Packaging Solutions
Matthews International’s subsidiary SGK has chosen its partner for the future. Hybrid Software and its Cloudflow workflow solution will be used by SGK facilities worldwide.
Earlier this year, SGK installed more than 400 seats of Hybrid’s Packz PDF editor in its production facilities while performing an extensive pilot programme, code named ‘Shockwave’, which tested Proofscope and Cloudflow for live automated production in selected facilities in North America, Europe, and Asia. After more than 12 months of dedicated effort by the two companies, the pilot programme has been a huge success and Proofscope and Cloudflow have now been deployed for live production worldwide.
According to Joe Bartolacci, CEO of Matthews International, SGK’s search for a new workflow partner began two years ago at drupa 2016. ‘Major brands have been asking for faster turnaround, greater accuracy and global real time visibility utilising native PDF formats to help them manage their brands around the world. We knew that only SGK had the global scale to deliver this solution. Cloud based infrastructure for workflow and file management systems was essential to our solution but not available off the shelf from any other industry partners. We began searching for a software company that would become a long term partner with SGK, able to tightly integrate with the power of our new SAP system and our new end to end service delivery platform, which will accelerate speed to market and improve efficiency at all levels of the packaging supply chain. We found this partner in Hybrid Software. We are now able to seamlessly manage our clients’ packaging workflow from our desktops to any printer in the world, giving our clients complete reliability and improved speed to market.’
Guido Van der Schueren, chairman of Hybrid Software, said: ‘This project was the largest that Hybrid has ever undertaken. It required a tremendous commitment of resources from both SGK and Hybrid as well as a shared vision. SGK set a high bar for speed and quality that Cloudflow was able to achieve because our development team received valuable insights from SGK throughout the process. This was not simply about replacing old software with new software. We needed the product to deliver a greater level of manufacturing automation and productivity across all SGK facilities. Together, we are ready to lead the next wave of automated packaging production.’
