Innovating the printing industry

After registration and a short reception in the beautiful Wintergarden at Agfa, we were guided to the auditorium. There, Dominiek Arnout (Vice-President at Agfa Graphics), gave a short introduction on Agfa and its activities to set the scene. Afterwards the participants were divided into three smaller groups and set out to explore the company. There were three stops along the tour:

One group remained in the auditorium for a short presentation on ICS by Ludwig Compagnie (ICS Manager) and "Software and Cloud Solutions" by Andy Grant (Global Head of Software at Agfa Graphics). You can watch a short video on "Arkitex", the cloud solutions platform by Agfa, below. The presentations illustrated perfectly how Agfa has grown from a company that delivered quality products to a high end business that delivers top quality, personalised services in the printing industry. And that's why, to this day, they are still one of the biggest players on the market.

The second stop along the tour was in the Agfa Showroom where Guy Desmet (Head of Global Communications and Prepress Marketing) demonstrated how the printing process has evolved over the years and showed us how the printers and printingplates are created at Agfa. This was followed by a short presentation from Marc Graindourze (Business Development Manager) on Low Migration Inkjet has revolutionised the printing industry. A perfect example of this technology: the new beerbottles for FC De Kampioenen's "Dagschotel" are printed with this technology. 

The last stop along the tour was in the Democenter where Reinhilde Alaert (Marketing Product Manager Sign&Display High End) and Jan Hiels (Manager HQ Democenter Inkjet) showed us a few different printers and innovative printing techniques used at Agfa. As an extra treat all participants were allowed to take a few high quality prints home with them.

The night was rounded up with a short networking drink in the Showroom after which our members returned home, stocked with lovely gifts from Agfa and ADM.