ABS Group, the Italian champion of fabric fittings, grows and astonishes
New headquarters, a new company for online sales, a new line of unique displays: thus the Venetian group does not stop, and reaffirms the centrality of fabric in its offer
ABS Group likes to define itself as “the first company in Italy to have reinvented the use of fabric in the field of staging.” An ambitious but plausible claim. Until two or three years ago, a large part of the national superwide-format printing businesses mainly used PVC banners and UV-curable technology to produce their 3- and 5-meter graphics. At the same time, Giorgio Grando, co-founder and Managing Director of ABS Group, and his staff were engaged in a battle to establish textile as a printable material and as a critical component of a new philosophy of construction and communication.
In 2017, ABS Group was the first Italian company to equip itself with 5-meter-wide sublimation printing technology. In 2018, the company established a network of technology partners to develop dynamic lightboxes and interactive point-of-sale solutions.
Finally, in 2019, they laid the organizational, technological, and infrastructural foundations to accelerate their medium to long-term growth. The most significant are the move to a new location, with production space three times larger than the previous one, and the launch of Absolutex, a e-commerce platform that aims to redefine the supply of textile display solutions, especially for resellers.
A new home to leap into industrial production
The growth in turnover, the adoption of more productive (and bulky) technologies, and the development of dedicated metalworking and lighting-engineering departments, led ABS Group to completely fill its headquarters in Via dell’Industria, Vittorio Veneto.
It’s 2016, and the company urgently needs space, but it doesn’t want to make compromises that could jeopardize the future scalability of its business. So, the company decides to purchase a new space that is large enough to allow for future expansion of the company’s departments, and that is prestigious and distinctive. The choice falls on a 24,000 m² complex, built in the 1930s and already home to the silk production of Torcitura di Vittorio Veneto and, later, Meccanico Vittorio Veneto (a subsidiary of Franco Marinotti’s SNIA Viscosa) — a fascinating site of industrial archaeology just a few steps from the center of Vittorio Veneto. In the summer of 2019, after a delicate renovation, ABS Group moved to the new spaces in Via Marinotti.
The new headquarters is equipped with geothermal heating and cooling, relative humidity control systems, energy-efficient lighting systems, and natural light in all rooms.
“The absolute priority was that the working environment was livable and comfortable for all our employees, both in the offices and in production,” explains Grando.
In addition to ABS Group and Absolutex, the new building also houses the subsidiary Kora Comunicazione, specializing in the design of fittings for retail outlets, trade fair events, museum sites and public spaces, as well as strategic consultancy for local, national and international brands.
In the printing area, medium to high print runs are entrusted to Durst sublimation printers: the 5-meter Rhotex 500 and 3.2-meter Rhotex 325, installed in 2017 and 2020 respectively. The company also uses a 3.2-meter ATPColor DFP G4 printer and some smaller 1.6-meter printers for shorter runs.
As far as sublimation is concerned, ABS Group uses a Monti Antonio 91–5400 calender, with a width of 5.4 meters and a cylinder diameter of 500 mm, to manage the entire production.
The cutting and sewing area is equipped with a Matic Helios Plus laser cutting machine, with a 3.3x3.3-meter top, a Matic Cronos semiautomatic sewing line, and additional manual sewing stations.
ABS Group, Absolutex, and Kora Comunicazione employ 56 people and generate sales of over 5 million euros (2019).
The importance of workflow
The construction of lightboxes and fittings involves numerous sequential processes, some of which are mainly manual. Thus, as the volumes produced grew, ABS Group had to face the challenge of observing each phase of the process and making them more efficient. The idea of implementing a workflow that is as automated as possible dates back to 2018, when the company commissioned the Integro software house to develop a customized quote system.
“With the installation of the Rhotex 500 and the increasing number and complexity of orders, we felt the need for an advanced management solution that included advanced production planning capabilities,” explains Grando. “We wanted to be able to give customers certain delivery times, but also to distribute the workloads on the equipment correctly.”
In autumn 2019, following the move to the new premises and in view of the official launch of Absolutex, ABS Group entrusted Innovation Manager Arianna Trevisan with the task of further improving the company’s internal organization. Thus Trevisan sets up a task force involving the software house Integro (a company specialized in supply chain automation) and Soltech Service (a well-known developer of solutions for the optimization of prepress and print workflow). The latter supplier, in particular, is commissioned to create the software infrastructure — based on the Enfocus PitStop and Switch applications — that allows the Veneto-based company to automate many of the operations previously carried out manually by operators. After four months of work, ABS Group can now rely on a fully integrated workflow, from quotation to order, with powerful planning functions, machine-load calculation, and delivery times. Moreover, the system can be easily updated with new parameters and variables, as well as being able to self-update its configuration based on the performance of each machining center. The introduction of the new Durst Rhotex 325 in the company, for example, required an update of the management software parameters, but the consequent redefinition of workloads and production times was automatic.
“This allows us to correctly estimate the delivery times of the orders received, even when one of our machines is down for scheduled maintenance or a breakdown,” underlines Grando.
The latest evolution of ABS Group’s software infrastructure was the adoption of the Durst Workflow suite, of which the Veneto-based company is one of the first users in the world. That includes, among others, tools for file preparation, color management, production reports creation, and management of the print queues on the two Rhotexes. Among the features of Durst Workflow most appreciated by ABS Group is its ability to supply the quote system with exact data on the ink needed to print each job.
“Unlike other print RIPs, Durst Workflow interacts with other applications simply and transparently, sending and receiving data without any particular limitations,” remarks Grando.
Step by step, from traditional lightboxes to “phygital” retail
In 2012, ABS Group launched its first lightbox, consisting of an aluminum frame, a modular LED backlighting system, and a rectangle of sublimation-printed polyester fabric. At the same time, it launched a process of researching and selecting LED technology suppliers and inaugurated an in-house lighting-engineering department. In 2017, at EuroShop, the company was the first Italian company (and one of the first in Europe) to present dynamic lightboxes, i.e., ones equipped with programmable selective backlighting systems capable of reproducing movement effects and highlighting specific areas of printed graphics.
“While the static lightbox has taken a few years to establish itself, the dynamic lightbox has been enthusiastically received by customers. Perhaps because it combines the unique features of printing with the dynamism of a screen,” explains Grando.
Also, in 2017, ABS Group launches ABSolutely, a modular stand system based on aluminum profiles and printed fabric, which can be used to create both simple structures and entire exhibition stands. In addition to a series of essential elements (backlit frames of various shapes and sizes), ABSolutely includes numerous accessories: shelves, containers, door joints, and pivoting, overhead, and sliding walls.
On the strength of the results achieved with its dynamic solutions, ABS Group decided to raise the bar in 2018 and entered into a partnership with ETT and Corepixx. The former specializes in the creation of experience corners for museums and public buildings, the latter in interactive applications with touch panels and projection systems. Together, the three companies create the 1P/Primo Piano brand, which also gives its name to a shared experiential space in the center of Milan. Thanks to the collaboration, each of the partners are able to offer its customers unique and innovative experiential solutions in which physical real spaces and the digital world intertwine.
Not content with the progress made, at EuroShop 2020, ABS Group wrote another decisive chapter in its evolution. In the latest edition of the show, the company introduced a portfolio of dynamic, interactive, and sensorial display systems, united by the “Phygital Retail” concept — a combination of “physical” and “digital” elements.
Thanks to special sensors, the new dynamic interactive lightboxes detect the user’s behavior in front of, including contacts with, the display structures and “react” by activating light effects, animations, and sound effects. In complex display projects, these lightboxes can be combined with touch and multitouch screens, as well as devices capable of detecting NFC tags and offering associated content to the user.
“Having access to different technologies is a prerequisite for building installations that integrate ‘physical’ and digital elements,” explains Grando. “Our challenge is to create harmonious, fluid, and user-friendly experiences, in which the various technologies used do not clash with each other but are complementary.”
Fabric, modular structures, reconfigurable systems for full eco-sustainability
As is well known, brand owners and retailers are increasingly attentive to the environmental impact of the fittings they commission. More and more often, they require solutions made with eco-sustainable materials that are easily separable and recyclable at the end of their life cycle. However, while many today recognize that polyester is more sustainable than PVC, the assessment too often stops at the printed substrate alone, neglecting the impact of the display structure as a whole. Based on this consideration, ABS Group has developed its structures to be durable, reusable, and infinitely reconfigurable. The aluminum frames can be easily disassembled and reassembled. The same goes for the modular light panels, which can be reconfigured to fit different graphic layouts. Finally, of course, printing on polyester can be easily replaced, disposed of and recycled.
“Many of our lightboxes have been installed in stores for five or six years, and they look new. Even if they integrate a digital screen, hiding its structure and design, they slow down its obsolescence”, says Grando. “Our task is, therefore, to develop high-performance, versatile and durable containers that can adapt to the content in a simple, economical, and sustainable way.”
Towards new goals
Events like EuroShop 2020 show that the retail revolution is only just beginning, and the growth margins for print, fabric, and new materials are huge. To explain the trends involving decision-makers and influencers, ABS Group organizes workshops and seminars for architects, creatives, and brand owners.
“Explaining the values and advantages of the fabric does not have an immediate financial return, but it is a good investment in the long run,” explains Grando. “More and more often, contractors send us specifications specifying an ABS product, not a generic textile system. This gives us confidence.”
The experience of 1P/Primo Piano, and the numerous awards and recognitions obtained by the company for its projects, show that technical skills, combined with research, development and creativity, can really make the difference in the relationship between brand and consumer inside the store. That dynamic reinforces the strategic role of cooperation between ABS Group and Kora Comunicazione.
“For the graphics of the static installations, we work on synthesis and immediacy in conveying messages,” says Francesca Posocco, CEO of Kora Comunicazione. “In creating content for interactive display systems, on the other hand, we combine dynamism and effectiveness with the emotional component.”
For the future, the ABS Group already looks beyond soft signage. The company management is, in fact, considering how to expand the range of printed fabrics to offer solutions with unique properties for interior decoration and home textiles.
“We are developing new products based on special materials that combine printability and functionality such as sound absorption or the ability to reduce the concentration of bacteria in the air,” continues Grando.
“Strategy at 2000 meters”, to go higher
A favorite of large- and medium-sized organizations, kickoff meetings are used to unite the team and share objectives, content, tools, and ways of working. With similar aims, ABS Group and Absolutex involved their respective teams in a two-day training session called “Strategy at 2000 meters” in January 2020.
“The idea, mine and Osvaldo’s [Gallio, CEO of Absolutex], was to improve the synergy between the two companies and their respective sales forces,” says Grando. “To do that, we needed a disruptive action and an evocative place.”
For the training and discussion sessions, the choice fell on the iconic Durst headquarters in Bressanone.
“For years, Durst has accompanied us on our journey and is a source of inspiration for us. We could almost say that our latest investments in technology are the result of a common bet”, says Grando. “Our two companies are linked by something that goes beyond the customer-supplier relationship. We share visions that relate to the fundamental value of expertise, as well as an unshakeable faith in fabric as a support for the future.”
The ABS Group kickoff meeting was also attended as speakers by Alberto Bassanello, Durst’s Sales Director for Italy, and my colleague Gabriele Lo Surdo. During his speech, Bassanello highlighted the advantages of sublimation printing and the unique features of Durst Rhotex technology; Lo Surdo, on the other hand, described and commented on the trends and recent developments in the fabric display market in Europe and North America.
Absolutex and the challenge of selling online to resellers
The latest challenge that ABS Group has decided to tackle since mid-2019 is to serve professional customers through dedicated e-commerce. To do this, the company has created a new company and a new brand: Absolutex.
“We adopted an approach that, in the past, had already decreed the online success of several commercial printers: entering the world of Internet sales by founding a newco that would make this business its core business,” concludes Grando.
That opens a new chapter in the ABS Group’s history, and the path of Absolutex begins.
Absolutex: the online partner that makes the textile advantage easy and profitable
Absolutex is a startup born within the ABS Group at the end of 2018. The company’s main activity is the online sale, both to resellers and end customers, of fabric displays and fittings. Absolutex’s target clientele includes printers of all kinds who wish to expand their offer with large-format fabric products; exhibition-stand builders, event locations, and commercial spaces; and companies specializing in office design, furnishing, and interior decoration. The company’s primary sales channel is the e-commerce website absolutex.com, launched in October 2019.
To understand Absolutex’s business model and positioning, we interviewed the company’s CEO. Osvaldo Gallio has a financial background and an almost ten-year career in managerial positions, in Italy and Great Britain, at one of the most important European companies of online sales of display solutions.
“I approached the Absolutex project after a close discussion with Giorgio [Grando, Managing Director of ABS Group, ed],” says the manager. “Having worked in this market for many years has allowed me to understand its great potential, but also to grasp its many critical points, which mainly concern the efficiency of the product supply chain.”
So, at the end of his work in Great Britain, Gallio returned to Italy and shortly afterward set to work giving momentum to Absolutex.
“We started by analyzing the competitors’ proposals, as well as ABS Group’s fleet and internal organization. The objective was to understand in which areas it would be necessary to prioritize investments in order for Absolutex’s market positioning and offering to be successful. We concluded that it would be necessary to invest in improving technology management within the production process. But the top priority was to provide users of the site with unprecedented user experience,” explains Gallio. “So, we set to work following the principles of design thinking. We shaped Absolutex to be an accessible, simple, and complete platform, as well as to create opportunities and profit for resellers.”
In fact, the company does not aim to become another generalist online printer, in whose catalog there is a bit of everything. Rather, Absolutex wants to be recognized as a partner specialized in sublimation, offering a quality product, quickly, at a competitive price, and with an impeccable pre- and post-sales service — ingredients apparently taken for granted, but difficult to guarantee, and essential to ensure full customer satisfaction and good reseller margins.
User segmentation and a “frustration-free” experience
The revolution that the members of the Absolutex development team are working on stems from a firm desire to offer both rewarding user experience and the best business conditions to each user segment. With regard to the latter, the platform provides two levels of user experience. To end customers, Absolutex offers a wide choice of products that can be ordered (over 8,000 to date), a price aligned with the market, and the promise of superior quality. For professionals in the sector, especially resellers, Absolutex offers confidential treatment through the special program called XPRO, whose members have access not only to all the standard benefits of the platform but also to a range of customized services (including exclusive products and a dedicated customer service channel), as well as special prices, agreed upon according to the volumes ordered. The Absolutex platform is also designed so that XPRO users can use the configuration and preview functions (two- and, soon, three-dimensional) to present the product to the end customer, in total transparency. In fact, by visiting the site, the latter will always see the standard prices, leaving the reseller the ease of managing its marginality.
“We made every effort to implement a strategy that would allow us to serve both occasional customers and resellers better,” explains Gallio. “That’s why the ‘engine’ behind the Absolutex platform is CRM software, rather than classic e-commerce software.”
Among the special features of Absolutex is the functionality, based on Enfocus Pitstop, which performs the control and approval of the print file in real time while the user is creating his order. Thanks to it, the customer has immediate feedback regarding the executability of his job. So, the risk of late incompatibility notifications, resulting in a postponement of delivery times, is avoided.
Investing in sublimation technology or relying on Absolutex XPRO?
Relying on external suppliers is a common practice in the industrial world. Much less so in the printing industry, where most companies are reluctant to outsource their orders, often equipping themselves with technologies that will remain underused — an uneconomical practice, which Absolutex intends to change with XPRO.
“Even buying entry-level equipment, structuring yourself for finishing fabric products is an unjustified expense if you don’t manage print volumes above fifty thousand square meters per year. This is the minimum threshold to amortize the figures invested in a reasonable time,” says Gallio. “To get to ‘make money,’ you need to aim for even larger volumes of printing, which are close to one hundred thousand square meters per year. And these objectives must be achieved in a very short time because, in the meantime, the printing technologies are aging and becoming obsolete.”
Absolutex XPRO customers, on the other hand, can be sure that their work will be produced using the latest industrial technology and high-quality materials (the same as those used by the ABS Group). All of that with guaranteed delivery times and margins, and without the burden of costly investments in technology and human resources.
