Midway through September, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) delivered the 1000th press from its Chinese site in Qingpu, near Shanghai. This landmark Speedmaster CD 102 went to packaging print shop YangJiang Hondai Paper Products Co., Ltd. Based in Yangjiang in the western part of Guangdong province, this SME with around 170 employees produces items such as high-quality gift packaging for export to Europe and the United States. The print shop's aim with this first ever investment in a Heidelberg press is to significantly improve its productivity and quality in the future. The Chinese packaging printer, which had previously worked with used equipment from other manufacturers, is looking to triple its sales over the next five years.  

"Delivery of Qingpu's 1000th press to YangJiang Hondai Paper Products demonstrates the success of our strategy to gain a greater share of the market growth in China and Asia by offering high-quality series presses with standardized equipment," said Stephan Plenz, member of the Heidelberg Management Board responsible for Equipment. "Since 2006, we have gradually expanded our production capacities in China. Now, seven years on, we are the only press manufacturer with the flexibility to offer our customers both locally produced series machines and high-performance presses in a variety of configurations from our plant in Wiesloch. This means we also have a competitive portfolio for up-and-coming print shops that are looking to move to the next level in terms of productivity and quality," he added.

Company reaches new customer groups in China 

The Heidelberg site in China is designed to meet the demand for high-quality series presses with standardized equipment. The company's aim is to further strengthen its position on the growing Chinese and Asian markets in particular. Since the site in Qingpu was founded, it has already supplied 1,000 Speedmaster SM 52, Speedmaster SM 74, and Speedmaster CD 102 sheetfed offset presses in total. Customers from Asia in particular rate the presses highly thanks to their excellent price-performance ratio, reliable productivity and quality, and comprehensive range of services. 
The profitable Qingpu site is fully integrated into the Heidelberg network. This ensures that, even with a growing proportion of local suppliers, all processes and quality standards satisfy the global standards laid down by Heidelberg. 

China remains the most important single market for Heidelberg 

China accounts for around 16 percent of total sales at Heidelberg, which makes it the company's largest single market. And market growth is expected to continue in the future. Heidelberg has structured its market organization in China accordingly. With a workforce of over 1,000, it boasts the most extensive organization of any foreign press manufacturer. In addition to some 450 production staff, there are over 600 sales and service staff spread across four branches.