Koenig & Bauer CEO Dr Stephen Kimmich prioritises India in first overseas visit

Dr Stephen Kimmich, CEO of the Koenig & Bauer Group, marked his first overseas visit in his new role by coming to India, underscoring the country's critical importance to the company's future. Having completed his first 100 days as CEO, Dr Kimmich expressed his comfort within the company and his strong belief in the Indian market.

"I didn't go to the US, I didn't go to China, I came to India," Dr Kimmich stated, emphasising India's transformation from an "emerging" market to one that has "already arrived." He highlighted the shift from secondhand and imported machines to high-end, high-tech manufacturing, citing strong order growth in India over the last three to four years, with Koeing & Bauer selling "absolute high-end top products, top machines into India."

Dr Kimmich extended a heartfelt thank you to the Surana family and Indo-Polygraph for organising a successful meet-and-greet with the who's who of the Indian print and packaging industry, noting the overwhelmingly positive feedback from his management team and employees about their partnership. He stressed that the 35-year collaboration is built on trust, which is key to its success.

While acknowledging Koenig & Bauer is now a publicly traded company, Dr Kimmich mentioned the continued involvement of the sixth and seventh generations of the founding family. He spoke of the humbling responsibility of building upon 208 years of work and aiming to hand over a stronger company to his successor.

Despite global uncertainties, Koening & Bauer is performing well, boasting the highest order backlog in its history. Dr Kimmich revealed a significant drop in orders from the US market, but this was more than compensated for by a historically best year ever in India and growth in other markets. He reiterated the company's commitment to open borders, easy travel, fair competition, and free trade, while also preparing for a world where these principles may be challenged, necessitating strong global partnerships and diversified products.

India, with its 1.4 billion people and growing middle class, is seen as a crucial driver of consumption and packaging demand. Market analysts predict India will become the third-largest consumer packaging market globally within the next decade.

Dr Kimmich outlined  Koenig & Bauer's diversified portfolio, extending beyond its traditional sheetfed offset printing machines to include world market leadership in offset printing for packaging, metal printing, glass printing, and banknote printing. He highlighted the company's significant investment of EUR 250-million over the last 10 years to become a pioneer in industrial digital printing across various substrates.

Looking ahead, Dr Kimmich emphasised a "customer-first" approach as the driving force behind his agenda. He concluded his address by outlining four key pillars: 

• Focus: The company's portfolio is considered complete, with a commitment to excellence in existing analogue and digital markets.
• Resilience: Building a stronger, more adaptable company to navigate challenging global times.
• Performance: Increasing profitability through improved cost management.
• Intelligence: Heavy investment in artificial intelligence, with a partnership with Google and extensive employee training, to explore its potential in graphic arts, printing, packaging, and service.

Dr Kimmich concluded by expressing confidence in  Koenig & Bauer Group's position to serve customers across all printing needs and his hope that in five years, in 2030, the company will be recognised as even stronger, with continued help and feedback from its partners.