EskoWorld 2019: A record event

EskoWorld 2019 was held in Music City, Nashville, TN this year to the tune of over 550 brands and supply chain customers supported by 140 Esko staff, 13 sponsors and 13 journalists. A record event in every sense: a record number of attendees joining Esko and its partners to deliver an outstanding three days of learning, networking and celebration.

Opened with a musical strings introduction and technology showcase, the event began with a whistle-stop tour of the available workshops and roadmaps from our product managers, an overview of 100 years of innovation from Chris Miller, VP Sales in North America, and then a stunning opening address from our new President, Mattias Byström.

Delegates learned that Esko was on a mission to safeguard trust in packaging. “Packaging is a dangerous business to be in today,” said Mattias. “We have a number of macro challenges that we must address.”

According to a recent Esko study of 4000 consumers, 71% said they trust what is said on their packaging, in contrast to only 15% trusting the US Government! With the explosion of digital media and everyone believing they can be a designer, the rise of the small brand, the acceleration of new materials, as well as the need for our customers to evade errors, mitigate time, make communication clearer and cope with new physical materials, brands and their supply chains are under pressure and Esko is the partner to solve their problems.

“Trust the packaging and you are trusting the brand” said Mattias. “Our customers need full trust in their value chain - tools, people and equipment - and we’re here to support you. Our mission is to enable packaging heroes by giving you new abilities. We are not the heroes. You, our customers, are the packaging heroes. We at Esko enable our customers, the real packaging heroes, to uphold consumer trust in packaging.”

Mattias further explained that trust is about creating transparency, responsibility, safeguarding quality and integrity and how Esko solutions, and the Esko culture, are committed to upholding this trust through delivery against these needs.

What followed was then 3 days of technology training workshops in 156 sessions across 10 breakout rooms, with 70 speakers, using 112 computers and demonstrations of a working Kongsberg C24 and CDI Crystal 4835 XPS for customers to get real-time hands-on training and knowledge across the Esko software and hardware portfolio. Customers were treated to roadmap insights, views of the future, as well as practical training and hints and tips to get the best from their technology.

A record breaking event for everyone involved and the Esko team looks forward to seeing even more of our partners and customers at EskoWorld 2020 in Dallas, Texas, April 28-30.