Earlier this week, the Court of Commerce of Belfort, France accepted an offer from Koonras Digital Printing Systems (KDPS) to acquire the activities and intellectual property of Xeikon France. Xeikon France, maker of high-speed digital black-and-white printing systems, had been operating under creditor protection since November 13, 2001. 
  
The newly established company has been named Nipson SAS, reviving the name that was in use prior to Xeikon's acquisition of the business in 1999. Xeikon’s color business was acquired by Punch International earlier this year.

As for the U.S., Nipson America, Inc. has been formed, and will assume marketing, sales, and support responsibilities for the line of digital presses throughout North America. Nipson America will be headquartered in Chicago and will maintain a nationwide staff of sales, marketing, and customer support.

Alain Flament, former Director of Business Development for Xeikon America's black-and-white products, has assumed the position of president of this new U.S. subsidiary. Mr. Flament took time with our Paul White to discuss the new company and their plans going forward. Paul White is a contributing columnist to WhatTheyThink.com and partner at OnDemand Publishing.com.



WTT: Alain, are there any Xeikon Belgium assets that remain now that this transaction is complete?

Alain Flament: Nipson is only dealing with the black and white products. Xeikon will still carry on selling its color press through the Xeikon organization. There are no assets left of Xeikon in Belgium for the black and white products. There is a manufacturing agreement in place for Xeikon to produce toner.


WTT: Alfons Buts was past president and CEO of Xeikon. He is known for guiding Xeikon through the 80% acquisition of Nipson International SA and the AGFA Digital Printing Systems Division. Does he have any role in Nipson?

Alain Flament: We expect that he will be part of Nipson, but we cannot discuss the details at the present time. There will be an announcement later.


WTT: Will the Xeikon branded equipment now become Nipson and will your Chicago office be with Xeikon’s location?

Alain Flament: All black and white products will be under the Nipson brand now. The color engine will still be a Xeikon product. Nipson’s North American headquarters will be completely separate from Xeikon.


WTT: What will happen to the former Xeikon facility in Massachusetts which was originally the Nipson facility?

Alain Flament: This facility was closed in December, 2001, and some personnel like Johan Laurent, who is still with Xeikon America, have relocated to Xeikon’s Chicago office, while others worked from their houses.


WTT: Will any previous Xeikon America executives be continuing with Nipson?

Alain Flament: No. Paul Peyerbrune will stay with color (i.e., Xeikon America which is owned by Punch International). This has no affect on Xeikon America. Xeikon remains as it is, selling color products. Nipson, as a separate company, will focus solely on the black and white products. However, we are now in the process of transferring Xeikon employees related to the black and white products from the Xeikon organization into Nipson.


WTT: Will Nipson use Xeikon’s sales and support group(s)?

Alain Flament: No, we are still working out the details, but we will have our own sales force of both direct and indirect personnel. For book printing customers such as R.R. Donnelley, we will use a direct sales force and will use distributors for the direct mail business.

We will use a combination of direct and third-party sources for service. In the Baltimore, Pennsylvania and New Jersey region, there is a huge concentration of machines. It makes sense for us to do our own maintenance in this area.

Where there is a large concentration of Nipson machines and customers, there will be a spare parts depot and Nipson employees doing the service. In other parts of the country, where machines are spread out, we will be using third-party service providers.


WTT: Who do you see as your major competitors in the high volume, black and white market?

Alain Flament: Océ, IBM, Xerox and Scitex Digital, in some markets.


WTT: What products will you be promoting and which market segments will Nipson target?

Alain Flament: The Model 8000. Its speed was recently increased from 200 feet per minute. It’s now running at 235 feet per minute at both 300 and 600 dpi. The VaryPress has also been very successful.

Direct mail, book printing, and forms & labels are the key markets we will focus on.


WTT: Can you name important customers in each of your three key markets?

Alain Flament: Yes. In book printing there is Donnelley who will go into live book production at the end of July. In forms & labels, both Wallace and Moore are key customers. Also, Lowes (the building supply chain) prints bar coded price labels in their regional distribution centers. They are growing fast and will add additional distribution centers which will be good for Nipson -- more printers. In direct mail, there is CTA in Virginia and several others we will build on.


WTT: What are your short term objectives?

Alain Flament: During the last six months, it has been a very difficult time in Europe since Xeikon originally filed for bankruptcy. The key message we want to convey to customers and prospects is that Nipson is a new company. The new Nipson has a two-fold focus: on black and white and on customer satisfaction. We will offer customer service, parts and engineers.

I expect the market to rebound in the near future and feel that Nipson, equipped with award winning products and a customer service focus, is well positioned for future growth.


Thank you Alain for taking time to speak with us.