German specialists train Sri Lankan print teachers

In a first for the Sri Lanka print industry, VDMA has conducted a three day seminar for specialist teachers in the country‘s capital city Colombo, saying that the key to market growth lies in good training.

From September 24-26, more than 20 specialist print teachers learnt how they can use the available machines to get out the very best in terms of quality: all the way from prepress to printing. Markus Heering, managing director of the Printing and Paper Technology Association within VDMA, says, “The seminar was a big success. It showed us that it makes sense to go into smaller markets as well. Smaller markets bordering on large ones are always interesting as well, because they help us in the correct assessment of the total region.“

VDMA says it aimed the PrintPromotion training at specialist teachers for printing, because they pass on what they know and are valuable multipliers. Within the scope of the seminar, specialist teachers are trained for the machines on site. With the courses and seminars offered by PrintPromotion, the German printing technology manufacturers have supported specialist teachers above all from newly industrialised and developing countries for more than 25 years. The seminars take place in the respective countries.

Each year, the partner institute of PrintPromotion, the AZP training centre for print and media, hosts a a four-week intensive course in Germany. During recent years, the course participants also included several specialist teachers from Sri Lanka. Heering asks, “What good is our technological leadership if the customers and users don‘t have sufficient trained staff to fully benefit from it?”

Last year, Sri Lanak imported machines worth €10.5m. However, the majority comprised used machines. VDMA believes that the higher the demand for quality, the higher will be the potential of the market in Sri Lanka for new machines from Germany as well.

Shadowed by its big neighbour India, Sri Lanka has developed a small but promising market for German manufacturers of printing technology. As in other nascent markets, print volume continues to rise and the German manufacturers believe they can help raise the quality of the printed products there.

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