(May 21, 2008) Less than two weeks after erection work started on KBA's 3,400m² (126,600ft²) exhibition stand in hall 16, the fleet of sheetfed and web presses from Radebeul and Würzburg have arrived on site and are being installed. Working in twelve-hour shifts, the KBA installation crew has erected and commissioned nine sheetfed presses ranging in size from SRA3 to size 6 and 7 Rapidas plus Cortina 6/2 and Commander CT high-tech newspaper presses. Careful planning and professional implementation have enabled this work to be carried out with a minimum of personnel.

Initial print tests have already started on the litho presses. While the two web presses will not be running with paper, they will nonetheless be demonstrating an array of automation features. Staff at KBA Complete are also busy installing JDF-enabled networking capabilities for the sheetfed presses, Kodak pre-press, Perfecta guillotines, MBO folding machine and Hiflex MIS system. On 26 May, three days before the show opens, test runs will commence of the live demonstrations that are scheduled with professional presenters. The two-storey centre of operations, with around 900m² (9,700ft²) of usable space, 27 air-conditioned conference rooms and a 400-seat restaurant, is also largely completed.

Although cost considerations and a lack of space mean that there will be no live demos of commercial or newspaper presses, KBA has installed 53 sheetfed printing and coating units and the two compact four-high towers (with a total weight of around 650t) in record time. For stand foreman Arno Müller from KBA's Trennfeld facility it is business as usual. This is already his third Drupa as foreman and he handles it with his customary aplomb, saying: "I work with a team of senior fitters from Radebeul and Würzburg, so everything's well in hand. As ever at KBA we employ small yet highly professional installation crews. There is a clear line of command, so everyone knows exactly what he has to do. With everyone trying to keep a lid on costs, the disputes we've witnessed at some other stands, over authority or materials, seem totally out of place."

Even without an operational web press, at the world's biggest print media trade fair KBA will process around 400t of paper, board and film and approximately 5,000m² of plates, printing some pretty challenging jobs. And it will probably be the only big press manufacturer at the show whose exhibits dispense entirely with alcohol and fount solution.