KENNESAW, Ga., September 20, 2006 - Following the success of its systemservice 36plus program announced at PRINT 05, Heidelberg will establish the next milestone in service offerings with the unveiling of its new Partner Program at Graph Expo 2006. Show attendees can learn more about Heidelberg's new service offerings in the systemservice area of Heidelberg's booth #1200 at the tradeshow, which is being held in Chicago at McCormick Place on Oct. 15 - 18. The Heidelberg Partner Program is a suite of 20 customized services that provides customers with the flexibility to select the services that best meet their needs. With the new program, customers can build their own service plan choosing from a suite of standard and premium offerings. The program also provides customers with access to the latest intelligent support tools, premium expertise, Heidelberg's American Logistics Center and a team of service experts. "Heidelberg recognizes that press operators know better than anyone the key issues in their production processes and the service modules they need to best secure their production," said Richard Mack, director of systemservice business development, Heidelberg USA. "With our new Partner Program, customers can purchase the services they need without having to buy a complete package." The suite of offerings includes predictive and preventative services in the areas of parts supply, repair service, remote diagnostics, remote inspection, software support and maintenance inspection. All Heidelberg equipment is covered, including prepress, press and postpress solutions. Among the customer advantages of this new program are: - Customized program to fit every print shop's needs - Peace of mind through comprehensive service coverage solutions - Full protection of customers' investments - Higher production security through higher equipment availability - Sustained high quality through optimum device settings - Life cycle cost savings for service and repair To help customers determine which service offerings are right for their shops' needs, Heidelberg offers a free analysis of the customer's services demands. At that time, the customer decides which machines and processes are most important to secure his production, and then determines which tasks he would like to delegate to Heidelberg, such as routine Maintenance Inspections or Parts Supply. "We have seen an increasing demand from commercial and packaging operations looking to outsource equipment management to achieve the best service and support for their systems," said Mack. "Heidelberg is committed to helping our customers maximize their investments in Heidelberg equipment and achieve maximum uptime and in their shops while lowering operating costs. We have a strong team of experts dedicated to serving as partners for our customers in helping them successfully operate their shops over the long term." Another booth highlight will be Heidelberg's systemservice 36plus. Since its introduction last year, systemservice 36plus has seen tremendous success across North America. To date, more than 200 new presses have been sold with the systemservice 36plus package automatically included at no additional cost. The concept of systemservice 36plus combines intelligent support services, an annual Heidelberg inspection including maintenance and full coverage of all repair services and parts for 36 months. Intelligent support services consist of around-the-clock expert team support, Web-based Remote Service and access to Heidelberg's eSelfhelp online help tool. In addition to maintenance and repair coverage, Heidelberg's annual inspection includes a detailed summary report on the condition of the press. With this comprehensive service package, customers benefit from maximum productivity of their Heidelberg equipment. Heidelberg has the largest service organization in the print media industry with 600 highly skilled service employees and a Technical Support Center that delivers expert advice with the latest technology. Heidelberg service offerings and activities are combined under the umbrella term "systemservice." This offering provides continuous support for customers from the pre-sales stage to installation and beyond. Heidelberg systemservice experts will be on hand at Graph Expo to guide booth visitors through the company's various service offerings and the new Partner Program. Many of the program's 20 service modules will be demonstrated at the booth.