The general economic situation in Spain has been far from easy over the past few years. In the meantime, however, there are signs of a gradual revival, also for the important print industry on the Iberian peninsular. It is against this background that the Graphispag trade fair is taking place at the Gran Via Exhibition Centre in Barcelona from 24th to 27th March. Koenig & Bauer (KBA) and its sales partner KBA-Lauvic España S.L. will be informing visitors on the company's broad product portfolio for the most varied market segments on a joint stand in Hall 2 (stand E509).

Offset, flexo and digital for diverse applications

Whether for high-quality sheetfed offset with countless inline finishing options for commercial work and packaging, high-volume inkjet printing on the RotaJET L, the printing of flexible packaging on webfed flexo presses or modern web offset for the commercial sector and newspapers, the KBA Group offers products to suit every need. Experts from the manufacturing facilities and their colleagues from the Spanish agency will be present at the fair to discuss technical innovations, user-oriented solutions and new business models.

A particular focus is to be placed on innovations for the medium- and large-format Rapida sheetfed presses, for example the new HR and LED drying technologies. After all, these well-established presses are already widely popular with Spanish users. Integrated workflow solutions with KBA Complete and the extended service packages of KBA Service Select are further key topics. For those interested in high-volume digital print solutions for books, direct mailings, advertising, newspapers or industrial applications such as decoration printing, the inkjet web presses of the RotaJET L (web widths up to 1.3 m) and RotaJET VL series (web widths beyond 2 m) are sure to be top of the list. The flexo presses EVO XD and EVO XG from Italian subsidiary KBA-Flexotecnica S.p.A will no doubt prove similarly attractive for companies wishing to print flexible packaging. The numerous KBA customers among Spanish newspaper and commercial printers can look forward to information on the latest developments for product refinement in web offset, possible upgrades or retrofits to existing installations and a wide range of technical service offers.

KBA-Lauvic España – single partner for all users

After many successful years as sales distributor for KBA web presses, Barcelona-based KBA-Lauvic España also took over sales and service responsibilities for sheetfed offset and flexo presses from KBA in 2014. To optimise customer care, Lauvic has expanded its staff and opened a new branch in Madrid in October, alongside representative offices on the Spanish East Coast, in Andalusia, La Rioja, Galicia and the Basque region.

Before the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2008 and the stubborn recession which followed, Spain was one of the six strongest KBA markets. As far as large-format sheetfed offset is concerned, KBA is still the clear market leader with over 100 Rapida presses installed, above all with packaging and book printers. The market presence is also high in medium format and webfed presses for newspapers and commercial applications. Emerging from the sluggishness of recent years, the numbers of enquiries relating to sheetfed offset, digital and flexo projects are currently increasing once more. With the order for an EVO XD flexo press for the Mondi media group, for example, KBA-Lauvic has already booked its first success. In the web offset segment, on the other hand, users are still a little more hesitant to invest.