September 10, 2002 -- On August 30, HELL Gravure Systems GmbH, the world market leader in gravure form production, opened its newest production facilities situated on the eastern banks of Kiel Bay. "The process of demerging from the Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Group and establishing ourselves as an independent, medium-sized company in Kiel, is now complete", declared Managing Director Dr. Siegfried Beisswenger. At a reception attended by the Economics Minister Michael Rocca (Schleswig-Holstein) and Mayor Klein-Knott (City of Kiel), Dr. Siegfried Beisswenger welcomed numerous suppliers and guests, who were subsequently treated to a tour of the new premises. The afternoon was devoted to staff and their families, who celebrated late into the evening at a truly enjoyable party with lots of surprises and entertainment. HELL Gravure Systems GmbH was formed from a core business of the former Dr.?Ing. Rudolf Hell GmbH and was taken over in 1997 by Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG as a result of its acquisition of Linotype-Hell. Even in those days, Heidelberg decided to house its gravure business in an independent subsidiary known as HELL Gravure Systems GmbH, so as to enable the company to address the particular requirements of worldwide equipment transactions with key account customers. This structure also gave Hell the means to follow on from the successes of the past. In April 2002, the then Managing Director Dr. Siegfried Beisswenger, together with his business partner Max Rid, owner of Kaspar Walter und Johannes Bauer, purchased the shares of HELL Gravure Systems. Through cooperation agreements between HELL and Kaspar Walter (electroplating, surface treatment and automation systems) and Johannes Bauer (transportation and storage systems), the company is now able to offer solutions for the entire gravure cylinder production process chain.