The Wiesloch plant of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
(Heidelberg) recently produced the 1,000th Speedmaster XL 105
printing unit.
Heidelberg did not begin series production of this new
generation of printing presses until April 2005. The Speedmaster XL
105 is targeted at industrialized print shops in the commercial and
packaging sectors that value its high level of automation and
efficient operation. "The Speedmaster XL 105 has met our
customers' every expectation," states Dr. Jürgen
Rautert, Management Board Member responsible for Engineering and
Manufacturing at Heidelberg. "Many first-time customers are
already ordering their second or even third press in this
performance class," he adds.
New flagship becoming a bestseller
Capacity utilization levels in Wiesloch are high. One of
the key markets for this press is Europe, which takes one in every
two presses. One German print shop, for example, recently ordered
27 Speedmaster XL 105 printing units and changed over its entire
pressroom to this series. The 1,000th printing unit will be going
to Italy. Other major markets are North America and the
Asia-Pacific region, including Japan.
Top productivity and quality
Customers surveys reveal that the productivity of the
Speedmaster XL 105 can be raised by up to 30 percent. This is due
in almost equal measure to savings in make-ready time and faster
average speed per job. Color remains stable even at speeds of
18,000 sheets per hour. All in all, this cuts the cost of each
sheet produced, while the number of saleable "OK sheets"
is raised significantly. This makes production more cost-effective
and also raises print capacity. The proven Prinect CP2000 control
unit facilitates operation and increases reliability. The
Speedmaster XL 105 also wins friends due to its superb styling - it
recently received the Design Award of the Federal Republic of
Germany.
The Speedmaster XL 105 is a completely new platform
development from Heidelberg that extends the existing product
portfolio in 70 x 100 (27.56 x 39.37 inch) format. The Speedmaster
XL 105 and Speedmaster SM/CD 102 are assembled in a bay in Wiesloch
with a total surface area of 72,000 square meters, which is roughly
the size of nine soccer fields. A press with six printing units and
one coating unit weighs around 63 tons. A printing unit is made up
of over 3,000 individual components and weighs over seven tons.
Further information for journalists:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Corporate Communications
Hilde Weisser
Tel.: +49 (0)6221 92 50 66
Fax: +49 (0)6221 92 50 46
E-mail:
hilde.weisser@heidelberg.com