Gietz establishes direct presence in North America

Gietz AG, a family-owned Swiss specialist in flatbed hot foil stamping and embossing machines, is to cooperate with Gietz USA to increase its direct representation to existing and new customers in the US and Canada. Effective July 2, 2018, Gietz USA is offering sales and services of the entire Gietz product portfolio from Southington, Connecticut.

With the establishment of Gietz USA, Gietz increases its direct representation in the region. Gietz machines, services and spare parts will be offered directly and without intermediaries to the North American market, ‘to provide the best financial and technical conditions’, according to the company.

During a transition phase lasting until the end of 2018, Matik Inc., the long-time Gietz distribution partner for the USA and Canada, will continue to sell spare parts in the territory as before, while Gietz USA will immediately takeover all service of Gietz equipment.

Gietz USA has been founded by Alexander Balke, president and owner. He has over 10 years of experience in the foil stamping and embossing industry. Balke has worked closely with Gietz AG for more than three years. He is factory trained and certified.

David Siegel of Matik Inc. states: ‘Alex has been a great asset to Matik ever since he came to this country. His technical knowledge and attention to detail is second to none and we wish him the best of luck with this new endeavor. Customers are lucky to still have him available.’

Gietz sheet-fed and web-fed hot foil stamping machines have been sold into North America since the end of the 1970s.

Hansjörg Gietz, Gietz AG managing director, commented: ‘The North American packaging market is considered to be the highest in value but certainly the most competitive. We see ourselves as the leading manufacturer of hot foil stamping machines in terms of quality and performance. While we appreciate what Matik has provided over the years, my goal is to expand our installed base in the US and Canada through a sales and service approach that gives us direct access to customers. This enables us to offer attractive conditions for both machine sales and services.’

Pictured (from left): Michael Grau, sales director, Gietz AG; Claudia Gietz, managing director, Gietz AG; Paul Mattle, vice president of sales, North America, Gietz AG; Alex Balke, Gietz USA president;and  Hansjörg Gietz, managing director, Gietz AG