Heidelberg: A Year-End Review

In the U.S. market, which saw a plunge in press sales starting in 2008, Heidelberg’s Management Board member Stephan Plenz, observed that U.S. printers as a whole operate presses with some of the oldest average ages across the globe. These older presses—well built though they are—are not as efficient as newer Heidelberg presses that employ such technologies as Anicolor and Prinect, Plenz said, resulting in less productive, more costly printing. Press technology has advanced so much in the past five years that only printers with the latest technology can hope to compete in the global market, he maintained.

Plenz outlined Heidelberg’s current strategy, which has its focus in four areas: emerging markets, packaging printing, services and consumables, and digital and new businesses.

Management Board member Marcel Kiessling, head of global sales, noted that emerging markets such as China and Brazil are showing substantial growth in print production volume—6 percent per year, he said. Heidelberg expects this segment to account for 40 percent of global sheetfed volume by 2015, with a corresponding growth in press sales. The company is expanding its market coverage and service force in these countries.