India adds zing to KBA’s Drupa sale windfall

German press manufacturer KBA announced orders totalling a figure in the triple-digit million euro range in its largest segment, sheetfed offset at the end of Drupa 2016., Business

17 Jun 2016 | By Sriraam Selvam

Sharing his views about Drupa at large and KBA’s experience Claus Bolza-Schunemann, CEO and president of Koenig & Bauer (KBA) and Drupa president 2016, said, “Print in all its diversity made a strong comeback at Drupa 2016 following structural shifts over the past eight years. We were very positively surprised by the quantity, quality and internationality of the visitors. Many came very well prepared with clear requirements which made consulting easier. The atmosphere and willingness to invest on the busy KBA stand were exceptional. Many visitors praised us for the open and practical presentations of our products and services. This is particularly nice to hear.”
 
Indian packaging giant TCPL, which has put into service one KBA Rapida 106 press every year since 2012, has further consolidated its trust in KBA by sealing a big-ticket deal for three new KBA machines at the show.

KBA’s Indian representative Indo Polygraph Mahcinery (IPM)  has sold six machines including the TCPL deal.

Of the three, a seven-colour plus double coater Rapida 106 combi UV press, which is planned for TCPL’s Silvassa unit, will be shipped in October 2016.

“We clearly surpassed the sales target, we set ourselves and received many orders in all format classes from over 40 countries on all six continents. The focus of our trade show presence on growing markets, such as digital, LED-UV and packaging printing, proved highly successful," said, Ralf Sammeck, CEO of KBA-Sheetfed Solutions.
 
"The expansion of our offerings to post-press with an own rotary die-cutter and the planned takeover of Spanish die-cutter manufacturer Iberica AG S A were extremely well-received by our customers. The same is true of the conceptual presentation of the KBA VariJet 106 Powered by Xerox digital sheetfed press, whose development will be completed in a few months’ time, and of our new services towards Industry 4.0,” added Sammeck.

The Würzburg, Germany-based manufacturer saw the benefit of switching client focus over the past decade from 65% media clients and 35% packaging to 70% packaging and 10% media.
 
“We are very satisfied with the show. These orders go to show that KBA leads the Indian packaging game. We expect to sign a couple of more deals when we return to India,” concluded IPM managing director, Aditya Surana.