Heidelberg celebrates 10 years in China, opens print media centre

This is Heidelberg third print media centre, following the two such facilities in Germany and the US.

Stephan Plenz, one of the members in the management board, Heidelberg, said, “Our customers were demanding a training and demo centre in the region. So, we decided to establish it in 2012, and now we have opened it for our customers.”

Plenz said customers want to see their machines at work before shipping, and the PMC will help customers get this opportunity.  

The facility, with 2,250 sq/mt carpet area, will focus on training and demonstration for digital printing, pre-press and Prinect, printing and post-press, services and consumables, besides having comprehensive training rooms.

The PMC will use both English and Mandarin to reach out to customers not only from China but also from all over Asia.

Plenz said Heidelberg started the assembling facility in China so that its customers in the country can buy the machines in their currency and purchase it without a need for import licence.

In the last 10 years, Heidelberg has produced more than 6,000 units in its Shanghai facility.

Rene Ludvigsen, chief executive officer, region Asia Pacific, confirmed that there is no difference in the equipment whether it is manufactured in Germany or in China. “We use same standards of metallurgy and technology in both our facilities in Germany and China. This is a German facility in China not Chinese facility in China,” he said.

Despite the current economic downturn in China, Plenz is optimistic about the future in the region. “Right now, Chinese economy is under a stormy weather, but the region is growing well. So we are expanding. If other industries grow, we will grow as well,” he said.

Meanwhile, Drupa 2016 is in the horizon and the company has some major plans, which remains a closely guarded secret. “We have surprises for the industry on both the technologies, offset and digital, in Drupa. I cannot comment more than that right now,” he concluded.

New logo with more colours

Heidelberg has launched an updated logo, complete with three more colours – yellow representing service, light blue representing equipment, and green representing consumables, besides the existing blue, which represents the company’s strength.

“Our new logo shows the flexibility in our approach to fulfil the requirements of our customers. We are among the few companies who can provide solutions from pre-press to final product. Our portfolio is expanding continuously, said Plenz.