Kyoto is a city rich in tradition, where you can feel Japan’s history at every corner. It attracts millions of visitors from around the world. In this historic setting, Fujiwara Book Binding Works Co., Ltd. has been proudly engaged in bookbinding since 1950. Now in its 70th year, the company employs 48 people.
President Tomoyuki Fujiwara reflects: “Even after 70 years, in Kyoto, we’re still a young company. Around us are many businesses with histories of over 100 years. Our goal now is to reach that milestone ourselves, and I’m doing my best to make it happen.”
The company has grown steadily, focusing on bookbinding and related services, especially for textbooks and catalogs. Most of its clients are printing and publishing companies based in Kyoto, Shiga, Aichi, and Osaka.
In recent years, Fujiwara Book Binding has expanded its services in response to growing demand from the local publishing industry. One key step was adding the Versafire digital press from HEIDELBERG. With this machine, the company could quickly handle short-run, fast-delivery jobs—not only for publishers but also for other clients—by combining printing and binding in-house.
This move allowed Fujiwara to offer greater value beyond traditional bookbinding. “It became a new strength for us,” says Fujiwara.
President Fujiwara noticed a decline in the number of bookbinding companies, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This led to a rise in new business for Fujiwara, as clients sought reliable partners. But meeting this extra demand could have led to more overtime, so the company needed a way to handle the increase without overworking staff.
“We realized that just replacing machines with similar models wouldn’t be enough. We had to make a strategic change to support both growth and productivity,” he explains. During a visit to European printing companies, President Fujiwara saw the Stahlfolder KH 82-P in action.
“I was amazed by how productive (the Stahlfolder KH 82-P) was. It could keep up with the speed of a printing press. Thanks to the shingled sheet system, folding became much faster, and the folder was no longer the bottleneck in production,” he recalls.
Back in Japan, he discussed the idea with Vice President Mikiaki Fujiwara and the team. Soon after, the company decided to invest in two machines: the Stahlfolder KH 82-P in 2017 and the Stahlfolder KH 82 EOU in 2021.
The impact was immediate. "The Stahlfolder KH 82 delivered twice the output of our previous folder,” says President Fujiwara.
Vice President Mikiaki Fujiwara adds, “With these machines, we’ve cut makeready times by over 30%. Productivity is up, and our operators are more motivated. It’s also helped us improve our in-house production rate and profitability.”
With faster turnaround times, Fujiwara can now take on more work, and the company is attracting younger operators, laying the groundwork for future growth.
The Stahlfolder KH 82 is one of HEIDELBERG’s best-selling folding machines, known for its fast setup, simple operation, and flexible modular design. It can handle a wide range of materials and jobs, making it ideal for many printing and binding companies.
The Stahlfolder KH 82-P models are especially suited for high-volume signature production and help businesses expand into new areas with added value and efficiency.
6 Ushigase Shinden Bukecho,
Nishikyo Ward, Kyoto,
615-8043, Japan
