ASHLAND, NY – Attendee's of the latest HIFLEX User Conference on the 15th and 16th of October 2009 had an intensive discussion about their experiences, expressing their opinions about new workflow approaches, strategic solutions and future visions for the print industry. HIFLEX users from 16 different countries accepted the invitation and joined each other in Aachen, Germany located about 50 minutes southwest of Dusseldorf.

The overall goal of this year's HIFLEX User Conference was the sharing of knowledge and new solutions for business processes in the print industry. HIFLEX users from 16 countries on four continents attended the two-day event to pick up the latest news on the products HIFLEX MIS, HIFLEX Webshop and HIFLEX Print Support. While in Aachen, users discussed their experiences and learned from each other. In a rapidly changing industry these exchanges are rare and offer a unique opportunity to stay abreast of technology and regional developments.

"The HIFLEX Users Group Meeting, aka HUGM, is a wonderful and unique experience for both HIFLEX customers and our employees," stated Gary E. Marron, President & CEO of HIFLEX Corporation of North America. "We congregate every year at this meeting and have tremendous excitement, enthusiasm and comradary. Our customers know that as HIFLEX users, they are doing things in their businesses that aren't being done elsewhere in print. Users are there to learn from HIFLEX and to share ideas with other users about how to accomplish more by fully utilizing the automation tools that HIFLEX provides. Everyone always comes out of the meeting charged and ready to go back to their businesses to conquer the next big project or challenge."

Valuable inspiration
HIFLEX's new and revolutionary applications are naturally an exciting topic, but it is the proven practical implementations that offer users the greatest benefits in their day-to-day work with the software. On both days, participants were able to choose the subjects most relevant to their own operations from a total of 32 workshops, each of which spotlighted different aspects of the solutions that were improved by HIFLEX.

During workshop sessions, users had the opportunity to seek valuable tips and inspiration from other users for their next strategic steps. The seminars covered a whole spectrum of topics from product calculation and imposition, order processing and job data verification via scheduling, production data acquisition and materials management, all the way through to product shipping. Presentations were also given on benchmarks for success relating to: HIFLEX's powerful JDF integration and automation capabilities; the benefits of HIFLEX's purchasing tool; HIFLEX Print Support, an advanced JDF capable print procurement tool (www.printsupport.com); HIFLEX Web2Print automation tools, including HIFLEX's award winning HIFLEX Webshop System and a host of other advanced HIFLEX workflow systems. Additional highlights included new functions in the HIFLEX MIS Release 2009, an outlook on the planned future developments of HIFLEX software up to 2011, concepts for the marketing of open and closed webshops, and solutions for HIFLEX integrated CRM (customer relationship management) and advanced sales planning tools.

Far from just a sober presentation
The User Conference was far from being just another sober software presentation and demonstration. Instead it provided a platform for constructive exchanges and a fertile setting in which to establish and renew contacts to colleagues and the HIFLEX team. Even if many HIFLEX customers are already naturally progressive in their thoughts and actions, such discussions with industry colleagues who share similar goals is always useful. Getting a look at the complete picture of current trends and developments is extremely advantageous.

At the same time, HIFLEX was given a chance to soak up the comments, ideas and suggestions of its customers and users. Thomas Reichhart, HIFLEX Chairman, stated: "The conference was a great success for all concerned. Our customers gained first-hand experience of how we are developing our solutions further; and as for HIFLEX, the time for personal discussions with our customers is simply invaluable. Our shared discussions and the direct feedback we received will no doubt influence the solutions HIFLEX develops in the future."