The Belgian cutting table manufacturer has brought its Kongsberg C24 digital cutting table and MultiCam Apex3r router to Amsterdam, setting both tables up among a stand of cardboard chairs and furniture cut on its own machines.
Speaking on day two of the show, David Preskett, Kongsberg VP, EMEA & APAC, praised the Fespa crowd’s engagement and interest in new products.
He said: “We’ve been seeing a lot of customers who have been looking at their options for a long time, trying to understand how their business is looking for the next year – and what we’re seeing now is decision-making.
“Yesterday was good for leads, and we took some orders – but it is even busier today. We’ve taken a lot of orders this morning: customers are coming, and are prepared to invest.”
Absent from the Kongsberg stand is its most recent release, the Ultimate, 3.3x5.5m table designed specifically for corrugated and display production which can reach up to 2.7G acceleration, and 168 m/min cutting speed.
Pushing the Ultimate – which was released in November 2023 – will be a task for later in 2024, according to Preskett. At Fespa, the focus is on the Kongsberg workhorses, the C24 and MultiCam, both of which boast more than 13,000 installations each globally.
“We’ve been investing in new salespeople and appointing new distributors just to give as much coverage as we can, and address the customers’ needs,” he said.
“Our business is growing rapidly, as people buy faster inkjet printers, because they need more cutting capacity.”
On top of that, he added, many of Kongsberg’s historical customers in the packaging sector are becoming more and more involved in the sample-making market, which increasingly is seeing runs reach the low hundreds.
“As that boundary blurs, they need a faster machine,” Preskett said, adding that Kongsberg would be able to share further news on its automation efforts in the near future.
“Companies, more and more, are now looking in terms of sheets per hour. That’s what we have to make sure that we’re delivering.”
