(November 02, 2008) On 20 September Polish printer Drukarnia Narodowa in Cracow celebrated its 150th jubilee, and the end of December will mark a second jubilee, this time a fortieth: back in 1968 the company took delivery of its first Koenig & Bauer press. Its most recent addition, a four-colour KBA Rapida 105 perfector press, went live late last year.

Drukarnia Narodowa celebrated its 150th jubilee with an open day at its new 2,500m²(27,000ft²) printing plant, one of the first strategic investments made by MK Projekt following its acquisition of Drukarnia Narodowa in 2005. Welcoming a host of political and business luminaries, customers and suppliers, company president Bartosz Bobowski said: "Our association with KBA deserves a separate celebration. According to our archives, the first Koenig & Bauer press was delivered at the end of the 1960s. In the forty years since then we have installed more than a dozen different types of KBA presses from letterpress with manual infeed to gravure, two- and four-colour offset and now the Rapida 105."

The four-colour Rapida 105 with convertible perfecting for two-over-two is the first in Poland to feature a RS 105 reel-to-sheet feeder. Management is impressed by the fact that the press has pumped out more than 30 million prints over the past ten months. "The Rapida 105 is one of several factors contributing to a growth rate of 40 per cent in the past twelve months," says Bobowski. 

While the new B1 (41in) press primarily prints books, which are the company's main product line, it is being used increasingly to print other work as well. "Our objective is to diversify our product portfolio," explains Bobowski. "That is why, in addition to investing in offset and bookbinding technology we have added two digital presses: one for mono work and one for colour. We are also thinking about adding another offset litho press."

Drukarnia Narodowa next objective is to expand sales and focus more strongly on exports. "We have just sealed our first foreign contract and would like to produce much more for export. We are hoping that word will soon spread of our technical capabilities and the quality of our products. To this end we recently teamed up with other businesses to exhibit at a book fair in Cracow. Other trade fairs will follow, including some international ones," says Bobowski. Congratulating the company on its 150th jubilee, KBA-Polska managing director Oliver Becker said: "We are delighted that Drukarnia Narodowa has remained loyal to KBA for such a long time and hope the new Rapida 105 will provide many years of service. We also wish to thank management for their continued confidence in KBA technology, and look forward to making an active contribution towards company growth over the next forty years and beyond."