Success on Repeat

Knowing that history often repeats itself, Packaging Impressions looks ahead to the 2024 PRINTING United Expo — to be held September 10-12 at the Las Vegas Convention Center — by exploring how exhibitors and attendees connected at the 2023 event and the sales that ensued.

The 2023 PRINTING United Expo started with a “boom.” The hard smack of a mallet against the big bass drum of the Morehouse College marching band served as a clarion call, a strong signifier that the expo was open for business.

While describing just a handful of the sales from a thimbleful of the 811 exhibitors on the expansive show floor does not illustrate the immensity of the total sales generated at the event, it does provide a pulse of the industry, a strong sense of how things went.

And they went well.

Digital and Conventional Printing
Asked about sales levels for offset press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer (US), Eric Frank, senior vice president of marketing, points out the long sales process for equipment of that size means sales are often finalized or celebrated in the booth. The market for such equipment, he says, is looking good. “We’re seeing cautiously optimistic signals out there — quotes are up — we have a huge backlog for production.”

According to Syndie Shepland, advertising and digital marketing lead from inkjet equipment manufacturer Durst, the company had pre-sold all of the printers featured in its booth.

At SCREEN Americas, a company focused on high-speed inkjet presses for the commercial and label printing sectors, Mark Schlimme, vice president of marketing, says, “We celebrated some deals that we brought here with us. It’s been very positive. Five years ago, were doing a lot of evangelizing [about inkjet], but now our sales teams are bringing customers here to celebrate or finish business. They still like to come to a show environment … there’s still something about coming to a central show.”

Heidelberg’s booth featured its most recent advancements in label and commercial printing, including the new Gallus One digital label press and the latest model of its best-selling digital press, the Versafire LP. During the show, Heidelberg announced it will install its first Gallus One in North America at PrintFlex Graphics in St. Louis, Missouri. The Gallus One is also the first digital press for PrintFlex, which plans to use the press to tap into new markets and expand its sticker and label business.

Komori America shared how it has evolved its focus from a printing press manufacturer to a print engineering service provider with new solutions in packaging and commercial printing, including Komori’s GX/G advance series of offset presses.

Finishing Technologies
Feedback hints that multiple exhibitors easily garnered sales figures in excess of $5 million across the three-day event, with some companies selling every piece of equipment in their booth at the show.

Automated finishing equipment in Rollem International’s booth included the newest Insignia6H PLUS sheetfed diecutter, an operator-friendly folder/gluer system, the Jetstream XY slitter/scoring model, the Champion 990 slit/core/perf model, and the semi-slitter dedicated kiss-cutting system. The Insignia diecutter drew the most crowds, with live demonstrations showing multiple-up folding cartons.

“Based on my conversations with people leading up to the event, a majority indicated they would be in attendance, so I was cautiously optimistic. My instinct proved true, as our booth was literally packed with people within the initial 20 minutes of the show’s opening bell,” states Doug Sherwood, Rollem’s national sales manager.

At the booth of MBM Corp., a U.S.-based supplier of trimmers, cutters, folders, and other finishing devices, what was most striking was that nearly all the machines along the periphery of the booth featured the same sign: a bright burst of red with a single word, “SOLD!” Dan Radovanic, a regional sales manager for the company, says, “People have been just putting off decisions, putting off buying equipment, and now they just have to buy new equipment.”

Kongsberg Precision Cutting Systems surpassed double figure total sales across the three days — and selling one of the four powerful tables at the heart of its display within minutes of the event opening.

“This was our largest ever presence at PRINTING United,” says Matt Thackray, vice president and GM Americas, Kongsberg PCS, in a written statement. “And selling a Kongsberg X24 inside the first hour of the doors opening really set the standard for the rest of the event. We know it’s easily the most versatile digital finishing device on the market, and the range of innovative tooling delivers greater freedom in design and creativity, so we put it through its paces on our 4,000-sq.-ft. mega-booth. The combination of superior quality and range of specialty tools impressed the crowds, delivering the speed, power, and flexibility that it’s known for — and securing our first sale of the show within minutes.”

Credit: NAPCO Media

Heart of the Label & Packaging Community
Designed to be an interactive and engaging space, the Label & Packaging Community brought together packaging segment leaders from carton, label, flexible, corrugated, and more to share knowledge, collaborate, and even enjoy a CMYK-branded craft beer from Printer’s Ale Manufacturing.

Show Innovations at Work

Credit: NAPCO Media

The 2023 PRINTING United Expo was so successful because of the innovative execution of the Expo show team. One of those innovations — The Expo Express — literally ensured that attendees were able to visit more booths quickly and easily.

The Expo team collaborated with Kusher & Associates to create Express — a system of golf carts and “stops” that enabled anyone attending the show to quickly navigate the 1 million-sq.-ft. show floor space with 811 exhibitors. Kusher staff used this system much like mass transit at a large metropolitan city, picking up riders at each well-marked stop. Unlike most mass transit systems, though, the Expo Express was completely free to anyone attending the show.