Konica Minolta and Kodak shake on Nexpress deal
by Peter Kohn
May 27, 2009
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In what is seen as Konica Minolta’s gateway to the print-for-pay market, the company that came to PacPrint four years ago as a member of the “digital light” club is wielding its new NexPress agency as its pass to the vendor A-list.
The deal was sealed under a volley of camera flashes on the Konica Minolta stand yesterday, as its managing director Hiro Kaji and Kodak Australasia's managing director Steve Venn shook hands.
It preserves Kodak's role as the service partner for all NexPress installations.
Kodak's regional vice-president, prepress marketing, Steve Green, described the reseller agreement for NexPress as "very exciting. You've got an organisation with far-reaching distributing, sales and support network. It's a fantastic match, good for customers and good for the industry".
David Procter, Konica Minolta's national manager, production printing, said that over the past four years the company has built up its customer base with the bizhub PRO C6500 and was looking for "a device these customers can grow into".
"The NexPress is a powerful machine and with our sales force of 20 across Australia, we've got the opportunity for some very good coverage," he said.
Citing a non-disclosure agreement, Procter did not elaborate on any early sales leads but "we are hopeful that within the next month or two we can secure a couple of installations".
Quizzed about applications, Procter said a lot of Konica Minolta's potential clients for the NexPress would come from the VDP and transactional segments and from digital hubs.
High-quality marketing collateral and web-to-print are also areas that Procter wants to steer NexPress towards.
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