Major Ipex Orders For KBA Sheetfed And Web Presses

As the doors closed on Ipex 2006, KBA and its British subsidiary KBA (UK) reported that stand attendance, orders and projects in progress were all up on the previous show in 2002.

As the doors closed on Ipex 2006, KBA and its British subsidiary KBA (UK) reported that stand attendance, orders and projects in progress were all up on the previous show in 2002.

Printing demonstrations were staged throughout the show on the Rapida 105 10-colour, Performa 74 five-colour, Genius 52UV and Universys presses.

KBA said that business was brisk, with contracts for sheetfed and web presses topping the previous show's high score and those opportunities included some unusual projects.

A lot of the contracts signed by UK and foreign customers were for presses that were not even demonstrated on the stand at Ipex, said the company.

St Ives SP Group of Redditch (UK) and French printer Bergame in St Ouen both ordered a superlarge KBA Rapida 205 press, whilst envelope company Encore Direct in York went for a large-format Rapida 142 with two coaters.

Contracts for various other formats were awarded by printers in China, Russia, Germany, Spain, France, Iran and Saudi Arabia, with KBA's in-line coating often proving the decisive factor, said the company.

One such example was a 15-unit Rapida 105 triple coater press for Graf Poz in Poland.

In September, Gopsons Paper in New Delhi (India) will take delivery of the first VLF KBA press in India, a four-colour Rapida 130.

KBA added that with a large number of negotiations nearing completion as the show closed, it expected sheetfed business to remain brisk in coming weeks.

Although KBA only exhibited models of commercial and newspaper presses, a number of major contracts were signed.

One of them was for Al Arab Newspaper and Dar Al Sharq in Doha (Qatar) which opted for a KBA Continent press with 10 towers, 16 reelstands, two folders and three dryers for 64-page broadsheet.

The press will replace an 18-year-old Albert 200 machine.

According to KBA, small-format printers were not the only ones to show interest in the UV version of KBA-Metronic's Genius 52, which is claimed to enhance the impact of 3D lenticular print by applying opaque white in an integrated coater.

In addition, potential applications for an ink-jet imprinter in the delivery, which enables prints to be personalised, was a central theme amongst prospects.

The company added that several Genius 52UV presses were sold to printers in England, Turkey and other countries.

KBA-Metronic's Universys system, which can be configured with ink-jet, hot stamping, labelling, magnetic or RFID coding capabilities for personalising smart cards pre-printed on the Genius press, for instance, was also demonstrated, resulting in orders from Jordan, Pakistan and Dubai.

KBA organised a number of packaged events for key customers, including tours for Chinese and Indian VIPs to nearby KBA sheetfed users.

Northampton-based Arkle Print, the prospective owners of the Rapida 105 10-colour exhibited at Ipex, brought a party of customers to the stand for special demonstrations.

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