New Success for Heidelberg in Newspaper Business
07/26/2002
French publishing group Hersant to buy three Mainstream rotary newspaper presses
The French publishing group Hersant has agreed an order for three Mainstream rotary newspaper presses from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg). The production equipment of the French regional newspaper Le Progrès de Lyon is almost 30 years old and the company is planning to modernize it. Two of the new presses with 64 printing units in total are to be installed in Chassieu, a suburb of Lyons. The third press with 26 printing units is being sent to Saint-Etienne.
The rotary presses for Le Progrès are due to be supplied by the end of 2003. Heidelberg will manufacture these presses at its factory in Montataire near Paris. The French production site specializes in the production of rotary offset presses for the commercial and newspaper sectors.
This order from the Hersant Group increases the number of
Mainstream rotary newspaper presses sold worldwide to 19, with a
total of 631 printing units, thereby consolidating Heidelberg's
position as the market's leading provider of rotary newspaper
presses. The company's market position in France is
particularly strong, following other orders for two Mainstreams
each from the Spir Group (in September 2000) and the newspaper La
Dépêche du Midi (in October 2001).
About the Hersant publishing group
The Lyons local daily newspaper Le Progrès is part of
the holding company Delaroche which belongs in turn to Socpresse, a
division of the Hersant Group. Delaroche monitors Hersant's
newspaper activities in the Rhône-Alpes and Burgundy regions
of France. Hersant, one of France's leading publishing groups,
has more than a 20 percent share of the newspaper market and owns
approx. 80 titles in France and Belgium including the national
daily Le Figaro.
Le Progrès employs 1,200 staff and has annual sales of 150 million Euro. The daily newspaper has a circulation of nearly 300,000 on weekdays and 400,000 on Sundays.
For further information:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Investor Relations
Dirk Kaliebe
Tel: +49 (0)6221 92 60 20
Fax: +49 (0)6221 92 60 61
E-mail:
Company Profile
Over the course of its more than 150-year history, Heidelberg has grown from a traditional printing press manufacturer to become the world's largest solutions provider for the print media industry. With its seamlessly integrated hardware and software solutions, it has established a commanding lead over other market players. Heidelberg is a one-stop supplier of everything from prepress solutions to a wide range of products for printing and finishing processes, relevant training and accompanying services. More
