Greg Hrinya, Associate Editor06.22.15
Esko, a global supplier of integrated products for the packaging and printing supply chain, hosted EskoWorld 2015 from June 14-16 in Scottsdale, AZ, USA. The annual event featured over 70 educational sessions, including digital prepress, value stream mapping for improved workflows and digital asset management (DAM), and welcomed over 350 partners and 110 employees.
Brad Montgomery delivered the keynote presentation titled “Laugh-O-Nomics: Connecting Happiness at Work to Business Success.” He has performed for clients ranging from Microsoft to the FBI. The first day of the event concluded with a panel discussion designed to drive debate between partners and the Esko management team.
Other presentations focused on MediaBeacon’s presence in Esko’s operations, roadmap sessions, Automation Engine and WebCenter functionality, and a Kongsberg display station that demonstrated the cutting of labels and carton plates with Digital Flexo Suite.
In addition to the presentations, the Esko Partner Pavilion allowed partner companies to showcase their complementary products. DuPont, EFI, Flint Group, HP, MacDermid and X-Rite were among those in attendance.
Udo Panenka, president of Esko, presided over EskoWorld 2015 for the first time since taking over for Carsten Knudsen on January 1, 2015. “We’re doing pretty well here, and I would like to take the opportunity to thank the customers for really giving us the confidence and trust and using us as the partner of choice,” said Panenka. “This is the success of Esko, and without the customers, we would not be here.”
Esko’s vision for a brighter future
EskoWorld 2015 featured the theme, “Improve Today. Dream for Tomorrow.” In addition to displaying new technologies, the company discussed how it can better work with clients to provide a more fruitful partnership. In the spirit of collaboration, brands conducted presentations and explained how Esko software has helped them in their workflow.
“If you think about strategy and business, I think there are two critical questions that need to be asked on a regular basis; the first is ‘What game are you playing?’ and the second is ‘How do you win?” said Panenka. “I think with those two questions, you can frame up all types of strategic processes and bring so many things together.”
In speaking about the value of an efficient prepress solution, Panenka stated that one mistake can cost a converter $1 million. Therefore, discovery workshops can improve integration with MIS systems, Automation Engine and WebCenter. In a presentation entitled, “Streamlining Your Business Process,” Stephanie Graham, solutions architect project manager at Esko, said that discovery workshops have the ability to cut wait times from seven days to 2.5 days, all while increasing visibility and standardization.
Panenka emphasized that there is zero tolerance for faults and mistakes in the entire process, which ranges from Esko’s software to the converters doing the printing. “We have a couple of initiatives along the way to improve quality,” he said. “First is PPM (Parts Per Million), which is a quality measure to thoroughly analyze all the calls coming from our customers for equipment that is newly installed. We work with the R&D teams to get all of our quality issues under control. We also look at the quality of the equipment because that is of very high importance, so we are designing new products to become less sensitive against errors. We are already working on concepts where we can use the intelligence of the hardware devices to foresee errors that might come in the future.”
When working with clients on prepress workflows, Esko tailors each solution to an individual company’s needs. According to Panenka, nine out of ten companies use Esko’s products.
Esko is also working to develop its online resources in order to create better transparency. The company’s goal is to reduce repetitive tasks while improving the user experience. “We made significant progress last year to the knowledge base on the Esko website,” said Bernard Zwaenepoel, senior vice president, software business. “We are developing toward one unified customer engagement platform to give customers access to all these resources in a very unified way.”
Changing of the guard
The first day’s closing session not only featured a panel discussion, but it gave Esko’s partners the chance to meet the new leadership team. In addition to Panenka, Jon Giardina, vice president for the Americas, Philippe Adam, vice president of global marketing, and Thomas Klein, vice president, hardware business, were all appointed in the past year.
Zwaenepoel and Brad Robertson, general manager of MediaBeacon also fielded questions. Esko acquired MediaBeacon in March of 2015 and promoted the company’s CEO, Jason Bright, to chief technical officer. Bright delivered a presentation on DAM during the event’s first day.
Panenka and Giardina both joined the company in August of 2014. The duo both came to Esko with a background in machine automation.
“This year we thought, ‘Let’s do something a little bit different and put the focus on a change in management,” Jan De Roeck, Esko’s director of solutions management, said in a press conference. “We had a transition over the last six months, not just in the US but also overseas.”
Esko is a Danaher company and employs about 1,400 people around the world. The company, which is headquartered in Gent, Belgium, has R&D and manufacturing facilities in five European countries, the United States, China and India.
Happiness is Key
Montgomery’s keynote presentation detailed the role that happiness has in running a successful business. He explained ways in which business managers can find happiness and instill it in those around them to foster greater productivity.
According to Montgomery, there are three steps to the process: pick happy, find happy and lead happy. He cited research proving that happy people are 25% more productive and sell 37% more than unhappy people.
Montgomery defines happiness in two categories: small happy and big happy. The former includes minor events and things that make a person content, while the latter are the events and things that change a person’s a life. "Big happy is quality of life and wellness of being; it’s your set point of happiness,” explained Montgomery. “Everyone has one. If we change that–and I’m telling you you can; you can make yourself happier–the payoff is huge.”
Montgomery emphasized that brand owners need to inspire those around them to be happier, as well. “The best way to happiness for yourself is to invest in somebody else’s attitude,” said Montgomery.
For more pictures of EskoWorld 2015, click here for a slideshow
Brad Montgomery delivered the keynote presentation titled “Laugh-O-Nomics: Connecting Happiness at Work to Business Success.” He has performed for clients ranging from Microsoft to the FBI. The first day of the event concluded with a panel discussion designed to drive debate between partners and the Esko management team.
Other presentations focused on MediaBeacon’s presence in Esko’s operations, roadmap sessions, Automation Engine and WebCenter functionality, and a Kongsberg display station that demonstrated the cutting of labels and carton plates with Digital Flexo Suite.
In addition to the presentations, the Esko Partner Pavilion allowed partner companies to showcase their complementary products. DuPont, EFI, Flint Group, HP, MacDermid and X-Rite were among those in attendance.
Udo Panenka, president of Esko, presided over EskoWorld 2015 for the first time since taking over for Carsten Knudsen on January 1, 2015. “We’re doing pretty well here, and I would like to take the opportunity to thank the customers for really giving us the confidence and trust and using us as the partner of choice,” said Panenka. “This is the success of Esko, and without the customers, we would not be here.”
Esko’s vision for a brighter future
EskoWorld 2015 featured the theme, “Improve Today. Dream for Tomorrow.” In addition to displaying new technologies, the company discussed how it can better work with clients to provide a more fruitful partnership. In the spirit of collaboration, brands conducted presentations and explained how Esko software has helped them in their workflow.
“If you think about strategy and business, I think there are two critical questions that need to be asked on a regular basis; the first is ‘What game are you playing?’ and the second is ‘How do you win?” said Panenka. “I think with those two questions, you can frame up all types of strategic processes and bring so many things together.”
In speaking about the value of an efficient prepress solution, Panenka stated that one mistake can cost a converter $1 million. Therefore, discovery workshops can improve integration with MIS systems, Automation Engine and WebCenter. In a presentation entitled, “Streamlining Your Business Process,” Stephanie Graham, solutions architect project manager at Esko, said that discovery workshops have the ability to cut wait times from seven days to 2.5 days, all while increasing visibility and standardization.
Panenka emphasized that there is zero tolerance for faults and mistakes in the entire process, which ranges from Esko’s software to the converters doing the printing. “We have a couple of initiatives along the way to improve quality,” he said. “First is PPM (Parts Per Million), which is a quality measure to thoroughly analyze all the calls coming from our customers for equipment that is newly installed. We work with the R&D teams to get all of our quality issues under control. We also look at the quality of the equipment because that is of very high importance, so we are designing new products to become less sensitive against errors. We are already working on concepts where we can use the intelligence of the hardware devices to foresee errors that might come in the future.”
When working with clients on prepress workflows, Esko tailors each solution to an individual company’s needs. According to Panenka, nine out of ten companies use Esko’s products.
Esko is also working to develop its online resources in order to create better transparency. The company’s goal is to reduce repetitive tasks while improving the user experience. “We made significant progress last year to the knowledge base on the Esko website,” said Bernard Zwaenepoel, senior vice president, software business. “We are developing toward one unified customer engagement platform to give customers access to all these resources in a very unified way.”
Changing of the guard
The first day’s closing session not only featured a panel discussion, but it gave Esko’s partners the chance to meet the new leadership team. In addition to Panenka, Jon Giardina, vice president for the Americas, Philippe Adam, vice president of global marketing, and Thomas Klein, vice president, hardware business, were all appointed in the past year.
Zwaenepoel and Brad Robertson, general manager of MediaBeacon also fielded questions. Esko acquired MediaBeacon in March of 2015 and promoted the company’s CEO, Jason Bright, to chief technical officer. Bright delivered a presentation on DAM during the event’s first day.
Panenka and Giardina both joined the company in August of 2014. The duo both came to Esko with a background in machine automation.
“This year we thought, ‘Let’s do something a little bit different and put the focus on a change in management,” Jan De Roeck, Esko’s director of solutions management, said in a press conference. “We had a transition over the last six months, not just in the US but also overseas.”
Esko is a Danaher company and employs about 1,400 people around the world. The company, which is headquartered in Gent, Belgium, has R&D and manufacturing facilities in five European countries, the United States, China and India.
Happiness is Key
Montgomery’s keynote presentation detailed the role that happiness has in running a successful business. He explained ways in which business managers can find happiness and instill it in those around them to foster greater productivity.
According to Montgomery, there are three steps to the process: pick happy, find happy and lead happy. He cited research proving that happy people are 25% more productive and sell 37% more than unhappy people.
Montgomery defines happiness in two categories: small happy and big happy. The former includes minor events and things that make a person content, while the latter are the events and things that change a person’s a life. "Big happy is quality of life and wellness of being; it’s your set point of happiness,” explained Montgomery. “Everyone has one. If we change that–and I’m telling you you can; you can make yourself happier–the payoff is huge.”
Montgomery emphasized that brand owners need to inspire those around them to be happier, as well. “The best way to happiness for yourself is to invest in somebody else’s attitude,” said Montgomery.
For more pictures of EskoWorld 2015, click here for a slideshow