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Mark Robinson, the East Coast Channel Manager of Summa America, is a business professional with a rich background in sales, marketing, and management. Mark has been a driving force at Summa America since March 2020, where he showcases a remarkable ability to lead and influence teams through intrinsic motivation. His proven track record includes analyzing customer requirements, adding substantial value, and recommending transformative changes by leveraging cutting-edge technologies to enhance operational efficiencies.
Before joining Summa, Mark served as the Bus/Web Development Manager at GE Richards, a graphics arts distributor, for a decade. During this time, he played a crucial role in developing sales strategies, fostering vendor partner programs, and achieving significant business growth. Mark’s expertise extends to his roles as Regional Account Manager at Presstek Inc and National Account Sales Manager at Presstek, where he consistently demonstrated a strategic approach to marketing and sales initiatives, resulting in substantial consumable sales growth.
Mark’s extensive career also includes roles such as Digital Imaging Specialist at Pitman Company, Territory Manager at DuPont Printing & Publishing, and Desktop Publishing Manager at DuPont. With over two decades of experience in the industry, Mark brings a wealth of knowledge and a proven ability to drive successful business outcomes. His tenure at various esteemed organizations reflects his commitment to excellence and continuous contribution to the field of sales and management.
Summa is a globally recognized leader in delivering high-quality vinyl cutters, finishing flatbeds, and laser cutters, offering innovative cutting solutions to businesses in the printing, sign-making, textile, industrial, and packaging industries. With an unwavering commitment to excellence, Summa is dedicated to providing premier customer service and legendary performance, as evidenced by its ISO 9001:2015 certification. Since its inception in 1987 in Gistel, Belgium, Summa has evolved from a factory assembling recording devices for precision optical lenses, becoming Summa nv in 1999 through the merger of CalComp Display Products nv. (formerly Summagraphics) and CadCam Technology in 2018. The company’s global presence includes headquarters in Belgium, full production facilities for flatbed cutters, vinyl cutters, and laser cutters, key offices in the United States (Beverly) and the United Kingdom (Nottingham), along with representation in Asia. Summa’s extensive network of authorized resellers worldwide is committed to guiding customers in making well-founded choices and providing high-quality service, solidifying Summa’s standing as a recognized global leader in the industry.
Chris: Welcome back to the Think Factory podcast, powered by OGC Solutions. And I’m your host Chris Santomassimo. We’re reporting live from the Printing United Expo in Atlanta here on October 2023. And I’m happy to sit with Mark Robinson, who is the East Coast Channel Manager for Summa. Welcome to the podcast.
Mark: Good morning, Chris. How are you today?
Chris: Terrific. One little thing that we share in common is that we’re working with Belgium based companies and that’s where Summa is headquartered.
Mark: That’s correct. Yeah. I mean, Summa has been around for 50 years. We’re actually celebrating our 50th anniversary this year.
Chris: Happy Anniversary.
Mark: Thank you. And we’re located in Bristol, Belgium, just outside of Brugge. So pretty town there if anybody ever wants to go and see Brugge.
Chris: Yeah. And the technology is amazing from what I can see as well.
Mark: Yeah. Thank you, Chris. I mean, the technology, I mean, from a standpoint of our role cutters, they’ve been around for over 30 years. The flatbed series cutters or are our F-Series has been in production and selling right now for coming up on our 13th year of being able to do that here in the United States as well as worldwide.
Chris: Maybe for some folks that aren’t quite as familiar with, you know, the roller cutters and the flatbed cutters, maybe you could talk a little bit more about them. But also, I think they’re interesting because when you’re talking to a traditional commercial printer, your products enabling them to really branch out into markets they may not have explored before.
Mark: That’s correct. I mean, within the wide format industry, as people know, I mean, it’s easy to go and buy a printer regardless of what width it would be if that’s a role printer that they’re working with, whether that be latex, eco solvent and even gel products that they could they could use. The biggest challenge, obviously, is not putting their ink onto their media. It’s really finishing and how they’re going to finish it and how they’re going to be able to resell that back to their client base. It also applies when you’re doing rigid media as well, particularly if you’re doing chloroplast, foam core, etc. You need to be able to have some finishing rather than taking the time to hand-cut products, which is always been, if anything, probably the slowest part of the production process when it comes to what format.
Chris: And the most labor intensive as well.
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