KBA’s Frankenthal Press Plant Celebrating Its 150th Jubilee

WÜRZBURG, GERMANY—August 17, 2011—August 18, 2011, will mark the 150th anniversary of German press manufacturer KBA’s Frankenthal production plant. The citizens of Frankenthal—and gravure printers the world over—still often refer to the company as Albert, even though that name was dropped in 1995.

Common roots in Oberzell
Founder Andreas Albert qualified as a master craftsman under Friedrich Koenig and Andreas Bauer—the inventors of the steam-powered cylinder printing press and founders of the world’s oldest press manufacturer—in a secularised monastery in Oberzell, near Würzburg. Moving to Augsburg, Albert became head of assembly at Reichenbachsche Maschinenfabrik (now manroland), founded by one of Friedrich Koenig’s nephews. In 1861 Albert and a partner, Andreas Hamm, established Schnellpressenfabrik Albert & Hamm in Frankenthal.