KBA Increased ‘06 Sales in 41-Inch & Large Format Market

WILLISTON, Vt.—Press manufacturer KBA North America increased sales in both its keystone press model—the Rapida 105 41‑inch sheetfed press—and its leadership position in the large-format sheetfed press market in 2006. Both areas helped to propel KBA to double-digit growth in sheetfed offset presses in 2006.

“Our sales figures from 2006 are extremely positive,” says Ralf Sammeck, president and CEO of KBA North America. “An underlying trend to this growth is that so many of our customers are buying a second, third, and fourth KBA press from us—all signs that are indicative of their high satisfaction in our presses, technology, and service.”

World’s only new generation 41˝ perfector press gains market share
Since the introduction of a streamlined new design model of the KBA Rapida 105 41-inch sheetfed press at Drupa 2004, KBA has seen its popularity grow dramatically. Major North American commercial printers who have recently invested in the Rapida 105 are Imagine! Print Solutions, a $100 million company headquartered in Minneapolis serving five national print segments: commercial, point of purchase, packaging, UV print, and pressure sensitive labels; Cedar Graphics, an award-winning general commercial printer located in Hiawatha, Iowa; Lange Graphics, a premier general commercial printer located in Denver; Bolger Vision Beyond Print, a 220-employee, $30 million printer based in Minneapolis; and BL Litho, a leading Montreal, Quebec printer.

Commercial printers go large format with KBA
The continuing popularity and growth of KBA’s large format models—from 51-inches to 81-inches—is also benefiting the firm’s upward sales growth. The Rapida 205—measuring 81-inches—won the GATF InterTech Technology Award in 2005. During the past year, many packaging and commercial printers have been drawn to the KBA large-format size, including Graphic Packaging, a multi-plant manufacturer of folding paperboard boxes headquartered in Bow, N.H.; Motivating Graphics, Inc., a full-service printer located in Ft. Worth, Texas, and Deerfield Beach, Fla.; and Park Printing, a full-service, multi-color printer located in Minneapolis.

“Customers are switching to KBA press models to be increase their profitability,” says Sammeck. “They are looking to expand their print capabilities to become more diverse, more flexible, and more automated. They see our success and our many accolades—such as our back-to-back GATF InterTech Technology awards in 2005 and 2006—as definitive proof of what our presses can do for them.”