Heidelberg’s Harald Weimer addresses the pre-drupa media briefing

It’s impossible not to be struck by the differences between the Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG that exhibited at drupa 2012 and the company that will be present under that name at the 2016 edition of the show.

Four years ago, Heidelberg was a business operating at a financial loss as it faced declining orders in nearly all of its principal markets. Sales of its mainstay product line, sheetfed lithographic presses, had stalled. Its portfolio was studded with pre- and postpress devices that also had become weak performers. A go-it-alone mentality left the company’s R&D programs largely sealed off from outside participation. It had not been aggressive in acquiring subsidiaries that could help broaden its technological repertoire and extend its product base.