Indian Printer and Publisher interviews the MD of FFEI, a company that has made remarkable progress since becoming independent from Fujifilm

Over the last year, FFEI has transformed itself from the CtP equipment division of Fujifilm to an independent company that will not only continue to support Fuji, but also make a major impact in new markets.
In this short time, it has re-engineered the infrastructure of its business, finalised for Fuji the development of the first cross-media workflow solution and started manufacturing in China. In this interview we ask Andy Cook, managing director, why and how.

Why did FFEI split from Fujifilm?
It was seen as a clear business opportunity to both parties. Fuji wanted to reduce its manufacturing overhead. FFEI had some innovative technologies, which it was passionate to develop, that played outside the CtP arena.

Fujifilm was supportive of these innovations but the catastrophe at Buncefield depot, where our R&D facility was literally blown to pieces, forced Fuji to focus our efforts back completely on core business. A management buy-out (MBO), fuelled by the insurance claim on our plant, seemed to be the most appropriate way to move forward for both sides.

So, what is your relationship with Fuji now?
We are still the main supplier of violetbased CtP products to Fujifilm and software developments, such as the recently launched XMF. We are also the source for spares and engineering support for Fuji’s installed base of CtP solutions. We work very closely with headquarters in Japan to ensure that Fuji’s customers continue to get exceptional service and reliable products. As we are also broadening our technology base, there may be some added advantages for Fuji customers with potential product enhancements.

Do you have alternative routes to market for your products?
We are developing these, but we do not intend to get involved in direct sales. Our business model for hardware developments is to work with best-inclass partners that already have a relationship with the markets we want to penetrate.

Can you give an example?
We have recently appointed a Chinese company to sell our new commercial CtP entry-level product, developed specifically for this market. We realize the Far East has huge potential and decided to harness the power of an OEM deal with a local supplier, rather than using the conventional route to market through distributors. The products will be badged by the Chinese company as if they are their own.

Is this why you started manufacturing in China?
Yes, if you want to be successful in this region you need to show commitment and investment locally. Also customers find it difficult to support ‘European’ prices for capital equipment, and by building locally we can pass on cost advantages. In the long term, we see Asia as the largest growth region for CtP. Machines produced by FFEI China will undergo the same rigorous testing and build procedures as they do in our UK factory. High quality construction is of utmost importance to us.

 Is this a conflict with your relationship with Fuji?
Our relationship with Fuji is incredibly important to us. We are very careful to work in markets where Fuji does not have a large installed base of CtP solutions. Besides, our activity in these markets will be a catalyst to improved plate sales for Fuji, rather than increased competition.

How does India feature in your future plans?
India is another country of great growth and opportunity. We recognise we are a little late entering this market with CtP equipment but we still believe there is a great opportunity for Violet CtP solutions and consumables in commercial print and newspaper markets. We have now established a partnership with Fuji India and its dealer channels to ensure that the Fuji/FFEI CtP solutions, with the traditional Fujifilm characteristics of quality and value at their core are going to be well represented from now on. India was tremendously successful for us with our older scanner products (Crosfield and Fuji scanners) and we hope to emulate that success with CtP too.

What have you changed about FFEI to enable you to make sweeping changes so quickly and effectively?
We first set a clear vision for the business that will ensure long-term security and growth. Our goal is to become the leading supplier of high performance digital imaging solutions across a broad range of markets, some outside the  graphic arts industry.

FFEI originated from Crosfield, one of two pioneers of scanning technology. Integrated into Fuji for many years, our expertise in the capture, management and reproduction of images is now second to none. This was an incredibly solid foundation on which to build our vision and define our direction. We encapsulated the latter in our slogan “Digital Lifestyle Imaging”, because everything we do is targeted at providing a solution that makes life better and easier for the end user.

Once the vision was set, we targeted the barriers to success that existed in our old business model:

Firstly, being linked only to Fuji distribution channels, although valuable, didn’t allow us to operate at full capacity in all regions. We saw the potential to sell to customers where Fuji did not have a strong presence. Also, CtP is becoming a commodity – the market will eventually become saturated and eventually replaced. FFEI needed to break out into different technologies and markets to ensure long-term survival.

Secondly, we concluded that we would only succeed in new markets by leveraging the expertise and relationships of others. Prior to the Buncefield explosion, we had been working with partners on inkjet and life-science imaging. We quickly rekindled these partnerships to help drive the FFEI business in a broader direction.

Lastly, we had the culture and comforts of a large company – nothing wrong in that -  but we wanted to be able to respond to many more opportunities. That meant being, fleet-of-foot, lean and profitable, with short lines of command, highly motivated teams and an innovative portfolio of projects. This included the ability to invest quickly and adequately in new opportunities immediately as they arise.

What is the outcome of the changes?
In addition to our Chinese activities, we have expanded our CtP range to give us greater presence in the newspaper market. At IFRA Expo in Vienna, we announced a partnership with Dotline, a German based company, to release a new range of products. The Alinte News combines the expertise of both Dotline and FFEI to bring to market a simple, effective, low cost, high speed newspaper range. With productivity levels of up to 225 Berliner-sized plates per hour, ‘Alinte News’ is available for sale worldwide via FFEI sales channels from January 2008. In addition to this, we have also developed a new 8pp entry-level violet CtP system, designed for the worldwide commercial market. By utilising the product reliability, ease of use and low cost of ownership, companies can confidently make the transition from film to digital. The product will be available from December of this year.

In September, at Label Expo, Nilpeter showed a new high speed, single-pass, digital label press unit using Xaar 1001 printheads, called Caslon. This was developed in conjunction with FFEI and can combine digital print with conventional flexo to provide highspeed versioning. The product was met with tremendous market excitement and expectation. We expect this to be the beginning of a long line of Inkjet based solutions from FFEI.

Our third product-related outcome is the expansion of our life science scanners. We now have a second partner in this field that will help co-develop a scanning system for looking at tissue samples down at a cellular level. In the longer term this technology will be used to improve the accuracy and productivity of screening for diseases such as cancer.
The culture change is always the most difficult, because it takes time. However, it can be helped by company structure. We have split the company into six profit units, Commercial CtP, Newspaper CtP, Inkjet, Life Sciences, Software development and Customer Service. Within each unit, there are highly motivated teams focused on their own specific challenges, but with cross fertilization provided by centralized marketing and one of the best IT infrastructures you will see in a business of our size. As all of our IT was destroyed in the explosion, we spent nearly £5 million (approximately Rs. 40 crore) on the latest, fastest and most secure replacement technology.

On top of this, we are motivating individual teams to really make a difference to our overall business through internal communication, incentives, and bonuses.

What about software development – is this just for Fuji?
XMF is just one part of our software portfolio. In September, at Graph Expo in Chicago, we demonstrated a new plug-in for Acrobat Professional, called RealVue3D. This application has been developed for creative designers and allows simulation of print material in 3D form from just the PDF of the pages. Printing features such as paper weight and finish, die cuts, varnishes, binding techniques can all be varied, with their impact reviewed using a 360 degree simulation with zooming and page turning capabilities. It is now being sold via our website direct, www.realvue3d.com.

We also intend to expand our basic software offering. For example, singlepass inkjet is more difficult to accomplish with multi-head imaging at fast web speeds. Our goal with Caslon is to eventually print at 50 metres per minute, which requires incredibly sophisticated software not only to control the ink, but also to visually eliminate any artefacts in the images and solid colours. Interestingly, Caslon is one of the developments that stretches all of our core competences in software, imaging, optics and mechanical engineering. Two examples are the optical system to pre-cure the UV inks and the ink supply system. Both have unique features which make them more compact than competitive solutions with no compromise on quality.

Our combination of robust imaging technologies combined with sophisticated software has a whole host of applications within the Graphic Arts market and beyond.

Any more surprises for Drupa?
We will have a presence at Drupa for two reasons: Firstly, to support the efforts of our important partner, Fuji, and secondly, to showcase our technologies for other potential partners.

And ‘next on’ projects?
We are already developing several partnerships for product developments both inside and outside the graphic arts. These are all under Non Disclosure Agreements, so I can say no more, other than we also hope that Drupa will bring us other opportunities and with our strong and multi-faceted heritage we are well-placed to turn new ideas into reality.