Sawasdee (hello) from Bangkok!
I could also say Happy New Year as we just had our annual Songkran festival that marks the Thai new year…with lots of water! Dousing or sprinkling others with water signifies the washing away of bad thoughts and actions and brings good blessings for the New Year. Good thing we have temperatures that sore into +30 degrees!
Songkran 'water' festival
It’s been three months since I joined MPS as Area Sales Manager for Thailand and surrounding countries in South-East Asia. In my first blog, it’s a pleasure to make an introduction and share my view of the label printing market and future of MPS in Asia.
Printing in my blood
Coming from a family in the printing business, I have years of experience in this dynamic industry in offset printing of multi-layer business forms and later flexo label printing.
Born in raised in Bangkok, then furthering my education in the USA provided me an advantage in English, which I applied back home in the family business in various roles such as admin, import/export, and purchasing and procurement.
I then spent four years living in The Netherlands, and after my return to Thailand I had the opportunity to work with a close friend, an owner of one of Thailand’s biggest label producer that also specializes in high quality tube applications. During my time there I worked with flexo, offset combination and digital presses.
All this experience has given me a unique user-perspective of a printing press, and led to me reaching out to Tim Klappe, Managing Director MPS Asia and soon after joining MPS!
An East and West perspective
In March, I had the pleasure to spend a few weeks getting to know my new colleagues at MPS headquarters in Arnhem, and the opportunity to again speak Dutch! I met so many lovely and talented people who are very confident in what they do.
My time there was important, as working for a global company with headquarters in a different country, it is critical to create close-working relationships with key colleagues to maintain open communication, especially with a time difference and geographical distance.
From living in both Eastern and Western cultures, I can play the role of mediator in communicating the needs and expectations of label printers in Thailand and South-Asia with MPS, and I have a solid understanding of both cultures from a business perspective.
The Mercedes of printing presses
I had heard of MPS before – it’s impossible not to if you are in the label printing business! I knew it wa
s viewed as the Mercedes of printing presses and that label printers who are in the market for high-quality printing and converting appreciate the advantages that MPS flexo, offset and hybrid presses bring to their business.
The key to success for MPS in Asia is developing partnerships with label printers based on trust, and this iswhere I come in. I see my role as a consultant, to gain an understanding of what a label printer is striving for in their business and help them be successful long-term.
A strong network of local agents, suppliers and of course technical support will also help MPS be successful in this market. So far, we’re off to a great start!
Meet me in Bangkok
I’ll be attending the Shift_018 Conference May 2-3 in Bangkok, where Tim Klappe will present Connectivity, the Internet of Things and what this means for the labels and packaging industry.
You can also meet me at the debut of Labelexpo Southeast Asia May 10-12 also in Bangkok.
Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, too!