Newspaper & Mailroom
Pursuing ambitious goals with compact newspaper technology
Monday 07. July 2008 - Bavaria's second KBA Commander CT destined for Straubing
Following a major contract from New York’s Daily News for a compact and highly automated Commander CT, KBA has received an order from Bavarian newspaper group Straubinger Tagblatt / Landshuter Zeitung for a 64-page press line that will come on stream in stages, replacing a KBA Express delivered in 1990 and extended in 1997.
“This is the most advanced wet offset newspaper press on the market, and will enable us to enhance the immediacy of our newspaper titles and produce full-colour paid-fors, frees and supplements in a stunning quality,” says Straubinger media group publisher, professor Martin Balle. “After comparing all the other possibilities we opted for the KBA Commander CT because it will deliver the biggest gains in terms of productivity, cost efficiency and the long-term competitiveness of printed newspapers in the media market.”
In addition to the Landshuter Zeitung, which first appeared in 1849, and the Straubinger Tagblatt launched eleven years later, the group publishes thirteen local titles for the region covering Bogen, Cham, Dingolfing, Freising and Vilsbiburg. It also has a website from which PDF versions of the various titles can be downloaded, and interests in local radio and television stations.
Technical director Wolfgang Heitzer says: “The compact design of the four-high towers, which split down the middle for easy access and have lifts on either side, makes handling much easier and reduces the amount of legwork involved. The automation modules featured, which are based on well proven technology, minimise make-ready, control and maintenance tasks. Our criteria in selecting a press were immediacy, localisation, quality and cost efficiency. We soon discovered that no other conventional press could hold a candle to the KBA Commander CT.”
Launched on the market in autumn 2007, KBA Commander CT press lines are already in operation at the Main-Post in Würzburg, Germany, and the Heraldo de Aragón in Saragossa, Spain.