From January 1 next year, Heidelberg Australia & New Zealand (HAN) will become the exclusive distributor of Kodak consumables, workflow solutions and CTP equipment into the commercial sheetfed market.
Andy Vels Jensen, managing director of Heidelberg Australia & New Zealand (HAN) and Steve Venn, managing director Kodak Australasia announced the local alignment today saying that the local agreement would allow both companies to deliver improved market coverage while optimising existing resources, be it within sales, service or the complete value chain and support structure.
Jensen says, “We encountered a willing and very capable company in Kodak who share our values and beliefs. We are confident we can shape a tremendous cooperation and achieve excellent results for our customers and employees alike”.
Venn says, “The decision to consolidate our go-to-market strategy by aligning ourselves with Heidelberg offers Kodak a long-term arrangement with a world-class solutions provider in the sheetfed market”.
Jensen adds that the agreement with Kodak, “fulfils one of Heidelberg’s primary objectives to pursue new opportunities and represents a major change in the way in which business will be done in ANZ in the future. As much as this model may not work in all countries, it certainly makes sense in a geographically challenged and demanding market like ANZ”.
From Kodak’s perspective Venn says the agreement would benefit customers through, “the combined strengths of two market leaders both in terms of products, solutions and services to the sheetfed market in ANZ”.
Jensen continues, “Through our business consulting services and our extensive research and development Heidelberg has amassed considerable knowledge on the operational and business factors that influence productivity. The quality of consumables used has a direct bearing on the efficiency of our customers’ equipment. The more control one has over the variables in a manufacturing site, the better chance one has of measuring performance and making improvements to the overall efficiency of equipment and the production process.
“Over the past eight years, HAN has built a sizeable consumables business through our Saphira brand and the success of Heidelberg’s consumables business has helped the company cover overheads during times of low capital expenditure by customers. When customers place also their consumables business with Heidelberg, they allow us to continue to offer the same market-leading support and services, despite economic downturns”.
Venn says the shifts in the marketplace warranted a new approach. He adds, “Our industry continues to change and industry suppliers owe it to their stakeholders to adapt their business model so as to be the best they can be in today’s market place. This is what Heidelberg and Kodak are doing today”.
The companies say that, over the past years, as standalone businesses in their own rights, Kodak and Heidelberg have enjoyed good success in Australia and New Zealand. They add that the new alignment, and the new agreement, will allow customers in Australia and New Zealand to benefit even further from the combined offerings of one source shopping and the power of one.
The Kodak dealer network will remain intact with Heidelberg continuing the relationship Kodak has enjoyed with Lithotek Printing Supplies (Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland and South Australia), and SEAGA Group (Victoria and New South Wales). They say that all of these dealers will benefit from this new relationship in as much as they will, in future, also have access to products from Heidelberg.
In New Zealand, Frontline Technologies will work directly with Heidelberg taking on both sales and the service aspects of the business and driving market opportunities.
Jensen and Venn conclude, “By combining our efforts, we gain the best from both companies and we know we will deliver a superior product and buying experience to our joint customers.”
