Drupa marks turning point for Kodak

Eastman Kodak’s chairman and chief executive officer Antonio Perez has hailed Drupa 2012 as ‘extraordinary’, for the company, its customers and the entire industry.

In a statement, Kodak said Drupa 2012 marked a “major turning point for the industry and for Kodak”, and that the print, publishing and packaging markets are undergoing dynamic change. Over the course of the show, Kodak exceeded its sales goals and received overwhelmingly positive feedback from attendees around the world, the company said.

It added that a significant increase in orders for Kodak equipment from customers around the world underscores the rapid growth of print in emerging markets, including the rapid rise of consumer packaged goods in Greater Russia and Eastern Europe that resulted in a large number of orders for Kodak Flexcel NX systems.

Earlier in the show, Perez had outlined the importance of packaging to the future of Kodak, and sought to correct misconceptions about the reasons for, and result of, Kodak’s US operations seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Commenting on the last day of the show (May 16), Perez (pictured, top) said: ‘Drupa has been an extraordinary event on many fronts – for our industry, our customers and for Kodak. I am very excited about how our customers are embracing change and adding new solutions to create higher value printed products for their clients.

‘They have shared with me many examples of how Kodak products and solutions are the catalyst for this change and how they are staking their futures on the unique, market-leading applications we enable.

‘Our expertise in imaging and materials science, combined with our intimate knowledge of the markets we serve, drives everything we do,’ added Perez. ‘We leverage our presence at industry events around the world to learn more from our customers and ensure we are designing and delivering digital solutions on which they can build and grow.’

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