Brent Zurcher

“If you don’t make yourself obsolete, someone else will.” Memorable advice came to me some 11 years ago from John Bearden, MicroDynamics’ co-founder. He spoke as I started my career, having come into the industry, like so many of my peers, without any knowledge of printing. Today I serve as director of operations.

MicroDynamics was in a position many in this industry will relate to. We had an exceptional product in the 3DQC Classic, a great reputation with our customers, and we were steady. For years, we rested on that success. Why change something that’s working?

Of course, competitive pressure is the answer. And it’s inevitable. Resistance to change is a powerful force. We celebrate innovators and early adopters–companies that are always on the cutting edge because it’s just part of their nature. But we equally celebrate the next wave of adopters that overcome significant initial resistance and ultimately recognize that change is a necessity to keep up in a competitive market.

We all want to tout improvement. In reality, that means change! I spent my first six or seven years fully immersed in technology–the statistics, the customer support. In the last few years, I’ve been leaning into the much broader landscape of flexographic printing. As our company digs into the broader issues facing flexographic printers, we have a new perspective. Maximizing efficiency is a comprehensive effort, and understanding our part in the bigger picture has caused a paradigm shift in the way we enable changes in our customers’ operations. It’s unbelievable to see the results.

We don’t stand still for even one day. Our team is energized by a driving principle: build the next solution, because change is always around the corner. That’s why our design mindset for the Veritas microscope and MicroScan3 was to build a platform that would constantly evolve and serve printers for the next decades.

FTA itself is a great example of exciting change happening. Looking ahead to build the organization and community that will serve the printers of the future is an important mission. I’m grateful to be part of FTA’s LIFT (Leaders Inspiring Flexo’s Tomorrow) community, and it’s encouraging to see the network ready to drive change in this industry.

“Yesterday’s flexo” will one day be obsolete. But with this community and this mindset, it will be replaced by tomorrow’s flexo–hardly recognizable with renewed energy, constant innovation, and a long future ahead.