Agfa Graphics recently held an Inkjet Open House themed: ‘THE LARGE FORMAT GAME CHANGER’ where core inkjet printers in Nigeria were introduced to brand new Agfa large format equipment like the Titan HS and the Acorta. Agfa Belgium Direct Export Managing Director – Mr. Walter Nackaerts and Agfa Regional Business Manager – Graphics Supply/ Direct Export for Africa – Mr. Thibault Dejaiffe were both in attendance to discuss Agfa Inkjet Customers business needs and what Agfa has in stock for them. During the meeting, a team of industry publishers met with Mr. Thibault Dejaiffe who shared his experience, thought about print business and Agfa plans for Nigeria. Below is excerpt:
SIR, CAN YOU SHARE WITH US – HOW YOU STARTED WITH AGFA?
I was simply approached by a head-hunter and I got very much exited by the challenge the company was offering me!
HOW HAS PRINT BUSINESS FAIRED IN THE OUTGOING YEAR?
So far so good – after a difficult start – but we are catching up very well.
WHAT CAN YOU SAY WERE YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2014?
2014 was a fantastic year for Agfa in Africa in both segments (prepress and inkjet); we have maintained our market leadership position very strongly and our plan is to keep on developing our inkjet activities.
WHAT ARE HINDRANCES TO AGFA BUSINESS IN NIGERIA? WHY?
There are no real obstructions to our business activities in Nigeria. A very strong partner with a dedicated team makes the difference. On the other hand, during the first half of the year – we suffered a little drop in sales due to the political situation in the last general elections. This is now behind us!
HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THESE?
We just keep our commitments to our customers; being available and responsive to support them.
WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER PLANS FOR NIGERIA CUSTOMERS IN 2015?
We will keep further develop our relationships with our customers in 2015 but we also now need to look into 2016. We started last year on a strong educational plan available to our end-users customers. We provide them with seminars, open houses, live demonstrations and so on. We will keep doing this as I am a strong believer in “Seeing is Believing!”
CAN YOU SHARE YOUR SPECIFIC PLANS FOR PREPRESS AND INKJET MARKET BUSINESSES WITH US?
To further develop the inkjet business is our priority. We have now a perfect set-up with Technology Global Services and Bancod. As regard prepress; it is very simple – we want to keep our market leadership position in the newspaper segment by providing state-of-the-art technical support! In the commercial business, our priority is to continue the analogue to digital transformation. The film business is still big in Nigeria but the demand for CTP’s is growing and this is only the beginning.
INKJET BUSINESS HAS A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES IN NIGERIA BUT IT SEEMS THE OPERATORS DO NOT HAVE THE IDEA OR TECHNOLOGY TO HARNESS IT; CAN YOU TELL US SOME OF THE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN INKJET MARKET AND AGFA OFFERINGS IN TERMS OF TECHNOLOGY, SOFTWARE AND CONSUMABLES?
Agfa is aiming at being a total solution provider. One-stop–shop is our motto. We constantly invest in R&D for engines and consumables. It is best I advise individual customer based on market needs and opportunities.
WITH YOUR EXPERIENCE, WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE PRINT BUSINESS OWNERS FOR SUCCESS IN 2016?
2016 is a drupa year. I advise all my customers to come and get inspired. This exhibition is the mother of all trade shows as its tagline is: “Touch the future”. Just come over to Agfa stand at drupa and be inspired for the future.
AGFA HAS ONE OF THE BIGGEST MARKET SHARE IN NIGERIA; HOW WILL YOU SOLIDIFY YOUR STAKE AND WHAT WILL YOU DO DIFFERENTLY FROM YOUR COMPETITION?
The main ingredient to keep our market leadership position is investment. Agfa will continue to support the activities of our local distributor.
WHICH OF YOUR PREPRESS EQUIPMENT SOLUTION IS MOST SUITABLE FOR THE NIGERIAN MARKET ESPECIALLY IN THE COMMERCIAL AND NEWSPAPER SEGMENT – AND WHY?
In our commercial segment, the best seller is our Avalon B8 combined with our Azura TS Plate (Chem-Free Solution). The newspaper segment has adopted our Advantage product-line for its reliability, productivity and robustness.
AS AN EXPERIENCE PRINT EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER, WHAT DO YOU THINK THE FUTURE OF PREPRESS WILL BE?
The only thing I can say is that the future of Prepress is still very much there for the next 15 years in Africa. One day everything will be digital but that day is not here yet.
COST IS A MAJOR FACTOR IN PRINT EQUIPMENT ACQUISITION, WHAT CONCESSION OR PAYMENT PLAN DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS IN NIGERIA?
Base on relationship and strong business plan by the customer, we have the capacity to finance our customers. We have already done that successfully in Nigeria and we are open to more discussions from our customers.
PRINTERS – THE WORLD-OVER AND NIGERIA IS NO EXCEPTION – THAT THE ISSUE OF THE ENVIRONMENT VERY CRITICAL TO THEIR BUSINESS; HOW DOES AGFA INTEND TO BE RESPONSIBLE TO THE ENVIRONMENT WITH THE KIND OF EQUIPMENT OR CONSUMABLES ESPECIALLY INK THAT YOU PRODUCE?
Environment is a very important aspect of Agfa’s product development. We are promoting our Chem-free solutions in both newspaper and commercial segments with respect to the N94 VCF and AZURA TS. Both plates are chem-free plates. In inkjet, our focus is on the UV ink development. These are available to our customers.
WE UNDERSTAND YOUR LOCAL PRESENCE HERE IN NIGERIA BY YOUR REPRESENTATIVE – BANCOD WITH TECHNICAL SUPPORT BY TECHNOLOGY GLOBAL SERVICES – IN THE AREA OF PREPRESS; NOW THAT YOU’RE FULLY INTO INKJET, WHAT ASSURANCE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS IN TERMS OF MAINTENANCE, SPARE PARTS AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT?
Technology Global Services has invested in Nigerian Engineers specially dedicated to inkjet; all these people are trained on all Agfa products. Our main focus is to continually provide the best service to our customers!
GET TO KNOW THIBAULT DEJAIFFE
CAN YOU PLEASE SHARE YOUR BRIEF PROFILE (EDUCATIONAL, JOB EXPERIENCE ETC) WITH US?
I studied at the Business School in Brussels and I have a BA in Marketing and Communication.
WHAT’S YOUR BACKGROUND BEFORE AGFA?
I started my career at NUR Macroprinters in 1998. NUR was a worldwide pioneer in developing large format inkjet printers. The company was bought by HP in 2008 just before DRUPA where I worked for an additional 4 years as EMEA Marketing Manager for the Inkjet Industrial Segment.
BRIEFLY DESCRIBE YOUR DUTIES NOW?
I am responsible for the African market. My core duty is to build strong channels and partnerships to support constant growth and market share.
WHAT DO YOU DO IN LEISURE TIME?
I love to ride my motorbike; I have an old 1978 BMW Café Racer completely refurbished by a good friend of mine.
ANY FAVORITE PLACE FOR HOLIDAY?
Provence in South of France. It’s a perfect relaxation spot far from the madding crowd.
