Can newcomers to MPS gain a foothold in the sector?

By Jean-Louis de la Salle

Based on my preliminary remarks, yes there are places for investment.

But for some regions/segments it is late and there is hardly anyplace for a new comer to take the investment and reap mid term benefits from it.

MPS requires a certain level of investment in what I call the “automation centre”. This centre needs a certain volume of business to flow through it so that unit prices can be low and quality high. So it is a race forward and I challenge those who have not been early in the game to be efficient new comers at it.

But if one did not create it, one can always acquire or partner with one of the existing companies. As you can see, I forecast some serious reshuffle of the channel where elements of value are better defined and not everybody does everything which was a “trend” of the printing industry as a whole.

The combination of the flat business environment, the market saturation and the usage changes are putting pressure on the market and do force players to be very good at what they do and exit where they are not so strong.