Over 180 attendees from across the globe attended the Hybrid Software user group meeting. Source Hybrid Software.
Hybrid Software held its first-ever user group meeting in Amsterdam, attracting 180 attendees from across the globe, including many European countries, the USA, and Canada. Hybrid provides software products for packaging and labels.
The 2.5-day event was opened by Hybrid founder and Chairman Guido Van der Schueren, while the sessions were moderated by the very likable CEO Mike Rottenborn.
Fourteen vendor partners and sponsors, including HP, eco3, Arden Software, and others, participated. The partners each provided brief presentations describing how they were related to the Hybrid platform, using VDP, for example. Case studies, such as Johnny Walker whisky bottle personalization by Diageo, demonstrated real-world applications.
Hybrid presented CLOUDFLOW, its main workflow automation tool (and MyCLOUDFLOW, the SaaS cloud version). Many sessions described Hybrid’s PDF editor, PackZ (pronounced “packs”). The PackZ PDF editor now has additional functionality called Packzimizer and Packzviewer, with features created to address user needs in areas such as ECG for flexo label printing. Attendee Savannah Maguire, Prepress Manager at Northern Labels, said that sessions allowed her to obtain information that was difficult to glean from web pages.
In conjunction with Hybrid Software roadmaps from different product managers, Marco Boer of I.T. Strategies provided industry predictions and data to support understanding and decision-making in areas such as flexo vs. digital, inkjet vs. toner, and commercial vs. packaging.
WhatTheyThink contributor David Zwang held a fireside chat with Guido Van der Schueren, who provided a narrative around Hybrid’s origins and 15-year history. Guido said that his growing company had now reached critical mass, which warranted this user-focused meeting.
Bus tours were organized, and plant tours took attendees to label printer Royal Geostick, folding carton producer Intergrafipak, and corrugated specialist AV Flexologic.
Hybrid Fusion was held in the posh Barbizon Hotel, a stone’s throw from Amsterdam’s Centraal Station. The city was bustling with bikes, spring tulips, and King’s Day celebrations. Sessions took place in an ornate conference room inside St. Olaf’s chapel at the hotel.
No user group meeting is complete without lavish social entertainment. The highlight of our days in Amsterdam was a canal boat cruise featuring a casino and free-flowing food and drink. Just when the evening seemed it could not get any better, the dance floor was cleared, and a dessert table arose from the boat’s lower level, complete with a chocolate fountain!
Congratulations to Hybrid on a well-attended first-ever user group meeting with engaged customers and vendor partners. We look forward to next year’s event; in 2026, Hybrid will return with a North American location. For further details, contact Steven Steenhaut, CMO, Hybrid Software.
