Offset Printing
Baumann gains a new partner in Komori
Wednesday 28. November 2012 - Exclusive deal for sales and service of sheet-fed offset machines from Japan.
From 1 January 2013, the Heinrich Baumann Graphical Centre (Grafisches Centrum Heinrich Baumann) in Frankfurt am Main will be selling sheet-fed offset machines from Komori Ltd, the third-largest manufacturer of printing presses in the world, based in Tokyo. This also means the end of the road after over 80 years for a partnership with the offset machine manufacturer manroland sheetfed (previously manroland). The company from Offenbach went into receivership in early 2012 and was bought up by the British entrepreneur Tony Langley.
Baumann sells a wide product range from well-known manufacturers in the print processing sector, alongside its own Baumann-Wohlenberg range with cutting systems and adhesive binders. They are also a successful player in the prepress sector (incl. Agfa and Kodak), and with the acquisition of the sales and service rights for Komori machines they have also substantially enlarged their area of representation.
In the past Baumann has provided services for sheet-fed offset ma-chines from Offenbach in the German regions of Hesse, the Rhine-land-Palatinate and the Saar, but the new Komori partnership adds the two large regions of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, as well as Saxony and Thuringia. The Frankfurt-based company will be provid-ing this through additional offices in Munich, Leipzig and Mecken-heim/Bonn, and a total of over 400 employees.
The new partner supplying the equipment, the Komori Group, was founded in 1923. The company is one of the largest Japanese manufacturers of sheet-fed and web offset machines, as well as of special machines for printing banknotes and digital printing presses to the highest standards. The machines are manufactured in Tsukuba in Japan, in a modern 60,000m2 facility. Research and de-velopment is also based there, as well as a sizeable test centre. Their first European presence was opened in Leeds in the UK in 1984, followed in 1988 by the European HQ in Utrecht in the Nether-lands which includes a training and print presentation centre. Komori has grown hugely in the last few years thanks to its innovative tech-nology, and now employs over 2,000 people. With its innovative technology the company is currently significantly expanding its share of the world market for high quality sheet-fed offset machines.
Managing Director Christian Baumann said: “Business means con-stant change if you want to be successful. The new partnership with Komori is a big opportunity for our company, and for existing and fu-ture customers. Previously we were competing against Komori, and we are grateful and proud to now be able to work together with the third-largest printing press manufacturer in the world. By adding the southern and eastern areas of Germany we cover more than half the German market – a huge challenge for us, but one we are eager to take on. For our customers, the only thing that changes is that they now have the choice of a new and excellent range of machinery while continuing to be able to rely on our service and the skills of all the Baumann employees.”
Neil Sutton, European Managing Director at Komori International Netherlands in Utrecht, says about the new partnership: “We are looking forward to working with Baumann and are confident that we will now be able to install our new and innovative Komori installations across a wider area, particularly into the market in southern Ger-many, which is well-known for adopting advanced technology. We believe that the Baumann Group, with its long history and devotion to its customers will prove a most reliable partner for us for the future.”