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Xingraphics Hits Full Throttle
Source:Proprint  Author:admin   Send date: 2013-01-05 Visitor:

It was drupa 2008 that finally achieved what Safwen Hijazi has been working towards for well over a year.

The print world’s largest exhibition, drupa 2008, brought the world to plate manufacturer Xingraphics at its stand, and the company is confident that its technology demonstrations at drupa have laid a solid foundation for new growth in the global market.

While the company has been established for some time it took a back seat in its marketing and corporate profile development, concentrating on manufacturing plates rather than distributing and selling them. Now all that has changed.

"We’ve been focusing on the international market for over 12 months now," Xingraphics’ director of international business and corporate VP, Safwen Hijazi, told ProPrint. "Prior to that Creo (before the acquisition by Kodak) had exclusive rights to market, sell and distribute the plates we were manufacturing as PTP or JPT.

"Since November 2006 we have worked vigorously to establish strong distribution channels worldwide. We want to establish our products as an alternative to the major three manufacturers, because we believe they are as good, and better in some respects, than the other three plate manufacturers’ products."

Drupa 2008

What a difference one show makes, said Hijazi. Drupa 2008 attracted, over a two week period, approximately 340,000 visitors and generated more than E10 billion in sales contracts.

That amounts to massive exposure for every exhibitor, and for Xingraphics it meant that one of the more popular technologies in the market at present, digital plate development, rode high on visitors’ research lists.

"Drupa 2008 had a special significance for our company," he said. "It was really our major launch into the international market in a concentrated manner and the response was overwhelming, to say the least. Some of our existing partners, who have known and worked with us, voiced their confidence and excitement about the transition from a proud Chinese company with a high reputation and brand recognition in conventional plate manufacturing now making significant inroads into the international market with the Xingraphics and FIT brands.

"It was a very important payback for all our efforts up till now. The return on investment will be there. We finalised a significant North American partnership there at the show. It’s not because of the show itself, but partners feel confident when they see your presence there, and you receive the feedback you need to make a greater impact.

"We had a large presence at drupa compared with the other plate manufacturers. The plate sections of the major manufacturers were not as focused as ours, and we had very positive feedback about our presentations on thermal plate technology. That is after all, our core focus, and because of that we will play a more dominant role in the plate sector in the future."

FIT and friendly

For Xingraphics the opportunity to launch its new environmentally friendly processless plate, FIT eCO, at drupa was perfect timing. The company held product demonstrations to valued clients prior to drupa, but used the exhibition to present the plate to the global print community.

"The FIT eCO technology really does answer the questions of printers who are going down the thermal path," said Hijazi. "We can also say categorically that it is processless technology - - there is no gumming or on-press developing. The key difference is that we have removed the gumming and on-press development processes. There is no other change that takes place between when the CtP machine images it and the press prints from it. The background stays on. It’s just a chemical reaction that takes place through the CtP laser that makes the plate ink receptive instead of non-ink receptive. It goes on the press and there is no further process - - it’s the first true processless plate technology. It blew away our existing partners, but also even our competitors, who came to look at it.

"The show allowed us to showcase our FIT eCO, which was demonstrated live on both Kodak and Screen imagesetters, as well as our internationally proven and accepted FIT Xtra thermal plate solution.

"We were very proud at drupa, that in such a short time we have moved on from the association with Creo, and dependent on technology that was really co-developed with Creo in a joint venture, to standing alone after the acquistion of Creo by Kodak, and being a competitor with Kodak, and having partners around the world with technology that leads the world."

From China to the world

Advantages of the ability to manufacture in China are genrally seen as savings in labour costs, but Safwen Hijazi points out that any advantages that Xingraphics may have accumulated from being a Chinese company have been minimised.

"Manufacturing in China is no longer an advantage because everyone else is manufacturing here now, so we need to compete on quality and technology grounds. But that suits us perfectly. We don’t want to compete by being a cheaper manufacturer. Our battleground is quality and a full solution service to customers, wherever they are in the world.

"We want to nurture our partnerships, especially our new partnership in the USA, and to become an internationally competitive company. We certainly want to provide a complete solution, and we’re working on new developments that will be released in 2009 to further that aim.

"We have a solid and growing R&D team focused on a serious drive for new technology gains for the long haul. We launched JPT in partnership with Creo some time ago, and then after the acquisition of Creo by Kodak we developed our own technology for FIT, our thermal plate, and in November 2007 we launched our faster thermal plate, the FIT Xtra. And now we’ve launched FIT eCO at drupa 2008. That is a very strong technology record in anyone’s terms.

"We received numerous requests from Australian printers about our FIT eCO plate technology at drupa. Australian printers seemed very keen to find out more about our range of plates, but especially the FIT eCO."

The local market 

In Australia, Xingraphics’ strategy is to expand the relationship with Ferag Australia and develop a solid market share, according to Hijazi. General manager, Trade, at Ferag Australia, Ian Martin, concurs. 

“The Ferag Trade business distributes a range of pre-, on and postpress consumables and equipment to the Australian and New Zealand graphics market. Many of the manufacturers we represent are market leaders within their specialties in Europe and Asia,” Ian Martin said. 

“What was critical to us as a quality supplier to the ANZ market was to partner with a manufacturer who could supply a quality product consistently, and have a proven track record. We believe in Xingraphics we have satisfied that criterion. This decision was made over a number of months, which included in-depth testing of a range of plates from various manufacturers, as well as factory visits to view R&D facilities, production, and quality control processes. 

“With all the major plate vendors now manufacturing in China, we felt that Xingraphics was already a number of steps ahead of the competition with its current range but also, critically, its future developments.” 

In Australia, Xingraphics’ strategy is to expand the relationship with Ferag Australia and develop a solid market share, according to Hijazi. General manager, Trade, at Ferag Australia, Ian Martin, concurs. 

“The Ferag Trade business distributes a range of pre-, on and postpress consumables and equipment to the Australian and New Zealand graphics market. Many of the manufacturers we represent are market leaders within their specialties in Europe and Asia,” Ian Martin said. 

“What was critical to us as a quality supplier to the ANZ market was to partner with a manufacturer who could supply a quality product consistently, and have a proven track record. We believe in Xingraphics we have satisfied that criterion. This decision was made over a number of months, which included in-depth testing of a range of plates from various manufacturers, as well as factory visits to view R&D facilities, production, and quality control processes. 

“With all the major plate vendors now manufacturing in China, we felt that Xingraphics was already a number of steps ahead of the competition with its current range but also, critically, its future developments.” 

In Australia, Xingraphics’ strategy is to expand the relationship with Ferag Australia and develop a solid market share, according to Hijazi. General manager, Trade, at Ferag Australia, Ian Martin, concurs. 

“The Ferag Trade business distributes a range of pre-, on and postpress consumables and equipment to the Australian and New Zealand graphics market. Many of the manufacturers we represent are market leaders within their specialties in Europe and Asia,” Ian Martin said. 

“What was critical to us as a quality supplier to the ANZ market was to partner with a manufacturer who could supply a quality product consistently, and have a proven track record. We believe in Xingraphics we have satisfied that criterion. This decision was made over a number of months, which included in-depth testing of a range of plates from various manufacturers, as well as factory visits to view R&D facilities, production, and quality control processes. 

“With all the major plate vendors now manufacturing in China, we felt that Xingraphics was already a number of steps ahead of the competition with its current range but also, critically, its future developments.” 

 *The source is from July 2008 "Proprint" Australia.