Speaking to Packaging News, chief executive Wim Maes was upbeat and said that while the labels sector had accepted digital print technology, there was still work to be done in cartons. Maes was speaking as the digital press manufacturer announced that it had recorded 28% growth this year.
He said: “We grew a lot in Asia and in Europe. I would say US was rather flat, as was Latin America as we had a very strong year in 2013. There will be more focus on folding cartons from Xeikon. The concept and advantages of digital are now really being accepted by the folding carton market. Additionally, our technology fits in really well.”
Maes said he expeted Xeikon to reach 30% share of the market in the next five years. While Xeikon has about 20% of the labels and packaging market, HP is the clear leader with 50% share.
“We would like to have around 30% of the market in the next five years. We feel we deserve a bigger piece of the pie,” he added.
He said his focus is to get the Xeikon brand in the consideration of the consumer at an early stage – maintaining that the company has a success rate of more than 50% when pitching for deals.
Maes added: “So why don’t we have 50% of the market? It’s because there are a lot of deals we are not in consideration for, and so it’s about feet on the street. There are still many customers out there that buy from HP without talking to us. So it’s about people putting Xeikon on their shortlist. Our strategy is about investing in our people being in the market and making sure we know about the projects – and then we should be able to take a bigger piece of the pie.”
