With the rise and fall of many companies within their first year, it is refreshing and inspiring to find an IT company that has weathered not only its first year, but made it successfully through to its second birthday mark.
Exell Technologies is a young and innovative company, specialising in workflow solutions for the graphic art, printing and publishing industries of South Africa. Although the company is just emerging as an industry presence, the future looks bright and confident. GRAPHIX spoke to company owner, Dewald Rosema, to find out his key to success and where the company is headed in the future.
Rosema founded Exell Technologies after realising that there was a definite gap in the market where IT was concerned. "In my experience, there was little to no IT infrastructure in the printing industry, other than the normal DTP systems," he remarks. "When manufacturing processes in other industries began to be automated for efficiency and productivity years ago, print seemed to be untouched. There was - and still is to some extent - a misconception that print does not adhere to the same manufacturing parameters as traditional production industries - i.e. that it can be streamlined and improved through automation. And yet, there is an end product and a process through which the product is created. By automating this process, you can make it more efficient and profitable."
Obviously workflow and MIS software are key to bridging the gap. At that stage, there were only little more than a handful of independent workflow solution providers to choose from worldwide. Hiflex and Markzware were the first MIS system and workflow product that Rosema elected to supply into the South African industry. Hiflex offers a fully integrated MIS (Management Information System) which precisely models and supports all business processes in printing plants and media companies. Rosema has since become the distributor for Gradual - Switch (now Enfocus and part of EskoArtwork), Callas, Markzware, Quite and DevZeroG, to mention only a few. The products were all selected to fit into a specific niche, so that all elements of the prodution process are adequately dealt with through the Exell Technologies portfolio. With more than ten specialised products forming the workflow solution portfolio, the company has the facility to cater to both the top level but also small to medium companies. "We also started the process of accurate licensing models for businesses with Adobe, Quark and Microsoft products. Many companies believed it is better to buy a box but never understood how much they could save if they purchased licenses," comments Rosema.
"We have a host of associated developers and experts from around the world that we call on for support whenever they are needed to solve our queries and assist with possible solutions for customer requirements. Giving us such a big support platform and access to knowledge that no one company can have in employment." Rosema emphasises that Exell Technologies does not simply sell products. "We analyse clients requirements and then discuss the best and most cost-effective solution with multiple solution providers." Our greatest strength is that we can tap into the skills and resources of a extended expert network around the world. We've spend thousands and keep spending more on ensuring we have a strong relationship with our products and support basis as well as access to the latest trends and availability.
"We all know that the printing industry is facing increasing pressure to innovate and streamline its processes," explains Rosema. "Customers are demanding faster turn-around times and lower prices, with a decrease in print runs. Everyone in the industry is aware of that.
"Even if there are pockets of workflow already in existence, these are generally non-networked and often require manual transfer of production data. The duplication of data input and the lack of transparency in these islands of automation only results in wasted time, resources and a much greater impact on process costs. This is why printers need to find better and improved ways to speed up the process of estimating jobs, submitting job tickets, proofing, and scheduling connected to an automated workflow. This will not only give the printer a clearer view of the plant but will also enable more transparency for clients with information for forward planning by management."
Workshops spread the word Rosema believes that education is critical for the continued success of his business - and all others for that matter. It was with this idea in mind that he began Exell Technologies' annual workshops. Featuring key industry experts - like Stephen Jaeggi, technical officer for the Ghent PDF Workgroup, David Sips, product marketing manager, Business Workflow Systems, JDF & ROI - Kodak and Mohammed Jogie, product evangelist for Adobe, the workshops are designed to stimulate conversation and bolster awareness around topics like JDF and who's responsible for correct print-ready files.
"The workshops help to dispel misconceptions. By clarifying exactly what the products do, printers can clearly see exactly where problems lie and how to solve them. We've held them successfully in 2006 and 2007 and we'll hold the workshops again early 2009 so that they are effectively a refresher for drupa." Workshop 2009 will probably include systems such as Enfocus Switch, Callas, Quite, Markzware, Adobe, JDF experts and much more.
When asked what the most important lesson that he has learnt is, Rosema jokingly comments, "Patience. Really though, I think people just need to realise the difference between the old school way of doing things and what is available now. Printers have to re-define themselves and embrace technology so that they can increase productivity and add value to their products. The customer wants a better price for twice as much work in half the time and that is where MIS systems can be beneficial assisting printers identifying problem areas and be pro-active rather than trying to save clients."
Exell continues to bepassionate about showing the industry how to better itself and increase productivity by introducing new and improved methods of doing business. After attending drupa this year, Rosema is confident that the industry is open to new developments. "I was impressed that drupa seemed focused on automation and not JDF. I am encouraged that I'm on the right track."
Where Exell will be directing its energies in the future remains true to Rosema's vision. "We don't push products, we provide tools and methods to solve your problems. Even if our products don't work for you, we work very closely with all the major suppliers around the world and always have access to worldwide knowledge and new developments. The technology already exists, we just need to show people how to use it." With the education and automation of the industry in sight, it is clear that great things can be expected from Exell in the future.
2006 - First ever JDF workshop in Africa (1 Day). Acquiring distribution rights of Markzware Preflighting software. Only CIP4 and IPA member from Africa.
2007 - First ever JDF, PDF and PDF/X workshops (3 Days) in Africa. JDF Certified Expert accreditation. Only invitation to Gradual (now Enfocus) CrossRoads Launch.
2008 - First trip to Drupa - This event not only re-affirmed my vision but also taught me that mixing alcohols while touring with industry leaders is NOT a great idea.
Future - Automate... Automate and grow with the industry.
Visit our PRESS OFFICE: Specialising in software licensing and workflow consulting, mainly focusing on production process automation and supplying all required software and hardware platforms such as Adobe, Quark, MAC and more...- more....
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