerity. You remained as I know you, atypical, incisive and inspirational.

I also thank you for the opportunity. Some of the stories can inspire you too, because the values are worth promoting, the successes must be acclaimed and the mistakes claimed!

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COMPANY PROFILE

High IQ packaging

Apple’s founder recounts, inside his own biography by Walter Isaacson, a dialogue he had with Johhny Ive, Apple’s Vice President for Industrial Design, whom said: „I love the process of unpacking something. You design a ritual of unpacking to make the product feel special. Packaging can be theater; it can create a story.“.

However beautiful might a story be, if the one delivering it cannot tell it properly, as intended, the entire message loses its power. The packaging manufacturer is the one responsible for creating a client’s first interaction with any designer’s concept for a product. Inside the manufacturer’s craftsmanship, skill and knowledge lies the product’s chance to find a significant place in the buyers’ choices. We chose Mihai and Diana Dărmănescu, the founder and the current CEO of the company, to tell the story of one of the most well respected packaging manufacturers in Romania: DMF Poliplast.

TEXT Cristian Faur PHOTO Gabriel Colta

THE ROAD FROM BAGS TO HIGHLY DEVELOPED PAKAGING

The story of DMF Poliplast begins over 30 years ago in an area well-known for it wines and vineyards. During the late ‚80s, Vrancea was a heavily industrialized area, but, the years following the Romanian Revolution marked the times for industrial decline, as it did in other parts of the country. The plastics processing industry was quite developed inside this area and few were the ones that started in this industry. Even though he had no experience in this field, Mihai Dărmănescu, founder of DMF Poliplast, sensed the potential for this material, altough his first contact was not connected to the packaging world. “The first step I took was towards agriculture foil. But, shortly after, I realized that agriculture foil is a seasonal product. So, we started to produce bags for grapes.

It was the 1994-1995s and during each fall we were selling millions of grapes sacks. This meant the purchase of the first welding machine. On this machine we also started to manufacture bags. While working with our first welding machine, I managed to sign a contract with one of the largest salt companies in Romania and started making salt bags; after this, we needed different sort of equipment, thus the chain of investments began”, recalls Mihai Dărmănescu. Intuition was the main quality for all entrepreneurs during those years and DMF Poliplast’s founder managed to maximum speculate

the opportunities inside the market.

“Between 1996 and 1998 we bought two new extrusion lines, more welding machines and started signing contracts with agricultural units which needed bags. Working closely with this area, we became packaging manufacturers. More or less, I may say that we have become packaging manufacturers without wishing so”, says Mihai Dărmănescu.

Even though success never failed to come, Mihai Dărmănescu understood that seasonality is not a great option for a longterm, so he started looking into

applications which were not dependent on fluctuations for demand and supply in seasonal products. “At the end of 1997 we bought our first four colors printing equipment, and things developed from there. The Focșani area is mainly a wine area. It was also an area for ‘plasticists’, as we like to say. In here, inside the Focșani area, there was a state owned factory, which was the core of many private businesses – nine of themwhichmanufactured the same products as I did. We all had the same technologies.

By making the same products, at the same

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quality, we had to lower the prices. How low could you go, though?”, remembers Mihai Dărmănescu.

The same trend went on for almost ten years, while the competition became more and more fierce. The answer to the lower prices dilemma was as simple as the question, but few had the courage to apply this rule. When you are forced to lower the price, you invest. This was one of the decisions that launched the company onto another development level.

“Somewhere around 2005-2006 I realized I had to do something else. Either we chose to invest a lot in this sector, or we just gave up and started something else. I documented a lot. I was a member of the ASPA PLAST Association, where I was able to receive information about the plastic industry in the world, in Europe and I read that, at that time, Romania imported 75% of the evolved packaging. Evolved packaging meant printed, laminated, cut packaging. It was about packaging intended for the food industry, the ones that we all saw in the supermarkets. Then, we decided to make our first major investment. I bought the first flexographic printing amchine in polycrome, with six color groups. These investments were not unique. They were immediately followed by a very high performance welding equipment and a slitter. The effects were not late to appear. Our turnover doubled in the following year, due to the entry of a new segment of products, only available with our new equipment. Mihai Dărmănescu concludes: “2007 was the year in which we made the first major investments, which lead us to evolve to packaging. Of course we developed from there. Each machine brought along a different one.

We reinvested the profits made year after year.

The investments were not conjunctural in the history of DMF Poliplast, but more a result of strategy centered on the desire to diversify services and have high performance for all the products it manufactured. Therefore, only a few years away, the company went through a new reconfiguration process. At that time, Romania was already part of the European Union, and the shareholders made full use of the advantages of this membership.

One Romania’s lessons during the first years in the European Union was that European funds were vitamins for healthy companies, not medicines for the sick ones. This is why the investments made with funding resources have again generated an increase in financial indicators. The founder of Poliplast recalls these moments: “Another moment 38

RIGHT NOW, WE ARE LAUNCHING A NEW TYPE OF PACKAGING WITH HIGH IQ. THERE ARE PACKAGES THAT PROVIDE A VERY GOOD BARRIER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, WHICH ARE ABLE TO KEEP FOOD IN THE BEST CONDITIONS FOR THE CONSUMER. ALSO, WITH OUR NEW FEATURES, WE OFFER GREATER PACKAGING, NOT CURRENTLY MANUFACTURED IN ROMANIA. WE ARE WORKING ON AND WILL COME OUT SHORTLY WITH AT LEAST TWO TYPES OF PACKAGING THAT ARE NOT MANUFACTURED IN ROMANIA DIANA DĂRMĂNESCU, CEO DMF POLIPLAST just as important as the first one was that, between 2011-2013, we carried out a project on EU funds, a project that meant, in fact, the construction of our new headquarters, the purchase of more efficient printing equipment, of a laminator and of several smaller machines. All of these investments have made us as an important player in the food packaging industry.” The current moment is one in which DMF Poliplast managing team has made a new investment. „It’s been almost two months since we installed a new UTECO Onyx XS with eight color groups, a state-of-the-art machine,” says the company’s founder.

OPPORTUNITIES DURING RECESSION TIMES

One of the areas that has been least affected by the recession at the end of the last decade is packaging production.

Even if he shares this point of view, Mihai Dărmănescu hints at the realities of those years, bringing to the core the fact that the evolution of companies who have gone through the crisis is, in fact, the result of brave decisions that have taken into account the context of those years. The current CEO of the company, Diana Dărmănescu, explains: “Indeed, this sector was not directly affected, but it was indirectly affected, as I can give you multiple examples.

For once, during 2009 and 2010, we supported the poultry industry, as we produced packaging for, I think, 60% of the poultry industry in Romania. On January 1st, 2010, the Government cut the grants for agriculture. We went from producing 35-40 tons per month of agricultural packaging, all of a sudden, through the disappearance of farms, the disappearance of units, the decrease of their activity, we had fallen to 8-9 tons per month. This forced us into searching for other segments on the market. At that point we managed to acces the paper

industry. I am reffering here to sanitary paper. We manufactured toilet paper, ppaer towels, all sorts of products, as to be able not to concentrate our entire risks on a single category.“ More than that, when all entrepreneurs have preferred to adopt a defensive position, they chose to preserve their resources and their investment effort, the shareholders at DMF Poliplast took a completely different decision. “Another extremely important fact for us was taking advantage of a moment, even during economic crisis. I will digress a little here: during one of the packaging exhibitions that we have attended, where we discussed equipment, one of our Italian suppliers told me: ‘sir, during recession you must run and search the profits’. I did not realize it at that moment, but, later I figured out he was right. And I will explain more here. Our new building, which should have cost 2,5 million euro, was built with little under 1 million euro. Why is that? Because we have built it during favorable times, when the construction industry was down, everyone was looking for a company willing to build something. Also, all the systems we bought were purchased during the crisis and this one hit all over Europe, not only in Romania. We purchased equipment from Europe. We managed to buy at recession prices. This was our economic crisis strategy.”

PARTNERS, NOT CLIENTS

Even if it sounds like a sentence taken from a clichés dictionary, the above formula is a principle from which the Poliplast team has not deviated from over their three decades of activity. Packaging production is an area where relationships between suppliers and brand owners are built over time and are often tested. After a long process, it results in a partnership, at whose solidity contribute much more aspects than those taken into account at

COMPANY PROFILE

first glance. One of these attributes is the ability of the supplier to offer products that meet certain industry standards. „Quality standards are very important.

Particularly, since we have partners, big clients, who go by certain standards and I am able to say that they consider them a threshold for entering into a commercial collaboration with a significant client. We have been and still are certified with ISO 9001, ISO 14000, ISO 22000, and we are currently implementing BRC packaging, since we have to meet this global food safety standard created for customers.

Standards are very important because it helps us educate ourselves, to create internal procedures so that we deliver high quality and safe products”, says DMF Poliplast’s CEO. Any relationship with the clients is not one that is exclusively commercial, thus there are many cases where the two parties involved in this relationship learn from each other. In more than a few cases DMF Poliplast’s customers are well trained in the techniques applied during the production of packaging, so they have all the tools to enforce a demanding control over the products delivered.

Diana Dărmănescu recounts an uplifting moment which serves the facts above: „Another funny, if you will, aspect is that I went with one of our sales employees to a client with some of our works and we were surprised to see him remove a magnifying glass from a drawer (similar to the ones our operators use from the print), put it on, looked at it and said ‘yes, it is OK’.”

This requirement suits DMF Poliplast

IN MY OPINION, PLASTIC PACKAGING WILL NEVER GO AWAY. THERE ARE MANY PRODUCTS WHICH NEED TO BE TRANSPORTED IN A CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERE, WHICH CANNOT BE REPRODUCED IN PAPER PACKAGING. PART OF OUR STRATEGY IS A BALANCED DEVELOPMENT THROUGH TECHNOLOGIES AND INNOVATIONS THAT ARE IN HARMONY WITH NATURE.

because, this way, they keep in constant contact with the level of exigency in customer demand. As most clients operate in extremely competitive markets, where the differences are only in details, the packaging manufactured at the Focșani based company complies with the latest quality and demand standards.

“Our customers are very demanding.

This is very good. It forces us to create products that are as usable as possible, as in suited for the products our customers sell. I would like to add a few things: we found out that our clients are auditing us. They do so, just to be sure that their product, their packaging is good, it is correct, so they audit us. And believe me they are looking with a magnifying glass”, adds Mihai Dărmănescu, the founder of the company.

EDUCATION USED AS A SPF CREAM

As is is specialized in an area where raw materials are considered to be a danger to the environment, DMF Poliplast understands the context in which it operates and has a realistic version over the plastic’s role inside the packaging industry.

Diana Dărmănescu explains: “Plastic is not the actual problem. It is not necessarily about that the plastics affecting the environment, but it is about our negligence towards collecting and recycling them. Normally, the simplest way would be to alter the education process. But we are humans, there are so many of us on this planet and it would be a very laborious process. But, there

are other issues we have to think about.

For example, what would we replace packaging with? With paper? That would mean emptying the planet of its wood.

Sure, other materials can be discovered with time, but in our opinion, this plastic cannot be easily replaced. So, I think that the educational problem will solve all the issues of this product. On the other hand, they are the cheapest form of packaging and this must be taken into consideration.

They are the cheapest solutions for packing the product and putting it on the shelf or inside the refrigerator.

Technology has evolved, you can have single or double or triple barriers, so that they do not interact with the environment. There is now an initiative to replace shopping bags with compostable polyethylene. These are OK measures, but only as far as they can create product safety. In my opinion, plastic packaging will never go away. There are many products which need to be transported in a controlled atmosphere, which cannot be reproduced in paper packaging. Part of our strategy is a balanced development through technologies and innovations that are in harmony with nature. Of course, caring for the environment is one of our long-term goals. Each economic unit must take into account the aspects and issues of the environment“.

Present times find the team at DMF Poliplast in front of a step that emphasizes the care for the environment, for the consumers and for their products. „Right now, we are launching a new type of packaging with high IQ. There are packages that provide a very good

Diana Dărmănescu, CEO DMF Poliplast 39

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WE CHOSE THE SOLUTION OFFERED

BY UTECO BECAUSE WE HAVE A LONGTERM RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TEAM FROM EURO TOP GRAPFIX, WHICH ARE NOT ONLY COMPETENT SUPPLIERS, BUT THEY ARE OUR PARTNERS, IN WHICH WE FOUND SUPPORT AND WHO HAVE HELPED US MAKE THE BEST DECISION.

Mihai Dărmănescu, Founder DMF Poliplast

barrier for the environment, which are able to keep food in the best conditions for the consumer. Also, with our new features, we offer greater packaging, not currently manufactured in Romania. We are working on and will come out shortly with at least two types of packaging that are not manufactured in Romania”, says Diana Dărmănescu.

A RELATIONSHIP BUILT WITH TIME

It is often said that the best business card is the testimony of a satisfied customer.

Many times this is worth more than complex sales techniques, developed by marketing specialists. Even though for DMF Poliplast customer relationship is one of the most important strategies inside its development plan, there are times when they find themselves in the posture of the client. This situation best describes the fact that success becomes a target, easy to reach for those who consider both their customers and suppliers as partners. This was the case with the well-known company in Bucharest - Euro Top Grafix, responsible for installing the new flexographic printing equipment with eight color groups, produced by the Italian company Uteco. Based on this story, Mihai Dărmănescu creates the picture of the latest investment made by DMF Poliplast.

“We came to Uteco because we have a long relationship with Euro Top Grafix, who are not only our suppliers, but they are our partners in which we have found a lot of support and who provided us with technical information that helped us make the best decision. We are convinced that we have made the best decision to go 40

further with them and to buy the system from Uteco. We have been working with Italian suppliers for a long time and we have collaborated quite well. But, this is the first time we have been working with Uteco and so far we are extremely pleased, starting from the commercial side, to the contracting part, the delivery part and the quick feedback we had for each requirement. I am sure that, in maximum three years, we still buy another machine from Uteco, because things went very well and we consider it to be a successful partnership. Regarding Euro Top Grafix: since we consider ourselves specialists in our line of work, we only get involved with specialists.

Technical issues can arise all the time, they are inevitable. Relationships, communication and the matter of how quickly you solve problems are important.

The machines are good, they are efficient, but the manner in which we solve problems is fundamental. Companies are very different through the services they provide. I have known many providers, but the aspects of service and counseling are very important in a collaboration. And just as important is the fact that Euro Top Grafix has created a handful of specialists who can solve the problems that can arise at any time. This has weighed heavily in our decision, and to sum up our experience with them: in a word, professionals”, concludes the founder of DMF Poliplast.

A FUTURE IN WHICH PEOPLE ARE IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Right now, 95 people work in at DMF Poliplast, and this is a figure that has doubled in recent years, which represents

an indicator of the development resources that the company from Focșani has.

Moreover, managers at DMF Poliplast can rejoice on a low rate of departures from the company, and this is due to the emphasis on the specialization of those who work here. „I am proud to tell you that, inside our company, we have a very good staff retention and we count on a nucleus of people who know the technology very well, know our organizational culture very well and they have adjusted very well and we have people who associate with us all the time. Thus, I cannot say that I have experienced this personnel crisis. The challenge is to find people who want to stay long term. People who want to learn, people who want to lean on our strategy, our organizational culture, that’s the most important thing. We have also invested very much in the human resources side, so that we can absorb and integrate good people ”, says Diana Dărmănescu. „Inside our organizational culture, the choice for the human resource is made with great care and caution. The evaluation of our new employees places particular emphasis on the behavioral stability, the firmness of their character, but also on their intelligence coefficient.

On our side, we strive to provide the employee with the grounds for moral and material satisfaction. Our intention is that, when entering the factory gate, the man should not be wry, not to smile with detachment, and when we meet in the factory or in any other place, he should be able to greet us with pleasure and respect.

Maybe that’s why people are attached to DMF. In three words: we love people!”, concludes Mihai Dărmănescu.

INTERVIEW

The one extra that makes the difference

Ana Maria Petrișor and Cristian Petrișor are older friends of our magazines.

Intelligent Labs is the company they started and launched a series of production systems manufactured on a first run in Romania. End of the year 2019 finds the two Romanian entrepreneurs in a new moment for their business: the launch of a new equipment manufacturing facility in Switzerland. Intelligent Labs+ represents the first Romanian investment for a production facility in Switzerland.

The story of this novel step conceals a reality many of us are trying to avoid: the way Romania is viewed by companies inside developed countries. These entrepreneurs’ reaction and the solutions they found show that succes and failure are just ordinary feedbacks. The difference between them is given by what we do further with its contents.

TEXT Radu Mihai

How did your production line change in comparison with the past years?

It took us alot of courage, mainly since we received a request from one of our clients for much more complex systems than the ones manufactured before. We realized we were not producing them because we didn’t think we could, not because we didn’t have the knowledge to do so. We are talking about an equipment suited for cutting Aluminum sheets. This is a sector mainly for German based comapanies and it was difficult for us to imagine being able to join this sort of competition. This client’s request also meant a large investment into our production capacity.

What drove him into trusting you?

First of all, we came up with a qualitative similar offer, but with a much better price, almost half of what the others were asking.

They came up to our facility, we undertook some tests, we exceeded their expectations and they approved, wanting to order the product.

Could you tell us a few characteristics of this equipment?

It is, in fact, an Aluminum sheets milling equipment, which involves a large number of tehcnological requirements. The vacuum system must be extremely performant, and it requires a high precision process.

Surely, leaving aside the conceptr and our work involved, there is nothing Romanian inside that system. All the components are

manufactured by the best companies in the industry.

Could you have been used Romanian parts or pieces in the actual construction of this equipment?

Yes, we could have, but, unfortunately, they will not have been taken into consideration by our future clients, whom pay attention not only to the system’s performances, but also to the way it is built and which parts were used for its assembly. A much more suited alternative is to use parts with a certain reputation. For example, the controlls are from Siemens, because it is an established company for the aeronautics industry.

Are there companies from different other fields who can be able to use these equipments?

Yes, companies working in the plastics processing industry, the auto industry or medical industry. We have customers who process polycarbonate and need a high precision tool for cutting, a great fastening system for the cutting table, all requirements included in our system. Until now, we have only installed this system inside companies that currently work in aeronautics, but we have many requests from outside the country, in various fileds of work.

What is the story of Intelligent Labs+, the start-up you recently

open in Switzerland?

We are proud to state that, from the gains of the Romanian established facility, we are able to support a start-up in Switzerland.

The costs for this business are really high, but we are happy to have began walking on this road. We are the proof that, not only foreign investors come here, to Romania, to hire or buy local technological capital for their own use, but, it is now possible for a Romanian entrepreneur to go to those countries and start a business.

We took this decision late last year, in light of an event that occured. In 2018 we attended an exhibition in Germany, where we showcased the same equipment as we did this year. The only difference between them was the tag we placed on the last year one: manufactured in Romania. The impact, then, was really low, people did not even notice us. This year, we came up to the fair with the same equipment, but placed our new logo – Intelligent Labs+ - and stated it was manufactured in Switzerland.

We had a much noticeable success, we even received orders, we have ongoing partnerships with USA and German based companies. Even our German competitors, whom failed to notice us the past year, came up to us, congratulated us for our work and even enjoyed our branded caps, with the Swiss cross.

At first sight, this may be viewed as a form of discrimination, but we believe it is all about a different subject. Any commercial partnership must be agreed with a party based in a country/space which may 41

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guarantee that, in case of dispute, nobody is being forced to deal with a legal system unable to efficiently solve all issues. They were, in fact, not at all discturbed that the production takes place in Romania.

Did this experience leave you with a bitter taste?

This is the reality. We handle a business and must take advantage of any context, we must evolve and we do not afford to get stuck in this sort of emotions. Our goal is to create markets, and, in order to do so, we had to apply this trategy. Wether we like it or not, Romania is regarded as a country full of workers and not full of creators. The heavy industry segment, the structure manufacturing side, will continue being done in Romania. For Switzerland, we have the commercial facility, as well as an aseembly space. The structure will be manufactured in Romania and the final assembly will be done in Switzerland. This is the reason we are able to place the tag for “Swiss made”.

Did you receive any help from the Swiss state?

We did not ask for support in dealing with this business start-up. They welcomed us and were flattered that a techonlogical company wants to invest in their country.

The entire administrative process went very smoothly. Our bank awaits for our first sales.

What are the financial parameters for this investment?

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We invested well over tens of thousands of euro for the opening of this branch. We have a rented space, there is no discussion over the purchase of a land for building a production facility. We will still focus on developing systems for the advertising production industry. The Swiss based facility is only made for equipment that we cannot sell in Romania. Mainly, all pieces of equipment made for metal processing will be sold by the Swiss company.

Is this a patented product?

At this modern time’s evolution rate, the patent process rather slows down the development pace. Technology is evolving so fast, that the only thing keeping our company standing is directly applied innovation. You have a few test runs and release it on the market, since your product will be dupplicated in under two years.

What are the costs involved in the production of this equipment?

The parts and pieces go over 80.000 euro, while the fix costs are around 20.000 euro.

The important fact is that we are able to sell these systems with a profit, which will help us grow more in the future. We are currently searching for local suppliers who can relieve us from the maintenance and warranty requests. We have received many of them from companiess across the United States and we figured we need a local supplier, one who knows a market we do not know very well.

What is Intelligent Labs’ strong point?

Our biggest advantage is the old Romanian habit of multi-tasking, where a single person is able to undertake multiple assignments. Thus, our production cost is lower than for other similar companies.

This applies to us, the partners, and to our contributors. This will be a challenge for us, since we all know very well that specialization is the one lading the West European production process. For the time being, we are enjoying the results of this past exhibition we attended and are trying to feast on this beneficial times. We are really happy about the the issue being brought to light: there was only a context perception related problem and not one regarding our product. The more pieces of equipment we will sell, the more we will be able to grow our business, both Intelligent Labs Romania and Intelligent Labs +.

What are your delivery times for this equipemnt, from the moment one order is placed?

We are able to provide the equipment in 30 days after it goes under production.

Why did you choose Switzerland?

We believe it represents the country with the strongest brand name and we felt closest to the values they chose, promote and support.

Will you be hiring people from Switzerland?

Yes, this is a condition of the Swiss state.

We are the only Romanians employed by our Swiss company.

INTERVIEW

Our story - PIN PLUS PIN Fragments The PIN Citizen, Founder & Manager General: Early into the 90’s – The IDEA, the enthusiasm, the energy, the motivation for my dedication, the PIN Citizen, and of my wife’s, Mrs. PIN, were all to fill a huge and obvious goal... with: the knowhow, the latest generation materials, and later with the equipment... of course, the best performing. We, then, reserved our role...we wanted to support the Sign Industry in Romania - in a developing stage - from which we came, professionally...Our story as SIGNMAKERs is very well known...it started in 1985... The one for SUPPLIER for the Sign and Visual Communications Industry... started in 1992. Practically, we started with the imports of foil - for screen printing - from the company RAFLATAC Finland.

During the same time...we indirectly started importing ORACAL from a company in Budapest. Understanding the perspective and the scale of the business, we built up our courage and approached ORAFOL GmbH, in order to express our intention of becoming a direct importer.

In September 1994, after meeting with representatives of the company in Germany, at Oranienburg - the city that supports the development of the ORAFOL factory even today, alongside USA, Australia ... - I shook my hand with them and became the first official importer for ORACAL foils - in Romania.Today, we would not have been able to talk about a 25-year partnership with ORAFOL, if we did not have a strong, close, optimistic, cheerful team...on which we can rely. We did an interview with the current team, in which we tell pieces of a story that means our experience at PIN and with ORAFOL products.We kindly remember our colleagues...the ones who put a lot of soul from the beginning and stronger afterwards, and who, unfortunately, left the earthly existence: Associate/wife/ mother Iuliana POP, the friendly Toth Bacsi (Nenea), the special trader - Mrs. Zovany, friend and colleague Tibi.

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What is your oldest memory inside PIN? Lavinia, Managing Partner, 16 years at PIN: I remember coming to Bucharest in July 2003, shortly after I returned to the country, after finishing college and was in charge of the first interviews, for new employments. The first hire I did was a winner. Codruţ, he is still our colleague in the sales department, 16 years later.

Radu, Assistant Manager, 24 years at PIN: The earliest memory I have of PIN is that of the first day of work, when I was working in the first office, freshly painted. My desk consisted of a 2m/1.5m PFL countertop, a 386 computer and a chair. My office colleague at the time, Tanti Ana, the first official employee – since 1991 - inside the PIN Group of companies.

Ionuț, Sales Engineer, 18 months at the PIN: My experience at the PIN Group began around my birthday, more precisely on February 15, 2018.

The day of March 1st, was for my emotional release, when I was sang to Happy Birthday for the first time, by a choir made up of colleagues and feeling encouraged and integrated into the group. I instantly had the feeling that I had been working at PIN since a lifetime.

Cristi, Service Engineer, 15 years at PIN: The first psychological test. For those who did not know, at Baia Mare, before the interview, you were giving a psychological test. It was the spring of 2004.

Cătălin, Equipment Operator, 11 months at PIN: I was working at my old job, in Târgu Jiu, and I was responsible for keeping in touch with PIN, for different material orders or technical problems. Since then, I have always talked with Mrs. Mara from sales, a unique lady...Then I found Cristi, and later Tashi, the service engineers at PIN, at that time. To their side, we found togheter a Team that was always willing to help us, regardless of obstacles, regardless of the time. Then I found this PIN spirit, which I got to know more closely, with my arrival - in this group almost 1 year ago.

Raluca, Sales Manager, 14 years at PIN: The first memory I had was meeting with Mrs. Pop Iuliana, right in her Bucharest office and she made an extraordinary impression, both as a human being and as a future boss. At that moment I thought I was very lucky.

Imagine you could exchange roles with a colleague. Who would you choose? What role would you avoid? Why? Iulia, Marketing Referent, 10 months at PIN: I would not exchange 44

jobs with Lavinia, even if I would receive her salary. That’s because she currently works the equivalent of 2 jobs, just so we are able to do our job without headaches.

Instead, I would like to be in the place of Nelu, our warehouse manager, at least a week. I want to find out his secret: how does he manage to keep his calm when the deposit is overloaded...and any intruder has the feeling of total chaos?

Codruţ, Sales Manager, 16 years at PIN: Anytime I would exchange rolse with any of my colleagues... It would be a little harder to replace the boys who print and cut on the cutter plotter, but not impossible. I respect that they have graphics and software knowledge, which they apply and use on the equipment, maybe I would learn how to handle it, but you can never be good in everything.

I only have respect for them!

Which aspect/moment of your activity are you most proud of?

Gelu, System Operator, 14 years at PIN: I believe that we have contributed to the improvement of several aspects

related to the general functioning of the company: roller storage systems development, the design and construction of the dining place - at the Bucharest headquarters - are only a few of them.

Cristi: I am proud when a customer is satisfied. For example, recently, at an installation, a client showed me that he had received several offers from different suppliers, but preferred to continue working with us, because he had always received a quick response.

Mara, Sales Manager, 21 years at PIN: I have managed to maintain a warm business relationship with many customers, from my debut, until now. With some of them, we have been trading partners for over 21 years.

Ionuț: I am a person who feeds with the confidence that is granted to and that is why the experience of HP training in Barcelona, has reinforced my belief that I am a person in whom PIN invests confidence, energy, time and money.

Laura, Sales Assistant, 2 months at the PIN: I am very proud of the

INTERVIEW

moment when a client asked me for a headlight foil...and I, just having started - I was prompt - I knew and went along to give him the ORAGUARD 270 foil.

What was the most demanding moment during your activity at PIN? Mara: All moments of life and professional activity have their meaning, with their ups and downs. All you need to know is to not let the sun set on problems and weights, before you try to turn them into small joys and satisfaction.

Eliza, Manager at the Baia Mare Warehouse, 20 years at the PIN: In one of the warehouses in Baia Mare, we had accidental overloads and we all mobilized efficiently in order to save the situation and for the goods to leave on time.

What is the most recent moment that made you smile at work?

Nelu, Bucharest Warehouse Manager, 12 years at PIN: I smile

all the time, because we have a very good chief-employee relationship...with respect and friendship.Cătălin: There are no moments of boredom here, not as long as everyone is willing to work with a smile on their lips...this is an attitude which started right from the PIN Citizen, and still is an example.

Iulia: The smile is a common occurrence on our faces, we are a cheerful and optimistic group. My guess is that the smile is part of the unwritten culture of the company, otherwise I do not explain the relaxed breaks during meetings, in which the boss entertains us with the latest jokes, especially selected from his vast collection.

What is your favorite ORAFOL product? Why? Petrică, Development Manager, 5 years at PIN: I prefer the products from the Digital range, especially ORAJET 3651, a range as performant as all the Oracal series. They also have a very good price for quality ratio.

Raluca: I have two favorite Orafol

products: series 351 - code 931, Rose Gold and series 970 - code 961, Luscious Lips. I simply like the colors, I truly find myself in their energy.

Codruţ: My favorite product is also one of the most spectacular Oracal products, namely the full auto collage wrapping papers, the 970 series, which are on trend now, and my preferred color code is 945 - Crystal White.

You are one of the oldest members inside the PIN team. What funny/unique event related to ORACAL films do you recall, from the moment you started in the company?

Gelu: During an inventory we found a label with 53 linear meters per roll (the reels have a maximum of 50 linear meters) and we had a lot of fun, but the colleague who had measured the roll „reassured” us by saying he wanted to write 63 ml instead of the actual label.

Radu: At first, the customers did not know the ORACAL sheets and did not know their applications. So they were simply asking us for „sticker materials”.

Cristi: Inside the Baia Mare Warehouse, some foils were stored standing. The famous Tanti Ana Lakatos, in the absence of someone else, took over the order...After establishing the series and color, she came with the question: „At which height do you want them to be?”.

You are one of the newest members of the PIN team. Which of the PIN traditions is your current favorite?

Angela, Cleaning Staff, 20 months at PIN: My favorite tradition...is when we celebrate the birthdays for all my colleagues.

Petrică: I like going out with my colleagues, especially those that happen during the year, without special oocasions, outings that I would like to happen more often.

Iulia: Cake for everyone’s day. Besides the fact that each colleague’s birthday pleasantly surprises us, with a tasty cake, I always perceive my birthday as even more special, due to the fact that it I am always treated with a festive occasion even at work.

PIN Citizen: Of course there are many relevant, meaningful memories...We will try to organize a new series of PIN NIGHTS - in which we could all tell and remember, my associates and the whole PIN Team, as many significant memories, the ones very dear to us... especially cheerful and interesting ones... all in an atmosphere of a glass of wine and/or PALINCĂ...

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Sustainability and green products at Paperworld 2020 Sustainability, environmental protection and ecological conduct have Sustainability, environmental protection and ecological conduct have become key issues in the stationery sector - and are therefore also a part of Paperworld. The international trade fair for paper, office supplies and writing instruments has been addressing the „green office” theme for years, and is now focusing on it even more closely.

TEXT Relu Liciu

Recycled paper has been a standard part of stationery stores product range for many years. However, environmental protection has long since ceased to be limited to paper products - retailers and manufacturers from every sector of the office and stationery industry are increasingly focusing on sustainable and environmentally friendly products.

Ecology in the workplace is an issue for the future because it not only serves to protect and preserve the environment, but also goes hand in hand with economic considerations. Conserving resources and increasing work efficiency are closely linked to ecological aspects. A „green orientation” also supports the environmentally conscious purchasing behaviour of consumers, which is increasingly coming to the fore.

PAPERWORLD AS A PLATFORM FOR „GREEN OFFICE AND STATIONERY PRODUCTS”

As an international platform for the office and stationery market and a mirror of the industry, Paperworld also focuses on sustainability and environmental protection. Among the extensive range of products for office and stationery, environmentally friendly materials play a major role for brand-name companies as well as for suppliers of niche products.

On Tuesday, 28 January 2020, the fair’s Sustainable Office Day is dedicated to sustainable products, and environmentally 46

EVENT

conscious purchasing. Lectures and examples of best practice will present practical solutions for sustainable and environmentally friendly office equipment. „Environmental protection and sustainability are not short-lived hot topics. On the contrary, an awareness of these issues has become established in the office and stationery sector, which manufacturers, buyers and consumers address in a variety of ways. No-one wishing to remain future-proof can turn a blind eye to this subject. Our ‚Sustainable Office Day’ aims to set an example for the entire industry”, says Michael Reichhold, Director Paperworld.

The Paperworld team is supported by B.A.U.M. e.V. (German Environmental Management Association) as a cooperation partner. In the course of the action day, the environmental organisation will present a varied and high-caliber programme of lectures in “Saal Europa” (Foyer Hall 4.0).

B.A.U.M. was founded in 1984 as the first non-partisan environmental initiative of trade and industry and is today, with more than 500 members, the largest of its kind in Europe and a long-standing partner of Paperworld.

The Sustainable Office Day is accompanied

each year with a Green Directory brochure published by Chmielorz Verlag in cooperation with Messe Frankfurt.

It covers current sustainability-related topics, and documents companies offering green products with a description and placement in the hall plan.

In addition, the Agency for Renewable Resources (Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe - FNR) will be presenting itself in the foyer of Hall 4.1 with the „Renewable Office”, for which there is also a booklet. As lead partner of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the FNR promotes greater consideration of sustainable (office) products in public and private procurement. The staff at their booth will explain the connection between product selection and climate, because with 18 million office workplaces in Germany and numerous home offices, there is great potential for plant-based innovative product alternatives.

Also to be found in the Hall 4.1 foyer is the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) with an information stand. Its task is to promote the environmentally friendly, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of forests worldwide.

The independent, non-profit, nongovernmental organisation is today represented by national working groups in over 80 countries. FSC employees at the stand inform about the requirements for FSC certification for paper products, and advise both exhibitors and visitors.

There is also a Green Pages information booklet published yearly, which lists all FSC-certified Paperworld exhibitors.

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