Editorial

Welcome to the 20th issue of Gallus In Touch. Having completely redesigned our website, we also decided it was time to give our long-established newsletter a bit of a facelift. This latest issue of Gallus In Touch offers a colourful mix of up-to-date news from our industry and also gives you a sneak preview of Labelexpo 2009. Read on to find out more…

TV series have an inherent appeal. A few years ago, “Sex and the City” was raking in the ratings, while “24”, “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives” have also proved equally unmissable. In addition to the numerous variations on the global trend for singing competitions, there is one other format that has proved strangely addictive in the German-speaking region – “Germany’s Next Top Model”. The show is hosted by none other than former supermodel Heidi Klum.

The third season ended just a few weeks ago and, since then, many of the fans of the series – including teenage girls in particular – have been suffering severe withdrawal symptoms on Thursday evenings. For weeks, they were on tenterhooks waiting for the final, where either Mandy, Sara or Marie would be announced the winner. The three attractive young women presented collections, jewellery and beauty products with the requisite professionalism and charm.

The show’s real winners were Heidi Klum and the sponsors representing the various product sectors, all of whom knew how to use the format to their advantage. This story is of interest to us because it paints a positive picture for the future. Appearance – and therefore decoration – is, and will continue to be, the factor that can make or break a product. Even though conditions within our industry are currently very difficult, labels will continue to play a very important role in product decoration.

One good way of staying successful in a difficult and therefore more competitive climate is to engage in innovation. However, the combination of disappearing margins and increasing cost pressures now means that the necessary resources are often not available to drive forward innovation. With this in mind, we are particularly pleased that Gallus will be unveiling some real innovations at this year’s Labelexpo Europe 2009. Rather than representing just a few gradual phases of development, the new Gallus ECS 340 brings an entirely new machine concept to the table. You’ll be amazed by just how simple printing can be. With the Gallus ECS 340, we are blazing a new trail, both technically and commercially. However, I don’t want to give away too much just yet – more information is available at www.Gallus-ECS-340.com.

While we’re on the topic of innovation, I do hope you have had a chance to take a look at our new Gallus website at www.gallus-group.com. Since the beginning of May, our website has been completely reworked and redesigned. With the site divided into the fields of Labels, Folding Cartons and Screen Printing, you’ll be able to find all the information you need about our company and the products and services we offer. Naturally, you’ll also be able to get all the latest updates from and about the Gallus Group. As part of this, we’ve also revamped our Gallus In Touch newsletter. It’s now even easier to access. As you will no doubt have noticed, a login and password are no longer required as of this issue. That means you are more than welcome to forward the newsletter to your business partners and friends.

In this issue, we have once again put together a great collection of interesting articles. The topics under the spotlight include the development of the Gallus RCS with offset, integrating screen printing plates in the digital manufacturing process and boosting efficiency by using a digital data workflow to network production processes. In our preview of Labelexpo Europe 2009, we give you an insight into the live demonstrations you can expect to see from 23 September at the Gallus stand, which this year will cover an area of almost 1,000 m2.
In addition, the “We are Gallus” series features Laura Franchini, part-owner and Marketing Manager of Franchini Srl., the Gallus agent in Italy.

I hope you enjoy reading this edition of Gallus In Touch.

Kind regards,
Felix Egger

Vice-President Sales & Marketing