Its retiring CEO spoke of the “nightmare of restructuring” that marked his final years on the job. His successor has vowed to rationalize the company’s product lines by supporting only the offerings that can prove they are making money. Anyone working for or purchasing from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG who hopes for a return to status quo should reflect that "status quo" isn’t what it used to be for this change-beset manufacturer of printing equipment.

Heidelberg remains the world's largest maker of sheetfed offset lithographic presses, and no other press manufacturer has ever managed to usurp its number-one sheetfed market share or trump its technical reputation in the field. But, the tale told by nagging declines in turnover, headcount, profit, and stock price over the last five years is that of a company adjusting, at times uncomfortably, to a different place in an industry over which it used to loom larger.

Facing what looks to be a permanently reduced demand in some countries for its historically strongest products, Heidelberg must find supplements that can put a firm floor underneath its business once again. The company also must adapt to the harsh new normal of an equipment marketplace where printers defer investment, try to spend less when they finally do invest, and frequently favor solutions that Heidelberg either does not offer or is not a top-tier provider of.