Hooray, JEA exists 200 years:
We celebrated our anniversary celebration on Friday, September 20, and we enjoyed it so much! With our customers, relations and staff, we had a great party. The interactive quiz and blackjack tables were a big success! Especially for our 200-year anniversary, we have made unique JEA banknotes and playing cards that are used at the blackjack tables.
In Hotel Arena in Amsterdam we had found the perfect location for this unique event. The building from 1888 with monumental parts, such as the original cast-iron marble staircase and the restored Chapel, has always been kept intact and still tells the impressive history of this location every day. The rich history is combined with a modern design. And that is exactly what we did during the event. We have all made a journey through the history of JEA to end up with what the future (JEA) will bring.
Our CEO, Jos van Leeuwen, took the attendees on a journey through time with the help of the iconic car from the Back to the Future films: a DeLorean DMC-12.
Just like Marty McFly, we traveled back in time to the year 1819 where the history of JEA begins in Amsterdam’s Tweede Weteringdwarsstraat 1 with the creation of a printer by Hans Christiaan Spin. In 1970, Spin takes over fellow value printer and main supplier Van Mantgem and creates Spin / Van Mantgem. In 1982 we move to a new building on the Donauweg in Amsterdam Sloterdijk, the building where we still aretoday. In 1988 Joh. Enschedé & Zonen Spin / Van Mantgem and JEA is created. Initially under the wings of parent company Joh. Enschedé & Sons but independent as of 2013.
We have arrived in the present tense. An exciting time in which the mission of today’s JEA is much greater. We want to help our customers with smart ideas that make their communication more powerful. And paper is of course the most beautiful basic material for this. It is sustainable, clean, flexible and tangible.
Many of our customers see us in 2019 as a true inspiration partner. That is why we have a new name, a new logo and a new house style: JEA – Power to the paper!
At the end of the presentation there were some thoughts about developments in society, the impact on the printing industry and specifically JEA. An important topic was of course the role of paper in this. But we also looked at technology in combination with paper. Developments in which we provide paper with a chip and place the content of the document on blockchain.
Of course, attention has also been paid to sustainability in the form of Paper for Plastic. We can play a major role in this with our solutions. No more flow packs but a SEP (sustainable envelope pack). No albums with plastic sheets but smart paper solutions. Naturally, an initiative such as tulip waste paper is a perfect example.
The world will keep changing. JEA has been changing for 200 years and will continue to move and change.
After Jos’s inspiring words, it was time for public participation. Our Marketing & Sales director, Mylène van ‘t Hart, was the host of an interactive quiz where the attendees could answer questions via their smartphone.
Some of the questions could be answered by paying attention during the presentation, but some were also a question of “general” knowledge (What was the name of the mad inventor ‘Doc Brown’ in the movie ‘Back to the Future’) ?) or very specific knowledge (What is the top speed of our Heidelberg presses measured in sheets per hour?).
After each question, the large leaderboard showed who had answered the question correctly. Not only did the correct answer count, but also how quickly the correct answer was given. An exciting moment after every question!
Ultimately, only one can be the winner. The winner left with a dinner voucher and the book DUTCH MOUNTAINS – THE ULTIMATE STANDARD WORK ON THE DUTCH PLATE INDUSTRY by Peter Voskuil.
The afternoon ended for our customers and suppliers by taking a gamble at the blackjack tables. All invited guests had received unique JEA banknotes specially made for our 200-year anniversary. Everyone started with the same amount. At the end of the party, the person who had earned the most money won a nice bottle of champagne!
After we thanked our customers and suppliers for their presence and contribution to this great event, it was time for a party with the employees and their partners. No photos are released. In the Las Vegas tradition: what happens at Hotel Arena stays at Hotel Arena.