Why Highcon?

Vanguard Companies aims to revolutionize the packaging and displays industry. To achieve this, they have strategically partnered with Highcon. This partnership will help Vanguard expand their presence in the corrugated packaging and display industry. Additionally, it will support their e-commerce packaging division, Box Genie. Highcon system’s unique ability to eliminate dies in the finishing process, coupled with its small footprint, make it a perfect fit for Vanguard’s requirements.

Onboarding Excellence

Vanguard partnered with Highcon for a comprehensive onboarding journey, which focused on understanding the converters’ primary requirements and ensuring compatibility with their existing equipment. The process involved site preparation, training for operators, designers, prepress, structural, production managers, and workflow-related functions. During this phase, Jim Smith, a ramp-up and support specialist at Highcon in the U.S., played a crucial role in leveraging his diverse background and expertise.

Jim’s role involved technical training and bridging gaps in pre-press and structural departments. A phased onboarding approach was adopted, which included an initial six-week on-site training followed by a revisit from Jim after a few weeks. This approach helped the Vanguard operators to quickly grasp the technology and streamline their operations.

“We were running production orders during the training with his (Jim’s) assistance. Once he left, it was up to us to go ahead and work through the process,” said Doug Hay, Director of Production, Vanguard. “Within six to eight weeks, we were running production orders consistently across three shifts, seven days a week, and they haven’t slowed down since.” Initially eight to ten operators were trained with the primary focus of ensuring that all team members had an understanding of the machine. This facilitated smoother operations and allowed for flexibility in task assignments and potential for growth.

Jim Smith’s practical approach to problem-solving was crucial to Vanguard’s success. His constant follow-ups and promptness in addressing inquiries ensured a collaborative and fruitful partnership.

“It made all the difference in the world to me and my staff in how fast we got up to speed. We still occasionally reach out and talk to him [Jim]. If he has not heard from us in a while, he will pick up the phone and say, “Hey how’s everything going?” said Hay. “That is the kind of relationship we want. We have an open relationship. That is how it works for us and let’s hope we continue it.”

Ramping Up Production: Challenges and Continuous Support

During the onboarding process, the team faced several challenges which they tackled with a proactive attitude. For instance, the structural design team, who were initially hesitant about change, eventually embraced the new workflow methodologies introduced by Highcon. As a result of their expertise and willingness to adapt, significant improvements were made to the workflow process. For example, the time taken to create structure files per order was reduced from 35-45 minutes to just 5-10 minutes by adopting the ArtiosCAD module for manufacturing in structural design.

“We have discovered new ways that are significantly faster than our previous standard process. Jim’s expertise has been invaluable to our design team, as we are now implementing it in other areas as well,” shared Scott Auer, the Pre-Press Graphic Manager.

Hay stated, “Currently, we handle 300 to 400 unique setups per month. Our aim is to increase it to 800 setups per month on the machine. These are ambitious goals we have set for ourselves.”

Looking Ahead

Vanguard is looking forward to a positive future, with an expanding e-commerce business and a commitment to sustainability as the primary objectives for the year 2024. The efficient onboarding process with Highcon has played a crucial role in increasing operator productivity, which has positioned the company to meet the growing demand for its services.

Contact us today if you’re interested in learning more about Highcon’s digital die cutting systems.

The post Navigating Success: Vanguard’s Onboarding Journey with Highcon first appeared on Highcon.

In his introduction to the survey report, Marcus Timson, Co-Founder & Director of EcoPrint, wrote, “Becoming more sustainable is not just an ethical thing that is right to do, it is moreover a very sensible business decision as is borne out in the results of this survey.”

Nevertheless, all truly impactful change is a process; occasionally seamless, but generally accompanied by trade-offs, challenges, and a variety of inertial forces which are determined to maintain the status quo. This can be seen in one very significant statistic as observed by Simon Lewis, Vice President Marketing, Highcon, who wrote, “What are the main barriers to better sustainability performance? Lack of understanding was the number one answer (55%).” It is critical to be mindful of this reality when pushing yourself and your business to adopt pragmatic approaches to reducing your carbon footprint.

Breaking down these barriers is perhaps the foremost hurdle to succeeding globally in “fixing the planet,” and knowledge is key. Hence, the importance of the EcoPrint-Highcon Survey.

In the January 18^th Webinar, an event in conjunction with the release of the survey, Highcon’s Lewis, focused on several poignant topics relating to converters. For example, is sustainability “nice to have,” or a must-have? According to the survey, 50% of the converter respondents did not see sustainability as strategically important. So, why do companies even develop plans for environmentally friendly production? Typically because they view “green” improvements as vital to creating business opportunities.

If that is the case, and if business opportunities aren’t obvious, then what will it take to overcome the inertia? Some say it is government regulation and net-zero goals. Others emphasize awareness.

That is to say, profitability and sustainability are complements, but the industry doesn’t recognize this automatically.

Survey participants were asked which technology options are available to improve sustainable performance, and which would be most cost-effective. 37% highlighted digital printing and 24% digital finishing. Digital finishing is still an emerging domain, so it’s not surprising that 50% say they don’t fully understand the benefits, and a further 26% don’t know them – statistics that highlight the importance of seeking out more and better information. Highcon would, of course, be delighted to help converters understand how our digital die cutting can help a business become more sustainable.

The EcoPrint Survey is a worthwhile read. Fill out the form on the right to see all the questions and answers, including statistics.

Highcon is leading the race to incorporate digital finishing as a valuable add-on to existing analog production, or as a sustainable and revenue generating addition to existing digital printing technology. If you would like to learn more about Highcon’s efforts to improve the environment while simultaneously provided new business opportunities for converters, contact us!

The post New survey reveals converters’ views about sustainability & digital technology first appeared on Highcon.

Highcon CEO Shlomo Nimrodi spoke to Jan Bottiglieri, host and editor of the Paper 360 Better Together podcast, at Corrugated Week 2022. The inspiring interview discussed what it takes to be a CEO of an innovative company transforming our industry, and the impact of Highcon’s technology on digital transformation.

Bottiglieri began her interview by inquiring about the requisite qualities needed to lead a technology company. Nimrodi replied that a CEO must have, first and foremost, vision. “The future is formed in our minds, in our dreams,” he explained, then emphasized that we are a backward-looking society. In practice, we move toward the future, while facing the past, using history as a guide.

He went on to say that some of us; a few of us, have the vision, to create the future. To be a good CEO you first have to make sure you have a very strong vision, that different stake holders can relate to and follow—whether it’s employees, whether it’s shareholders, whether it’s customers, or whether it’s the different vendors in the industry. 

Vision, he said, starts with a small group of energetic people who see a better world and “are crazy enough and willing to join you to change the world. That’s what Margaret Mead, anthropologist, said many years ago.” 

Nimrodi noted that Highcon operates in a conservative, risk-averse industry. “I think they are spending a ton of money on capital equipment, but they are not necessarily buying the right equipment.

“The good news is that you cannot fight innovation and you cannot fight change. Barnes & Noble tried to do that against Amazon and look what happened. “

A meaningful aspect of Highcon’s vision is adapting sustainability to the packaging industry. Currently, analog die production methods produce significantly more emissions when compared to Highcon’s cutting and creasing technology.  “Analog produces ten times the emissions,” said Nimrodi. He added that with Highcon’s digital finishing systems, “you can reduce the thickness of the substrate by 10-30% without compromising on quality or box strength which is a win-win for everyone. “

Sustainability is also achieved by production on-demand, which creates a virtual “no-MOQ” (minimum order quantity) capacity and allows for converters to run multiple jobs quickly and profitably. “It’s a technology which will improve your bottom line and grow your customer base simultaneously.”

Nimrodi stressed that future generations are concerned about the health of the planet. He mentioned his own grandson, who at eight years old, is well-informed as to the importance of environmental responsibility. Currently, converters in the United States are moving to sustainable production, but lag behind their European counterparts. Bottiglieri pointed out that “Europe is far ahead in [adopting] sustainability.”

Nimrodi emphasized the good news that multiple companies are driving digital innovation in printing and the post-press arena. This includes well-known companies like Westrock, Gondi, Schumacher and Pratt, which are already utilizing Highcon Systems, both in corrugated and folding carton

“Today, digital printing is almost everywhere. If you are a plant manager and you have already made a decision to buy digital print, the natural evolution will be to buy digital finishing because then you have an end-to-end digital process.  Nevertheless, our solution is [broadly applicable]. I don’t care if the print is flexo or digital, our system will cut and crease it all day long, regardless of where it’s from.”

When asked about his work-life philosophy, Nimrodi said that every day should be tackled with an attitude toward improving the status quo. Highcon is working to achieve this vision, by transforming an analog world to a world of sustainability, profitability—one where future generations will look back on this era and appreciate past strides and accomplishments.

He mentioned that there is another positive phenomenon— Highcon’s systems’ benefits are not limited to reducing emissions via digital plates versus analog plates. By producing on-demand, converters can increase efficiency. And there are a lot of benefits that digital manufacturing can deliver immediately, such as its agility, its erasure of the traditional MOQ, and its production flexibility.

One of the biggest challenges facing corrugated packaging is that the whole world is your customer base, and it is exceedingly diverse with varied expectations. Nimrodi sees an industry, now emerging from the pandemic, which values sustainability and on-demand capabilities. “For us, our goal is to identify the people that have this vision, and want to take this opportunity, to realize this vision. To adopt and drive change.”

Jan Bottiglieri inquired, “From your perspective, as CEO, how would you like others to think about the value of innovation?” His reply: “Every morning when I wake up I ask myself, why? I believe in living a life with a clear and strong reason for being.” Now, having just turned 65 years old, Nimrodi vocalized a raison d’etre which holds that regardless of the size of the company, leadership means sharing that reason for being. “In my opinion, you can make a difference and also make money. My hope is that more and more people will exert effort to achieve this difference and leave a better world for the future.” In conclusion, he expressed his belief that more business leaders will take chances and risks to transform society for a better future.

The post Highcon’s CEO Shares Views on Vision and Digital Innovation first appeared on Highcon.