In 2016, the company NEOS Digital Printing Solutions was founded by Vincenzo Palumbo, who worked in ceramic printing for many years. Palumbo, joined by Andrea Malagoli, who worked in the packaging industry, spent the first years developing own printing machines. The idea behind this was to use all common print heads for printing on the most diverse substrates – if necessary, even within one machine.
Industry analyst Ralf Schlozer introduced the young company with headquarters in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, near Bologna, in his blog in November 2021. Currently, NEOS employs 35 people and achieved an annual turnover of €6 million in 2021. The goal for 2022 is more than 40 employees and a turnover of €11 million. zipcon was curious and wanted to know whether a new “hidden champion” might be growing up alongside manufacturers such as HP, Koenig & Bauer, Durst, Gallus and others?
We arranged to meet Stefano Paiano, Sales and Marketing Director at NEOS, for a web meeting. As he explains, the target markets of the machine manufacturer are clearly in the field of industrial applications: interior design, decoration, labels and packaging. The portfolio currently comprises four models, each available in two versions: either with a conveyor belt for rigid substrates or in reel-to-reel configuration for flexible substrates. Either water-based or UV-curable inks are used – depending on the customer’s requirements. In the company’s own laboratory at the Fiorano Modenese site, the properties of the inks are tested in interaction with the customers’ substrates. 15 engineers ensure that the customers’ requirements are individually taken into account in the production lines.
The company has managed to set up eight machines in the shadow of the pandemic and hand them over to production. One of the largest installations was recently for a customer in Germany in the interior/furniture construction sector. The current sales strategy is also geared towards this market, explains Paiano. Four more installations are already on the order books this year.
There is currently no German branch office, but the company is looking for a partner and also wants to establish branches in other countries. The company is to grow from Italy via its direct neighbours first in the D-A-CH region. Sales and Marketing Director Stefano Paiano came from the flexo division of König & Bauer and brings a lot of experience in this field. “The focus is on quality and we have to ensure that,” Paiano emphasises. He wants to gently increase awareness of the new brand. The next opportunity to do so will be during the CCE (International Trade Fair for the Corrugated Board and Folding Carton Industry) in Munich from 15 to 17 March 2022. NEOS will be there for the first time as an exhibitor – and the Italians have a water-based printing system for flexible packaging in their luggage, which is to celebrate its premiere in Munich.
We were presented with a well thought-out concept during the conversation. Sustainability and customer focus were quickly identified as USPs of the still young company. We at zipcon believe that NEOS can offer decisive advantages with its machine concept; if only because the user can not only choose between print heads from Ricoh, Xaar, Konica Minolta, Fujifilm or Epson, but also combine them. In any case, we are curious and will continue to follow the development to see whether NEOS will actually become a hidden champion in the industrial printing environment. In any case, the Italians have plenty of potential.
Further Information: https://www.neoslab.it/
