KBA gives China edge with launch of Rapida 105

China is now KBA’s largest market, leading the company to launch its new medium format Rapida 105 sheet fed press at last week’s All in Print China, in Shanghai.
 
KBA executive vice president for sheet fed press sales, marketing and service Ralf Sammeck said: 'The printing world has changed over the past few years. Prior to 2008 the EU and North America were our biggest markets. Since 2010 China has become our largest market.'

 
This saw KBA launch the new Rapida 105 press, which upgrades the 105 to a similar platform as the high-tech Rapida 106, at All in Print China (pictured, above). Sammeck said the previous Rapida 105 is a well-established piece of equipment amongst Chinese printers, a reason why the new 105 was launched in China six months before appearing at Drupa 2012 in Germany next May.
 
‘We want to give our customers in China an edge by having this new technology available six months ahead of Drupa,’ Sammeck said.

Jürgen Veil, KBA's head of sheet fed marketing, said: 'The new Rapida 105 is not an enhancment of its predecessor but a totally new press with an array of technical features and automation modules adopted from our make-ready world champion, the Rapida 106. A wider choice of configurations allows the press to be customised for diverse applications, from commercial and packaging printing to labels and high-quality in-line finishing.'

The launch resulted in orders for over 20 Rapida 105 presses. C&C Printing HK, a 100-year-old Hong Kong-based giant international printing group that has made a name for itself in book, commercial, security, packaging, web, digital and card printing, placed an order for three Rapida 105s, which will join the company's two Rapida 142s. C&C managing director Liang Zhaoxian said: 'C&C is not just buying KBA equipment but also trying to work with KBA on how to best deal with the future of the printing industry.'