Jack caught up with Dimitri Van Gaever on the bustling Kongsberg Precision Cutting Systems stand at PRINTING United Expo to discuss the company’s 60th anniversary, its multi-brand strategy, and its commitment to providing complete customer solutions.
See the full interview here…
Dimitri Van Gaever, Global Marketing Director at Kongsberg Precision Cutting Systems (PCS), explained that the company’s history is far more varied than many assume. “We’ve been celebrating our diamond anniversary this year. It all started 60 years ago in a small town, Kongsberg in Norway.”
The company’s roots aren’t actually in cutting. They began with drafting tables for the maritime industry, producing large-scale technical drawings, before evolving into a global leader in digital cutting and routing.
Today, Kongsberg PCS operates two main brands. Kongsberg Precision Cutting Systems, which offers the high-end cutting tables like the Ultimate and Entro; and MultiCam (acquired four years ago), which focuses on heavier industrial CNC routing tables like the Apex3R Evo.
Kongsberg PCS’s four P’s of success
Dimitri stressed that in a competitive market, Kongsberg PCS stands out by adopting a customer-first philosophy encapsulated in its slogan: “shaping your future together.”
“Customers don’t necessarily just want to buy hardware, they want to buy a full solution,” he explained.
This holistic approach is built on four major pillars:
- Productivity: Maximising efficiency by creating the fastest tables on the market.
- Potential: Ensuring versatility so the table can handle a broad range of applications, allowing customers to expand their business.
- People: Developing skills through training, support, and automation to help users get up to speed quickly.
- Problems/Challenges: Solving business challenges through financing, material knowledge, and support.
Flagship products
While Kongsberg PCS is a leader in sign and display, Dimitri highlighted the company’s strong position in packaging, specifically corrugated and folding cartons. This versatility was on show with their flagship product.
“Our Ultimate is actually an award-winning product,” Dimitri proudly said, listing its Red Dot Design, Pinnacle, and EDP Awards.
“The Ultimate table, featuring a linear cutting speed of almost 170 metres per minute and an acceleration of 2.75G, is the fastest and most productive machine we’ve ever brought to market. Its solid carbon beam construction and Smart Zone safety feature, which slows the machine automatically if a person gets close without stopping work entirely, demonstrate its innovative design.”
A key debut at the show was the Kongsberg Entro, an entry-level product that packages all the qualities of a Kongsberg PCS table, precision, robustness, and longevity, at a more affordable price point. Available in smaller formats, the Entro is ideal for those starting in the business but can still handle materials from foam board to vinyl.
Dimitri noted a growing market trend for convergence, with customers looking to expand from sign and display into packaging, protective packaging, and industrial verticals like aerospace and furniture.
Automation and the American market
A critical element of the Kongsberg PCS solution is its proprietary iPC software and controller, which is open and integrates with other workflow solutions. Dimitri highlighted a demonstration with Enfocus Switch workflow.
“We actually have a full mini-me application on show. We take your picture, and it goes automatically to the Enfocus software, where a cut file is produced. It carries out smart nesting and then the cut file is sent back to the table,” he said, detailing a fully automated, start-to-finish process.
Dimitri said that PRINTING United Expo is the most important show for North and South America, and its significance is growing globally, evidenced by the global product debuts, such as the new Canon 3.2m Colorado XL.
The show has been highly successful for the company: “We’re actually already ahead of our schedule in terms of leads and sales,” Dimitri reported, adding that the team is actively working with big printer brands like Canon and HP to create automated, integrated production systems for customers.
Conclusion
Kongsberg PCS is clearly leveraging its 60 years of innovation, moving far beyond simply selling hardware. By focusing on productivity, versatility, and critical software and service support, Dimitri and the team are successfully executing their vision to partner with customers, ensuring they are well-equipped for an evolving, converging global market.