Gaultier Cartonnages, a family-owned printing company with 120 employees, located in Saint-Étienne-au-Mont in the Pas-de-Calais region of France, specializes in cardboard packaging, with sales of 21 million euros last year. Founded in 1929, the printing company has always been in search of differentiation and innovation.
For this purpose, the printing company has its own three-person design office which is constantly developing new products. "The market always demands a solution, but most of our competitors are packaging vendors. We are innovation, always innovation: ecodesign, sustainable development, all-cardboard blister packaging, antibacterial varnish, lamination and window installation 100% biodegradable", explains Bertrand de Prat, the group's managing director.
Gaultier Cartonnages is also equipped with most of the existing technologies: six colours, UV offset, conventional, lamination, hot stamping, window installation, screen printing, offline varnishing..
But in order to continue to stand out, you had to do "strong choices" according to Gaėtan Lensel, the sales manager. The group then turned its attention to digital printing. In 2018, after a long period of tests, the Gaultier Cartonnages Group opted for a 7-colour HP Indigo 30,000 press, installed in a clean room with controlled humidity.
"One step ahead" with the HP Indigo
"Our investment in the HP Indigo 30000 press has breathed new life into our differentiation strategy, congratulates Bertrand de Prat. Today, no industrialist of our size has invested in digital printing. We are clearly one step ahead. And as the months go by, our competitive advantage increases."
Gaėtan Lensel details: "Ecodesign, sustainable development, reduction of environmental impact and eco-responsibility are today the major concerns of our customers. In addition to this, the reduction of quantities and stocks, the atomisation of ranges, the multiplication of references and the time to market, and only the HP Indigo 30000 press meets all these requirements. It is a formidable tool for conquering new markets. It reinforces our commercial strategy, based on differentiation."
A necessary and specific commercial approach
However, the market for digital printing in packaging is not as well known and exploited as it could be, unlike the sleeve and label markets.
In order to make the advantages of this technology known, the group is implementing a new commercial approach. The company opens its doors and launches Innovation Days as soon as the new press is installed.
And it works: "Our customers immediately embraced and understood the benefits of mastering both offset and digital technologies. One very important customer even crossed France from south to north to entrust us with his work! (...) Today, after two years of experience in the press, we have a clear, precise sales pitch that sets us apart from our competitors" .
New packaging markets with high added value
"With the HP Indigo 30000 Press, we have moved away from markets where we could not compete on a level playing field, such as high-volume markets, to focus on the high-value products that only we can deliver, continues Gaėtan Lensel. Typical examples are the folding box and the all-cardboard blister pack. We know how to print them digitally, and that's a great asset."
After a year, the press turns into a team. And after two years, it turns into two teams. The printer is now aiming for 3x8.
He goes on to say: "Our drivers see it every day. They are printing more and more prototypes, pre-series and small runs. Then, a few months later, they see the product coming back into the workshop, but in larger quantities. And then they understand that our HP Indigo 30000 press contributes to the development of customer/supplier confidence and the decision to launch a product. Once the pre-production runs are completed, we're pretty sure we'll get the order."
An indispensable learning time for a full and varied production
"Short runs, multi-reference, excellent reproducibility, 7 colours, inline acrylic and UV varnish, 200 to 650 µ substrate, we take full advantage of the performance of our HP Indigo press" adds Bertrand de Prat.
But it wasn't all that simple. Bertrand de Prat explains: "It took us a year to master the HP 30000 press. The main difficulty is that we have very different product lines. So we had to do tests for each packaging, each carton.
The HP teams have been fantastic, with an incredible sense of duty. They have helped us a lot ... When you innovate, you take risks, you look for something. It takes more time. You have to accept it."
Today, Bertrand de Prat is completely serene. "The future is the new legislation on plastics and sustainable development that will come faster than we think. We have a real card to play. (...) Over the next five years, I am very confident that the carton packaging market will be able to make its mark. It's up to us to demonstrate our ability to innovate and let as many people as possible know about it."
