Hansen to lead KBA growth in Korea

Kenneth Hansen (pictured, left) has been appointed the managing director of KBA Korea, and is to focus on providing ‘competent advice for our Korean customers on investment decisions’.
 
KBA Korea was established as a subsidiary of the German manufacturer at the end of 2011, in addition to successful sales and service subsidiaries in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Australia. Based in Seoul, it was established to cater to a further key industrial growth market in the Far East.
 
The subsidiary provides a direct line to the German manufacturing plant, a broader choice of service offerings, local spare part accessibility and the services of highly trained local personnel for installations and trouble shooting. There are also plans for a remote maintenance facility.
 
Initially KBA Korea is handling all activities relating to sheet-fed offset, commercial web offset and digital presses for the German parent. Sales of newspaper presses will continue to be handled from Germany or by German staff in China.
 
KBA has already supplied a number of presses to the Korean market, including a Rapida 106 10-colour perfector for Korea Minting & Security Printing in Daejon and a five-colour Rapida 105 with DriveTronic SIS no-sidelay in-feed at Gomundang Printing in Daegu-Si, which will shortly be joined by six-colour Rapida 105 coater press with automatic plate changing and a board-handling capability. A seven-colour Rapida 105 with coater and UV package was shipped last year to packaging printer Duk Su in Chungchunbuuk-Do.
 
The company said that with no customs duty payable on products from Germany, and the strong yen impairing the competitiveness of Japanese vendors, it is aiming to boost sales still further this year, particularly among package printers.
 
Hansen has 35 years of experience in sales and customer services for the Asian print market, particularly in Korea and Japan, most recently working as chief executive officer of manroland Northeast Asia in Korea and Japan. He took charge of KBA Korea on April 15.
 
He said: ‘KBA has the broadest and most advanced product range of all press manufacturers and in many sectors leads the field in technology and innovation. So Korea’s vibrant and demanding print market offers enormous potential for growth.
 
‘In my new capacity as managing director I am aiming to build on KBA’s success to date in Korea. My primary focus will be on providing competent advice for our Korean customers on investment decisions, backing this up with the best possible service.’

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