10/21/2025
Two decades ago, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG) made a bold and far-reaching statement when it broke ground for its own production site in China. This was the beginning of a success story that has developed into a cornerstone of the entire company. The 2024/25 financial year set a record, with around 1,500 printing units assembled, an export quota of 40 percent, and deliveries to 70 countries. To date, a total of over 16,000 printing and coating units and almost 3,300 printing presses have been delivered from the Shanghai plant. The site thus makes a significant contribution to the strong market position of HEIDELBERG in China and gives the company a real competitive advantage.
What began in 2005 with the assembly of simple folding machines for print finishing has now become one of the most important production sites in the global HEIDELBERG network as a result of the dynamic growth of the Chinese printing industry. The Shanghai site (formerly known as the “Qingpu site” based on its exact location) covers an area of around 100,000 square meters, including 70,000 square meters of production space spread across three assembly shops. Today, the site employs around 600 people, who mainly produce printing units for the medium and large formats of the Speedmaster CX 92, SX 102, and CX 104 models.
With the opening of the Print Media Center at the Shanghai site in 2015, it has also developed into a center of excellence and a point of contact for customers from the Asia-Pacific region. Here, they can watch the machines in action, receive training, and see the site’s capabilities for themselves.
“Our Shanghai plant is particularly representative of the growth strategy of HEIDELBERG for its core business and underscores our strong market position in China. It shows how local production, technological excellence, and international cooperation lead to global success. We will continue on this path – with innovation, a strong customer focus, and local responsibility for implementation,” said Jürgen Otto, CEO of HEIDELBERG, in his welcoming remarks during the anniversary celebrations.
Michael Nilges, head of the Shanghai site, added: “The success story of the HEIDELBERG Shanghai site is closely linked to the commitment of its employees. The culture is performance-oriented and pragmatic, with a family-like cohesion. The cooperation between German and Chinese teams is living proof of our company’s intercultural strength.”
China – growth driver for the entire company
The Chinese printing market is a growth driver of global relevance for HEIDELBERG and also the largest single market for printing presses worldwide. Initially, machines in standard configurations were manufactured at the Shanghai site, primarily for the Chinese market. However, rising demand and the plant’s growing experience resulted in the site also playing an increasingly important role for more complex models and international markets.
In China itself, packaging printing is developing particularly dynamically. Packaging and labels account for almost 50 percent of the Chinese printing industry, and the market for folding cartons is growing particularly by around three percent annually. Some 75 percent of HEIDELBERG customers in China come from the packaging segment, and the company has a market share of around 50 percent in the Chinese market for modern sheetfed offset systems. Speedmaster XL technology manufactured in Germany is helping to meet this demand. Commercial printing, too, remains an important market for HEIDELBERG in China, especially for smaller print runs and customized applications. In this segment as a whole, demand for flexible, highly productive, and cost-efficient solutions in conjunction with digital printing technologies is also increasing in China.
“The machines manufactured by HEIDELBERG in Shanghai are in no way inferior to those from company headquarters in Wiesloch-Walldorf in terms of quality and efficiency, because ‘Made by HEIDELBERG’ is a global promise of quality that applies to all our products and locations – a promise that our customers worldwide can rely on,” emphasized Otto.
From a pioneering project to a global production hub – milestones from two decades at the HEIDELBERG Shanghai site
More about the anniversary of the production site in Shanghai
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG) is a leading technology company that has been standing for innovation, quality, and reliability in mechanical engineering worldwide for 175 years. With a clear focus on growth and as a total solution provider, HEIDELBERG is driving further development in the core areas of packaging and digital printing, software solutions, and lifecycle business with service and consumables so that customers can achieve maximum productivity and efficiency.
The company is also focusing on expanding into new business areas such as high-precision plant engineering with integrated control systems, automation technology, robotics, and the growing green technologies sector. With its strong international presence in approximately 170 countries, the creative power and expertise of its roughly 9,500 employees, its own production facilities in Europe, China, and the USA, and one of the largest global sales and service networks, the company is ideally positioned for future growth.
Image 1: The Shanghai site is a key pillar in the growth strategy of HEIDELBERG for its core business – the photo shows the final assembly.
Image 2: The groundbreaking ceremony for the new HEIDELBERG site in Shanghai took place in 2005.
Image 3: Initially, HEIDELBERG produced postpress machinery for the Chinese market at its Shanghai site.
Image 4: By 2006, HEIDELBERG had also started producing standard small-format printing presses.
Image 5: Since 2011, HEIDELBERG has also been producing large-format printing presses (70x100 cm) at its Shanghai site.
Image 6: To date, HEIDELBERG has produced over 16,000 printing and coating units at its Shanghai site.
Image 7: These now include extra-long configurations of the best-selling Speedmaster CX 104.
Image 8: “Made by HEIDELBERG” is a promise of quality, that applies to all the company’s products and sites.
Image 9: The HEIDELBERG Shanghai site now covers an area of around 100,000 square meters, 70,000 square meters of which is production space spread across three assembly shops.
Image material, and further information about the company are available in the Investor Relations and Press Lounge of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG at www.heidelberg.com.
This release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions and estimates by the management of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft. Even though the management is of the opinion that these assumptions and estimates are accurate, the actual future development and results may deviate substantially from these forward-looking statements due to various factors, such as changes in the overall economic situation, in exchange and interest rates, and within the print media industry. Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft provides no guarantee and assumes no liability for future developments and results deviating from the assumptions and estimates made in this press release.
Matthias Hartung
Press Officer – Corporate, Print Systems, and Technology
Tel.: +49 (0)6222 82 67174
Email: matthias.hartung@heidelberg.com
10/21/2025
Two decades ago, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG) made a bold and far-reaching statement when it broke ground for its own production site in China. This was the beginning of a success story that has developed into a cornerstone of the entire company. The 2024/25 financial year set a record, with around 1,500 printing units assembled, an export quota of 40 percent, and deliveries to 70 countries. To date, a total of over 16,000 printing and coating units and almost 3,300 printing presses have been delivered from the Shanghai plant. The site thus makes a significant contribution to the strong market position of HEIDELBERG in China and gives the company a real competitive advantage.
What began in 2005 with the assembly of simple folding machines for print finishing has now become one of the most important production sites in the global HEIDELBERG network as a result of the dynamic growth of the Chinese printing industry. The Shanghai site (formerly known as the “Qingpu site” based on its exact location) covers an area of around 100,000 square meters, including 70,000 square meters of production space spread across three assembly shops. Today, the site employs around 600 people, who mainly produce printing units for the medium and large formats of the Speedmaster CX 92, SX 102, and CX 104 models.
With the opening of the Print Media Center at the Shanghai site in 2015, it has also developed into a center of excellence and a point of contact for customers from the Asia-Pacific region. Here, they can watch the machines in action, receive training, and see the site’s capabilities for themselves.
“Our Shanghai plant is particularly representative of the growth strategy of HEIDELBERG for its core business and underscores our strong market position in China. It shows how local production, technological excellence, and international cooperation lead to global success. We will continue on this path – with innovation, a strong customer focus, and local responsibility for implementation,” said Jürgen Otto, CEO of HEIDELBERG, in his welcoming remarks during the anniversary celebrations.
Michael Nilges, head of the Shanghai site, added: “The success story of the HEIDELBERG Shanghai site is closely linked to the commitment of its employees. The culture is performance-oriented and pragmatic, with a family-like cohesion. The cooperation between German and Chinese teams is living proof of our company’s intercultural strength.”
China – growth driver for the entire company
The Chinese printing market is a growth driver of global relevance for HEIDELBERG and also the largest single market for printing presses worldwide. Initially, machines in standard configurations were manufactured at the Shanghai site, primarily for the Chinese market. However, rising demand and the plant’s growing experience resulted in the site also playing an increasingly important role for more complex models and international markets.
In China itself, packaging printing is developing particularly dynamically. Packaging and labels account for almost 50 percent of the Chinese printing industry, and the market for folding cartons is growing particularly by around three percent annually. Some 75 percent of HEIDELBERG customers in China come from the packaging segment, and the company has a market share of around 50 percent in the Chinese market for modern sheetfed offset systems. Speedmaster XL technology manufactured in Germany is helping to meet this demand. Commercial printing, too, remains an important market for HEIDELBERG in China, especially for smaller print runs and customized applications. In this segment as a whole, demand for flexible, highly productive, and cost-efficient solutions in conjunction with digital printing technologies is also increasing in China.
“The machines manufactured by HEIDELBERG in Shanghai are in no way inferior to those from company headquarters in Wiesloch-Walldorf in terms of quality and efficiency, because ‘Made by HEIDELBERG’ is a global promise of quality that applies to all our products and locations – a promise that our customers worldwide can rely on,” emphasized Otto.
From a pioneering project to a global production hub – milestones from two decades at the HEIDELBERG Shanghai site
More about the anniversary of the production site in Shanghai
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG) is a leading technology company that has been standing for innovation, quality, and reliability in mechanical engineering worldwide for 175 years. With a clear focus on growth and as a total solution provider, HEIDELBERG is driving further development in the core areas of packaging and digital printing, software solutions, and lifecycle business with service and consumables so that customers can achieve maximum productivity and efficiency.
The company is also focusing on expanding into new business areas such as high-precision plant engineering with integrated control systems, automation technology, robotics, and the growing green technologies sector. With its strong international presence in approximately 170 countries, the creative power and expertise of its roughly 9,500 employees, its own production facilities in Europe, China, and the USA, and one of the largest global sales and service networks, the company is ideally positioned for future growth.
Image 1: The Shanghai site is a key pillar in the growth strategy of HEIDELBERG for its core business – the photo shows the final assembly.
Image 2: The groundbreaking ceremony for the new HEIDELBERG site in Shanghai took place in 2005.
Image 3: Initially, HEIDELBERG produced postpress machinery for the Chinese market at its Shanghai site.
Image 4: By 2006, HEIDELBERG had also started producing standard small-format printing presses.
Image 5: Since 2011, HEIDELBERG has also been producing large-format printing presses (70x100 cm) at its Shanghai site.
Image 6: To date, HEIDELBERG has produced over 16,000 printing and coating units at its Shanghai site.
Image 7: These now include extra-long configurations of the best-selling Speedmaster CX 104.
Image 8: “Made by HEIDELBERG” is a promise of quality, that applies to all the company’s products and sites.
Image 9: The HEIDELBERG Shanghai site now covers an area of around 100,000 square meters, 70,000 square meters of which is production space spread across three assembly shops.
Image material, and further information about the company are available in the Investor Relations and Press Lounge of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG at www.heidelberg.com.
This release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions and estimates by the management of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft. Even though the management is of the opinion that these assumptions and estimates are accurate, the actual future development and results may deviate substantially from these forward-looking statements due to various factors, such as changes in the overall economic situation, in exchange and interest rates, and within the print media industry. Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft provides no guarantee and assumes no liability for future developments and results deviating from the assumptions and estimates made in this press release.
Press Officer – Corporate, Print Systems, and Technology
Tel.: +49 (0)6222 82 67174
