30 FEATURE
The STAGE is YOURS After 30 years of reporting on developments in our sector, OPI is raising the curtain to those who make it what it is – our readers. What is your take on these past three decades? Read on…
MICHEL VAN BEEK, PRESIDENT EMEA & ASIA PACIFIC, FELLOWES BRANDS
www.opi.net
For over three decades, OPI has developed into the centrepiece of the industry for insight, perspective, communication and relationships. As we reflect back on your early days in 1991, it seems like worlds away. Both Staples and Viking had announced expansion plans into Europe and Fellowes Brands had just launched the world’s first personal shredder to expand and evolve our own business and brand. Since that time, trends, companies and people have come and gone – but OPI has remained as a relevant and value-building contributor to our industry Over the past 30 years, there has been a constant discussion around the fact that office technology would eliminate the need for paper documents. Remarkable then how paper and paper-related products still play a significant role today. Nevertheless, things are changing faster than ever before. Both new technologies and hybrid working are bringing significant challenges but also major opportunities to our industry.
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Focusing on growth and higher-margin products is hugely important. Congratulations and thank you for your partnership, support and friendship over the years, and for being the glue that holds our industry together.
Thank you for your partnership, support and friendship over the years, and for being the glue that holds our industry together
The OPI team would like to sincerely thank all the contributors for their recollections, anecdotes and insights. We were overwhelmed and humbled by your generosity, kindness and, quite simply, love for our industry as well as OPI. We could have filled many more pages with your memories, but sadly ran out of space. So please visit the Magazine section on opi.net to find out what the likes of Casey Avent, Bruno Peyroles, Stewart Barton-Taylor, Eric Smith, Paul Ventimiglia, Sean Starkey, Stuart Seymour, Clem Restaino, Peter Achterberg and many more have to say about the highlights, challenges and moments of joy of the past 30 years.