Koenig & Bauer: ‘The Widest Portfolio in the Market’

By Bob Neubauer

Eric Frank, SVP, Marketing, Koenig & Bauer

Eric Frank wants PRINTING United Expo attendees to understand one thing about his company.

“Koenig & Bauer has the widest portfolio in the market,” says the senior VP of marketing and product management at Koenig & Bauer. This portfolio includes sheetfed offset presses, inkjet presses, flexographic presses, web presses, corrugated presses, direct-to-object printers, and a host of post-press equipment.

“Our portfolio covers everything,” he says. But what makes that equipment unique is that it is all made to order.

“Everything is customized,” he says. “We have no inventory.”

The company consults directly with its customers to learn about their needs and focus on their future vision, then makes equipment that meets those individual needs. It’s a formula that’s worked well for the 205-year-old family-managed business.

Koenig & Bauer has long excelled in large-format folding carton press production, and at The Expo it is highlighting its new generation of Rapida 145 and 164 large-format sheetfed offset presses. Running at speeds up to 18,000 sph, the highly automated presses boast in-line color management and extended substrate range capabilities. Despite trends toward shorter runs, Frank sees a continuing need for large-format presses.

“There’s still mass production of many products,” he notes.

But the company’s digital technologies are strong as well. The RotaJET and variJET digital presses continue to grow in popularity in the folding carton market. For direct printing on 3D glass, plastic, or metal containers, Koenig & Bauer Kammann offers decorating solutions, with samples on display at the booth.

“Brand owners are looking to differentiate their product on the shelf,” Frank explains, pointing to wine bottles and cosmetics as popular direct printing applications.

Koenig & Bauer is excited to be back at The Expo this year, Frank says. “The beauty of this show is it covers all segments,” he notes. “PRINTING United has done a tremendous job in uniting everybody. They brought us all together again. The family’s back.”

Frank urges The Expo attendees to focus on a few industry trends: “Focus on highly automated machines due to the lack of people in the industry,” he says. Also, focus on sustainability and being accountable for your carbon footprint. And finally, he says, look for ways to differentiate your product so it stands out.

He feels Koenig & Bauer can help attendees in these areas. “We’re really more here to educate,” he says.

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Bob has served as editor of In-plant Impressions since October of 1994. Prior to that he served for three years as managing editor of Printing Impressions, a commercial printing publication. Mr. Neubauer is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences and has visited more than 180 in-plant operations around the world. He has given presentations to numerous in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia, including the Association of College and University Printers and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. He also coordinates the annual In-Print contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and In-plant Impressions.