The business and commercial world is often defined by competition, as opposed to collaboration. But imagine if you launched or worked for a business that was concerned more about developing unique products that serve, and do not compete, and where the culture of collaboration is paramount. What would this be like?

We discovered a business such as this last week.

Frazer and I travelled to Valencia and Onda recently ahead of our FuturePrint TECH event next year and visited People and Technology. It was a revealing, exciting and unique experience for many reasons.

We met with project manager Roberto Campos and were accompanied by Daniel Boronat from Kao Chimigraf. We also met with Javier Gaya Fuentes who is the CEO of the company.

We discovered a unique business playing a vital role in the development and efficacy of inkjet technology on a global scale, plus the story of how they arrived at this point.

Roberto Campos provided us with a really interesting tour and explanation of the business which is unlike any other Frazer and I have visited in our time in the print sector.

I guess any business must find its defining characteristics, its personality and purpose. What we discovered was that P&T has a very clear purpose and strategy. They operate as a team, led by innovation, mutual respect and a focus on collaboration. And it is a culture of collaboration that runs through the business like a golden seam!

We also learned a lot about what is required to get a product to market and how this business helps technology brands get their product to market, and keep it there while constantly improving.

People & Technology was established in 2006 in Onda (Castellón), in the heart of the Spanish, and European ceramic industry. The culture of the business is implicit in the title of the business. Naturally, people are more important to them, but these people have a purpose of serving and developing technology that can create new value for the industry. This point is really important. The business makes it clear that it is people who make the difference! And therefore, people come first!!

As a result, the first technology they effectively developed was an innovative design for the production of rotogravure rollers for ceramic printing. Javier has a keen eye for problems that need fixing, plus the engineering skills to bring a design solution to life, and then manufacture it. These rollers, which they still produce today, use materials that enable faster time to production with fewer breakages. But as inkjet began to take over the majority of ceramics tile decoration, P&T's attention turned to see how they could help this new technology, inkjet, to better serve the ceramics sector.

Any new technology needs monitoring and testing. For inkjet, clearly, it is very important to have a way to independently test inks and inkjet head technology. This role and purpose is vital for the continued development of inkjet as it also grows into new markets, and is presented with new technical challenges.

Now, the business has grown in this direction by helping the wider marketplace of inkjet innovators continue to deliver and improve. While the technology is very cleverly engineered and thought through, the fundamental concept is simple in that it is helping the development and the integration of technology with a big emphasis on collaboration. It's a philosophy, as Javier says himself. “Why compete when you can collaborate”?

Imagine how malfunctioning printheads work ineffectively and slow down production - and therefore frequently having to replace expensive inkjet heads. The cost of replacement and production disruption is considerable. So the more data the producer has, the better equipped they are to continually improve the head so it works more effectively, for longer.

For end users, inkjet heads are also a sizable investment. So if one needs replacing, it's both disruptive as well as costly, and a huge waste particularly if the head can be saved by going through a thorough cleaning process. Once cleaned they are then tested with P&T's technology to ensure the head is working sufficiently well on the other side to be sent back to the customer to be put back to work in production.

This obviously saves the end customer money they would have unnecessarily spent getting a brand-new head.

In addition to inkjet heads, P&T helps ink companies to test their inks and they provide invaluable feedback and insight that provides data that accelerates the speed to market, and according to Daniel Boronat of Kao Chemical, the service they provide is super important.

Daniel explains, “For an ink manufacturer, the service that People & Technology provide is invaluable as it will help us to benefit from expert input from a very reliable and independent source about how our new ink formulation is performing, what may need improving, and why. This can help reduce time to market from 8 months to 1 month.”

In 2016, People & Technology made the decision to make the leap to new markets, facing new challenges with the same objectives that guided it back in 2006, for the vast global graphic industry. The internationalization of People & Technology is based on a network of distributors worldwide and attendance at fairs and events, with a minimum participation of 6 annual fairs, in different countries each year and differentiated sectors.

The spirit of the business is certainly Spanish, particularly from this region. Neither Frazer nor I have ever visited a business that has then provided a Paella lunch, cooked by the CEO, that is so brilliantly done, so warm and hospitable, and of course enjoyable and memorable!

For anyone who doesn’t know. Paella originates from the Valencia region, the rice is grown locally, while the process of making a paella takes time and plenty of attention to detail. It is also a key part of the experience. The site, smell, anticipation and the socialising. The original paella recipe for the Castellon area features pork, duck and chicken. This is important.

The final result is a delicious lunch, enjoyed by a group of people who you work with and collaborate with. It struck me that this approach with socializing and lunch is not unlike how P&T works. The end product may be different but the process, spirit and feeling is the same.

We look forward to the continued growth and success of People and Technology and to sharing news and developments through FuturePrint in the future.

Gracias a todos en People & Technology y mis mejores deseos para el futuro!