Komori enters pharma post-press with MBO acquisition

Komori has taken over the Germany-headquartered MBO Group (including its subsidiary Herzog+Heymann, now known as H+H) which offers inserts and ousterts solutions for the pharma market. According to Sangam Khanna of Komori India, the India operations for the new entity started on 1 August.

03 Aug 2020 | By Rahul Kumar

With Komori joining hands with the MBO Group, H+H has now over 50% market share in this business vertical in India. Khanna said Komori plan to strengthen its standing by providing total pharma packaging solutions to its customer. These also come with on-the-shopfloor sorting, filling and end-user packaging solutions.

MBO focuses on conventional folding as well as web finishing solutions, offering a wide range of folding machines, web finishing aggregates, deliveries and peripherals. Besides reliable solutions for price-sensitive customers, MBO also offers products like robotic stacking solution CoBo-Stack as well as the planning and analysis software Data Manager 4.0.

H+H is a leading specialist for individual and profitable special solutions, mailing and gluing systems, solutions for the fulfilling market, small-sized folding machines and large-size folding machines for maps and posters. H+H develops technical solutions for economical and cost-effective production, from creative ideas given by customers.

Khanna said the new venture will increase the company’s reach and total solution and accountability to customers for providing key product deliverables. “Through the acquisition of the equity stake in the MBO Group, Komori expects to be able to market unique products that will support its PESP business. The inclusion of the aforementioned operations into Komori’s business portfolio will help it introduce post-press solutions for commercial printing, a new field for the company,” he said.

He added that coupled with Komori’s IoT-based cloud solutions, KP-Connect Komori, the MBO Group’s products will also help provide customers with even more robust, seamless printing production systems that include post-press processing.

“Komori is also looking to develop new solutions through the combination of the MBO Group’s technologies and Komori’s DPS, offset printing presses and other key products. Overall, Komori believes that both companies are well-positioned to supplement each other,” he added.

In India, Komori will take over the existing team from the MBO group and combine with the existing team the company will have an experienced workforce to serve the needs of the market.

While the Indian post-press market is dominated by refurbished machines, Khanna said Komori customers value its quality after-sales services to maximise the output of their MBO folders. “Trained MBO service technicians and original spare parts ensure that all of our customers can get the most out of their investments. People trust Komori presses. So we want printers to keep that image in mind when they invest in post-press set up,” he explained.

Going forward, Komori has plans to increase its reach and footprint in both pharma and non-pharma verticals. “With the Covid-19 pandemic, most customers have understood that the growth in pharma sector will certainly go up and they are opting to invest in solutions which are stable and consistent,” Khanna concluded.