Manroland may cut up to 1,000 jobs

[GeorgeA]

There's apparently a big reorganization of the sheetfed division of Manroland. Some information is available here:
Beyond-Print - all about future media - Sheetfed area at Manroland is being “realigned”

[GeorgeA]

Reuters Germany is reporting more details about Manroland's financial situation. You can read about it here:

Beyond-Print - all about future media - Manroland may cut up to 1,000 jobs

[Erik Nikkanen]

Reuters Germany is reporting more details about Manroland's financial situation. You can read about it here:

Beyond-Print - all about future media - Manroland may cut up to 1,000 jobs

George,

I have said this on other posts. Press manufacturers would rather go bankrupt than to try to do new things and think in different directions.

I have seen this for over 12 years. Several press manufacturers have gone bankrupt a few times, been sold to other parties and then resold or just finally shut down.

Now they are all finding that they have a difficult time differentiating themselves from their competitors who are making practically the same press technology. If only the shareholders knew how these companies refused to do any investigation of new concepts and science and wasted the opportunity to get a sustainable competitive advantage.

When will we get to the point where one of these press manufacturers suffer so much that they finally will try something new, eventhough they don't want to? They would probably rather die first.

The present economic problems around the world are not the cause of the press manufactuerers dire straights. The problem started long ago as the total print market started to shrink. There were too many press manufacturers for the market. Increasing market share was the only way out. The only solution to that was to develop technology that gave a press manufacturer a sustainable competitive advantage, protected by patents for technologies that performed substantially better and could be manufacturered at a lower cost and sold at a lower price. Only then market share could be increased.

A press manufacturer that would have done that, would have supplied its customers who in turn would have been better able to compete. But that did not happen. What we now have had is a sameness in capability that has resulted in everyone dieing a slow death. Now with the world wide economic mess, it will be a bit quicker.

[Erik Nikkanen]

Erik,
I fully agree with you. This is not a surprise for me, that manroland is cutting down about 1000 jobs. The problem with the offset press manufacurers is much longer known as neccessary. Already from 2004 during the Drupa, it was a prophecy, that out of 3 major German offset makers, only 2 will survive. The only way they did business and is still doing is to lower prices and cutting off the margin instead of working on alternatives.

Back to manroland, eliminating 1000 jobs is not a solution (or resolution) for this company. They did it because the investor - ACP (Allianz Capital Partner) asked them to do it with any concept really behind it. Feel really sorry for the good working people there. They will suffer for that, what the CEOs messed up.....


Printing News - print2cash - news blog for printing industry

Yes, this could be seen a long way coming. No matter what the CEO's did, it was going to be bad for some good working people. It is a shrinking market.

My view has been that there was and still is an opportunity for a press manufacturer to break away from the crowd and develop technology that has significantly better performance and costs less. This would lead to an increase in market share and an increase in margins at the expense of other press manufacturers.

For over ten years I have seen absolutely no interest from press manufacturers to obtain that kind of sustainable advantage. They are still thinking in terms of press concepts that are over 100 years old. Refined and better engineered but not fundamentally different.

I understand the density control problem and am still waiting patiently for a press manufacturer to be desparate enough to try somethings that are new. I think things will have to get a lot worse before that happens. And if one of the large German press manufacturers goes under as you rightfully suggest, the pressure will then be off the remaining ones since they will obtain an increase in market share due to just surviving and not by innovation.