KBA's Customer Satisfaction Rides High In USA

KBA customer satisfaction sits at an all-time high, according to a survey taken by KBA North America.

KBA customer satisfaction sits at an all-time high, according to a survey taken by KBA North America.

The German press manufacturer's US operation in Williston, Vermont said that its customers rank KBA highly for satisfaction, installation, training and service.

The company said that it also received good feedback for its choice of presses and confidence in the company's management, as well as long-term stability of the family-owned business.

Ralf Sammeck, the president and chief executive officer of KBA North America, said: "Our goal at KBA is to ensure we remain a solid foundation for our customers to build upon and to continue developing presses that are the new standard in printing technology.

One of the key elements of continued growth is fulfilling your customer's needs and expectations.

As the oldest press manufacturer and a family-owned corporation, we are always striving to exceed our customer's needs and provide stability and long-term outlook for our research and development." KBA customers are said to have praised the firm for its service, training, well-built machinery and excellent reputation.

Jeff Oles, vice president of manufacturing at Gibraltar Packaging Group, commented: "We researched other press manufacturers but KBA stood out from the others with its excellent reputation for well-built state-of-the-art printing technology.

The press speeds and support capabilities from KBA were another key reason that became instrumental in our decision to choose KBA.

Training and service are vital to the operation of our business.

The servicing and remote maintenance of equipment is a vital link in maintaining and maximising the output of equipment.

We've had nothing but first-rate support from KBA." Los Angeles-based Lithographix had high praise for KBA.

Lithographix's senior vice president of manufacturing, George Wolden, said: "Lithographix purchased a new KBA Rapida 205 81" press due to its outstanding current technology.

KBA's attention to detail, in terms of design and engineering, is extremely well thought out for a large format press." Mainline Printing, a Midwest commercial and speciality printer in Topeka, Kansas, installed a Rapida 105 41" six-colour press with coater and hybrid UV capabilities at its new 140,000 square foot facility during 2004.

The Rapida 105 six-colour press joined a Rapida 105 seven-colour press with coater purchased in 2002.

"We bought the Rapida 105 41" press at Drupa 2004 with the intention of installing it at our brand-new facility," said John Parker, president of Mainline Printing.

"KBA understood our time constriction and the company was a true partner in our move.

KBA sent five mechanics and two electricians from Germany to help install the new press and disassemble our existing seven-colour press at our former facility and move that press to our new premises.

We've purchased presses from other manufacturers but nobody takes care of you like KBA." When Mainline installed its first KBA press, the firm was not prepared for the care and support it received.

Parker commented: "KBA's whole support system, from the installation crew to the trainers to the local mechanics, has been unbelievable.

Because they were so responsive, efficient, and proficient in their work, it took less than a month to get our first press up and running.

We learned that KBA puts its installation crews through very rigorous training.

When the crew installed our second press, it worked very hard, regularly putting in 12 to 14 hour days." Allied Printing Services, a sheetfed and web commercial and financial printer serving customers nationwide from Manchester, Connecticut, installed a new KBA Rapida 142 56" six-colour large format press with aqueous coating.

It was Allied Printing's first press from KBA North America.

"We invited KBA to do a presentation for us and we were pleasantly surprised to learn about their technology, their diverse press line, and their strengths," said John Sommers, president and chief executive officer of Allied Printing, who operates the family-owned business along with his brother Gerry, the executive vice president.

John Sommers added: "During the presentation we found out an interesting fact that KBA presses print 95 per cent of the world's currency.

Then we went to Drupa 2004 to see the presses in action.

We were very impressed.

We also did not know that KBA presses are built by a team that follows the press to the printer's installation site.

That's very unusual and we like that approach.

This helps installing the press in a minimum of time." On Demand Imaging, a Portsmouth, New Hampshire printer, installed a 74 Karat digital offset press with in-line aqueous coater in 2004.

KBA flew the Karat in from Germany and the training was important for On Demand that needs to keep its presses running.

Even today if the company needs help with the press, KBA will send a technician out for a week, added the company.

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