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TOMORROW’S TECHNOLOGY TAILORED FOR YOU TODAY

Koenig & Bauer (KBA) is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of printing press machinery and offers the broadest range available in today’s international market, covering virtually every sector – newspapers, magazines, books, commercial print, packaging, metal decorating and security print.

Despite the magnitude of KBA, with 2008 group sales reported at €1.53 billion and with over 7,800 employees, every press that emerges from one of its manufacturing plants at Würzburg, Dresden, Frankenthal, Trennfeld and Dobruška is tailored to the requirements of the individual customer.

KBA presses have a high reputation for engineering excellence, environmentally friendly operation and exceptional substrate flexibility.

KBA UK Ltd

The KBA UK sales office in Watford

KBA UK, with its sales and technical support headquarters at Watford, meets the demands of a highly demanding market in the United Kingdom which is seeing the installed base for KBA presses increasing year on year.

In newspaper printing KBA has historic links to the UK in that one of its founders, Friedrich Koenig, designed and built the first power driven printing machine commissioned by The Times in 1814. That tradition is continued today by KBA Prisma, Colora and Commander presses which are at the heart of leading newspaper production centres at Trinity Mirror Printing, Express Newspapers, Newsquest Glasgow, Harmsworth Quays Printing, North Wales Newspapers, Cambridge Newspapers and Broughton Printers. In Ireland, KBA newspaper lines are installed at the Meath Chronicle and at Webprint Concepts.

High volume magazine production sees big KBA rotogravure and web offset presses in action at leading centres such as Prinovis in Liverpool, Polestar in Wakefield and at Woodford Litho in Witham.

The bedrock of KBA’s activity in the UK is based on technically advanced sheetfed litho presses where presses from the Rapida range are the choice of discerning printers. In large format and super large format KBA continues to be UK market leader for the production of packaging, posters, point-of-sale material, Books and maps. For VLF presses KBA took over 75% market share in 2008 and the giant Rapida 205 is a must-have investment for leading printers competing in the retail market.

In the UK the Rapida 105 and the new 106 B1 sheetfed press are KBA’s biggest sellers and appear in a variety of configurations at top printing houses across the country. Buxton Press in Derbyshire boasts the largest array of KBA long perfectors in the world – 50 units in total linked to the latest reel-sheeters and Alito Color Group in London operates the UK’s first 12-unit KBA Rapida 105 long perfector again linked to sophisticated reel sheeting for economic and environmental savings. And, following its sensational makeready record at Drupa 2008, the new Rapida 106 with simultaneous plate change SPC is now setting new standards at keynote installations at Brunswick Press, W&G Baird and Cambrian Printers.

Also breaking new ground after its successful launch at Drupa is the Rapida 75 high performance B2 press with successful installations at CL Print and Wood Printcraft while the Genius 52 UV and 74 Karat continue to excel in specialist areas and crossover digital/litho applications.

The KBA range is all about choice and it is choice backed by sound professional advice. Talk to us and learn more about how we can help your business.

Christian Knapp, Managing Director, KBA UK Ltd.