Q&A: Finat president Thomas Hagmaier

L&L: When did you decide to join the label industry and why?

Thomas Hagmaier: I grew up behind a Heidelberg Tiegel, used to the sound of the machines and the smell of paper. In the 1960s Hagmaier Etiketten started like many print companies with self-adhesive labels on the roll. Our main business at that time was cardboard labels with thread and loop for the textile industry.

As is usual in a small family business the son had to help where possible in production after school, which made my decision to learn something different and not go into my parents’ business. But time and products change. After my mechanical education and 20 months of traveling, I needed a job. At the beginning of the 1980s, my older brother was already working in our father’s company and we invested in a flatbed machine which brought us a lot of success and fast growth. So I decided to stay in this sticky business. Every year we bought machines and there was no way out, because meanwhile I was married and had to feed a young family.

L&L: What are the biggest challenges label converters face in the next five years?

TH: The maximum sq m per capita consumption of PS labels in central Europe has been reached. Small companies are losing access to global customers; increased transparency in the market gives more influence to the end user and customer. Small businesses do not have the power to invest; if there is no specialization the reliability will be low. The eastern countries produce on the same high tech machines and the education level of their operators is very good.