At the beginning of 2016, one of the country's flagship companies – Fleximat S.A. – took delivery of the first medium-format press of the new KBA Rapida 105 PRO series to be installed in Africa. The six-colour coater press stands on 450 mm raised foundations to accommodate the higher piles which are typical in packaging printing, and is now producing alongside two further Rapidas in the recently built print centre in Mohammedia, approx. 40 km from Casablanca. Abdelaziz Benchekroun, directeur général of Fleximat, is very positive in his assessment: “The market launch of this new press came at the perfect time for us. Our decision in favour of the Rapida 105 PRO was carried by the confidence that, even without exceeding our investment budget, we would be able to incorporate a number of interesting technical solutions which are otherwise only available in the highly automated Rapida 106.” 

The emerging North African markets are characterised by high price sensitivity. As economic prosperity increases, fixed costs increase to a similar extent – and print production is here no exception. When planning long-term investments like a printing press, the technical features and automation must secure competitiveness not only today, but also in the foreseeable future. CEO Mehdi Benchekroun: “It was against this background that we chose to integrate fully automatic plate changing, facilities for non-stop pile changing at the feeder and delivery, and the energy-saving VariDryBlue dryer technology, for example.”   

As one of the leading packaging producers in Morocco, Fleximat places a strong focus on customer service in both gravure and offset printing. To escape price pressures, the management is careful to ensure that any new investments strengthen the technological lead over other companies. Tailored solutions from KBA are here seen as an ideal vehicle.