On November 6, 2002, Oce announced that Ronald E. Daly would be taking over the helm of Oce-USA Holding, Inc., after 38 years with R. R. Donnelley.  Mr. Daly was President of R.R. Donnelley Print Solutions where he was responsible for magazine, book, telephone directory and catalog/retail insert printing as well as premedia services. The announcement caught industry-watchers by surprise.

In this exclusive interview with WhatTheyThink, Daly speaks frankly about his transition to Oce and his plans for taking the company to the next level.


Part One Topics:
- Leaving 38 years of Donnelley service
- Bringing digital experience to Oce
- Oce’s current organizational structure
- Daly’s top goals at Oce
- Restructuring update


Part Two Topics: (Coming Tomorrow)
- Oce flexibility unveiled at Xplor
- The commercial print market
- Color opportunities
- Books & success with Quebecor
- Engineering and wide-format business
- Archer’s “starring role” at Oce
- David versus a bunch of Goliaths

WTT: Ron, thank you for taking the time to speak with us. You spent 38 years at R. R. Donnelley - since 1964 - and your last position as President of R.R. Donnelley Print Solutions put you effectively as second in command at Donnelley. After 18 months in that position and so many years with Donnelley, what prompted the move?

RD: I came to Oce because it is a great technology company providing some powerful printing solutions, and I really like their capabilities for outsourcing corporate printing services. The outsourcing business is growing rapidly, even in this difficult economy, because it is providing important productivity gains for customers. Archer Management Services, Oce’s outsourcing arm, has huge potential for further growth.

I was also attracted by the global nature of my new position. I will be nominated to the board of Oce’s Dutch parent company at their next shareholders meeting in March. This job has lots of sizzle -- not that my job at Donnelley didn’t, but Oce really represents the wave of the future.


WTT: Explain Oce’s organizational structure for our readers. How does Oce-USA Holding relate to the corporate headquarters in Venlo, The Netherlands, and what are the operations that report into USA-Holding? What is the organization for Oce Printing Systems going to be in 2003?

RD: Oce operates in 80 countries around the world—30 through direct operating companies and 50 through distributors. My responsibilities include all customer-oriented functions in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, which includes sales, marketing, service, logistics, and financial operations. Product development and manufacturing is managed from headquarters in Venlo, except for media development which takes place in the US and falls into my bailiwick.

In the U.S., we have four primary operating companies. Oce Printing Systems USA sells the office, production printing, and print-on-demand solutions. Oce-USA sells the wide format technical documentation systems and display graphics solutions. Archer Management Services provides a wide range of corporate outsourcing solutions from mail room operations to automated document factories, and Arkwright is a media development, manufacturing, and distribution company. We also have our own leasing company, Oce Credit Corporation, which supports the other companies.

Oce Printing Systems recently expanded when we combined the former Document Printing Systems unit from Oce-USA with OPS’ Production Printing Systems unit. The new organization addresses the convergence of the markets, which has blurred the lines between the environments served by the separate units. Now, customers will be able to have one interface for the entire Oce office, central printing, transaction printing, and publishing line-up.


WTT: While you clearly had digital exposure at Donnelley, the primary revenue streams you managed were made up of the more traditional businesses - catalogs, books, directories and magazines. Oce’s focus is exclusively on the digital market at both the office and production levels. What would you say are the key strengths you bring from your Donnelley experience that will drive your success at Oce?

RD: I guess most people don’t understand how focused Donnelley is on digital technology. The business I ran for Donnelley has more capabilities in digital photography than any other printer. In addition to capturing images, Donnelley manages images and documents for both traditional and non-traditional customers.

Personally, I worked at Donnelley for 23 years before I ever ran anything in a printing plant. I started in hot-metal composition and rode the wave into photo-composition. I managed a typesetting and database management company in the mid 80’s. I taught a class at Drexel University in 1986 entitled Digital Imaging. Later I moved into Financial Printing and then Global Software Services. Both of these businesses moved digital text and images around the world for a very demanding customer base.

I bought the first Xerox DocuTech in Donnelley and was plant manager of the first recipient of a Creo computer-to-plate device. I bring a lot of digital experience that meshes well with Oce’s position in the office and production environment.


WTT: You have said in the past that having passion for your work is critical to your personal success, and that you believe there are four rules that you have followed throughout your career to achieve and maintain this passion on a day-to-day basis: Invest in yourself, take risks, join the culture and maintain your independence, so you can walk away at any time. Tell us a little more about that.

RD: First and foremost, every one of us is an individual. We need to define our own lives and our destinies. None of us can be defined by our jobs. The perspective we bring as independent thinkers stimulates better solutions for the business. Of course, you have to join the culture of your organization if you are to influence it and have any fun.


WTT: What will be your first major undertaking as you take over the reins at Oce?

RD: My primary mission is to focus on selling solutions and outsourcing. Oce is going though a transformation like Donnelley did, from selling a discrete product - printing in Donnelley’s case and printers in Oce’s case -- to selling value-added complete solutions. My job at Oce, as it was at Donnelley, is getting the organization to recognize the storehouse of knowledge that exists within the company and to package that knowledge to sell to customers as solutions.

I am also going to do everything I can to promote the outsourcing business of Archer. They have had enormous success gaining new accounts, and they satisfy their customers like I have never seen before. They have a 98% renewal rate among their current customers. They have developed a whole portfolio of solutions for different industries that improves their clients’ productivity and helps save them money. The market for outsourcing is growing, and Archer has the potential to grow at a very fast rate.


WTT: Over the last several months, Oce has been quietly repositioning and restructuring the organization to better align with market needs. Are you comfortable with the organization as it stands today, or do you plan to make additional changes?

RD: Oce has been working for over a year on the restructuring of Document Printing Systems and Production Printing Systems into Oce Printing Systems. The plans have been developed by a wide cross-section of the people in both units. I am confident that they are on the right track.

One of the keys of the restructuring is that the current customer relationships of the sales reps are not being touched. This is important so that Oce’s knowledge of the customer’s business does not miss a beat. As we add specialized industry solutions to the repertoire of Oce’s offering, representatives who already know the customer’s business will deliver those solutions.


WTT: You currently have significant operations in both Chicago and Boca Raton, Florida; any plans to consolidate those geographically?

RD: Oce is currently blending the former Production Printing business unit and the Document Printing business unit to provide an integrated, vertical industry approach to our markets. By the first of the year, Oce will have a consolidated group headquartered in Boca Raton. Most of the personnel and systems currently in Chicago will remain there to avoid disruption and unnecessary moving expense.

The restructuring helps to properly align Oce to the changing market requirements and allows the company to use all of its strategic advantages and strengths to better serve customers from the network and office environments through to the high volume and print-on-demand markets. The new structure will enable Oce to streamline its approach to the market and to respond effectively to emerging trends. The combined group will be known as Oce Printing Systems USA, Inc. and will be headed by Tom Long.


See Part Two Tomorrow.