A TECHNOLOGY RENAISSANCE THE CONSIDERATIONS OF RISK AND REWARD WHEN INVESTING IN NEW TECH BY MIKE D'ANGELO
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n what can perhaps be considered a most cruel hoax being played on ownership, a technology renaissance has been occurring in the packaging business at a time of generally slow economic growth. United States gross domestic product increases have been at or below 2 percent for multiple quarters. Lackluster GDP performance drives uncertainty in the overall strength of the economy, affecting all segments—consumers, producers, and CPGs, to name a few. PIRA figures show great promise for growth for packaging media over the long term, but the year-over-year growth, especially in a developed market such as North America, shows low to mid-singledigit strengths. Yet the fact remains: Manufacturing technology in general, and printing and converting technology in particular, are evolving and developing faster than ever. Improvements made in equipment, substrates, and inks have been both evolutionary over the long haul as well as sudden, and all with impact. The recently concluded SuperCorrExpo® in Orlando showcased the gamut of what is available to packaging producers in a broad sweep of technology that was in some cases familiar, and in other cases unrecognizable.
So, in this environment, what is the risk/reward consideration? The risk is being left behind. A former colleague of mine had a picture in his office of dinosaurs roaming in a field. The picture was captioned, “In a changing world, if you are not adaptable, you will disappear.” The landscape in our great industry is evolving. Let’s break the technology renaissance down into four categories: • Connectivity through information platforms (commonly known as the internet of things). • Robotics. • Augmented reality. • Digital printing (as a complement to existing processes). Connectivity Printing presses and converting equipment have been the “big game” in our industry for more than four decades. Machine suppliers developed equipment well-suited for boxmakers to use to print and convert what their customers ordered. The suppliers sold the presses, repaired the presses, replaced parts on the presses, and improved or replaced them with the next big idea. Along the way, machinery began to subtly shift from being mechanical things to being electrical things. Motors
'In a changing world, if you are not adaptable, you will disappear.' became more sophisticated. Presses were controlled by drives and programmable logic controllers. Artificial intelligence allowed machines to make adjustments prior to operator intervention. These were the precursors to today’s platform connectivity, what General Electric in 2011 called the “industrial internet.” Today, the Harvard Business Review (HBR) calls it “digital ubiquity.” Digital ubiquity actually was driven up the supply chain to box plants and their suppliers as the value proposition began to shift from a reliable product (the press) being used to make other reliable products (boxes), to identifying and expanding the benefits and analytics that can be generated by the equipment. In other words, equipment that performs became a given. What can the press offer beyond good production? Digital ubiquity has changed printing and converting equipment, and consequently the box, from sometimes being seen as a
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