UK firm targets Middle East packaging prepress

Arden Software is seeking a slice of Esko’s share in the region’s packaging CAD market
Dubai : Having opened an office in India to cater for Asia and the Middle East, UK-based Arden Software is convinced a slice of the software packaging market is ripe for the taking, essentially from Esko.
Business development manager Matt Hewitt sees Arden’s Impact CAD as the key product in the company’s move into the Gulf, challenging Esko’s Artios CAD.
“We’re filling a gap in the workflow of structural design software,” he told Packaging MEA. “Everyone who doesn’t use Esko – we’re the automatic choice.”
In North America, over the last five years Arden has poached 45% of the integrated corrugated market, he claims.
In the last seven years, Arden has opened offices in North America, Germany and Scandinavia. But areas like the Middle East are now heading the company’s hit list, according to Hewitt.
“We see markets like Europe as being quite mature and are now focusing on Asia,” he said.
“In our new office in India, giving us a direct presence in the region, we have started with a team of three and are now hiring more staff. We have been working with Kodak there and with large resellers in markets like Japan and China.”
In the Middle East, the company works though local agents AGE and Phoenix,although Hewitt acknowledges that Arden’s current presence is almost entirely through machine installations.
“We work with every machine going,” he said. “Traditionally our software has been bundled with machines.”

He estimates such global installations total about 11,500 licences. “We have a splattering of licences across of the Middle East, mostly not direct sales,” he said. “A lot of interest is upgrades.”
So why should regional packaging converters make the switch from the established leader?
“People assume Esko is the only brand available,” he said. “But their focus has shifted and their prices have increased. We see a good opportunity to be more reactive to companies’ needs. One of our core strengths is that we only do software.”