Think Patented Buys Big at drupa

drupa 2012 is behind us, but the excitement and energy in the industry that it stimulated will likely have long-ranging effects. We had the opportunity to speak with Niels Winther, Chairman and Managing Partne,r and Ken McNerney, CEO and Managing Partner of Think Patented to get their thoughts on drupa, as well as to expand on the news of the major investments the company made at the show.

WTT: Niels, I am sure this wasn’t your first drupa!

NW: I have been to far too many drupas, although I didn’t go in 2008. But with the economy showing signs of recovery and with our business having grown nicely despite the economy, we decided to go this year. Also, we were close to making a final decision on a new facility that would bring all of our operations under one roof and that raised an opportunity to refresh our production platform in conjunction with the move. We are currently in two buildings, and those leases expire next April. We wanted to be prepared to turn the lights off on a Friday in our existing facilities and turn them back on with the new facility up and running the following Monday. drupa offers the opportunity to see what’s new and what’s coming, and to talk to old friends and make new ones from all around the world. You can pick their brains on what is moving and shaking, and that is helpful as well.

Continue reading your article
with a WhatTheyThink membership.

WhatTheyThink Annual Membership

Less than $4/week.

Get unlimited access to in-depth commentary and analysis covering the latest trends, emerging technologies, operational strategies, and key events across every segment of today's printing industry.

Stay informed. Stay competitive. Stay ahead.

WhatTheyThink Day Pass

$5 for 24 hours

Unlimited access to all of WhatTheyThink. Get your Day Pass

Already a member?

About Cary Sherburne

Cary Sherburne is a well-known author, journalist and marketing consultant whose practice is focused on marketing communications strategies for the printing and publishing industries.

Cary Sherburne is available for speaking engagements and consulting projects. To get more information contact us.

Please offer your feedback to Cary. She can be reached at [email protected].

10 Things PSPs Should Consider Before Adopting Robotics: What You Need to Know to Begin the Journey

Why Highly Targeted Communications Make Digital Print Essential to Modern Marketing

Wide Format in 2026: How Technology Is Reshaping Competitive Advantage

Labels & Packaging in 2026: Turning Insight into Direction

Print, Digital, and Everything in Between

View Keypoint Intelligence Reports

Toby Weiss Leaving Fiery After 17 years

After 17 years with Fiery, culminating in his role as CEO, Toby Weiss is leaving the company to take on the role of CEO at Securonix, with the task of scaling the next era of AI-Powered security operations. In this interview. Toby shares some of his favorite experiences at Fiery as well as some of the challenges. While this move might seem unusual, Toby explains that he joined Fiery from the cybersecurity industry and is looking forward to get back into it, although he will miss Fiery and its people and customers, and our industry will certainly miss him! Read More

U.S. Hemp Goes International

While the U.S. domestic textile industry is struggling to grow, the U.S. farming industry could play an important role in making textiles more sustainable with arrangements such as the recently announced deal for Panda Biotech to provide U.S. grown hemp fibers to the Indian textile market. Read More

Tariffs and Textiles: Will They Help Bring Back U.S. textile Manufacturing?

So supposedly, a goal of U.S. tariffs on products imported from other countries, including textiles, apparel, and footwear, was to incentivize bringing manufacturing back to the States. Of course, setting up a new factory takes time and money; it doesn’t happen overnight. But it seems that producers had other ideas…the results may surprise you. Read More