At Gulf Print in Dubai from 14 to 17 March KBA was one of only a few exhibitors offering ‘live’ press demonstrations, in this instance on a Genius 52UV.

Attendance was correspondingly high on the stand taken by KBA’s sales agency Giffin Graphics, which exhibited a complete range of offerings from pre-press to finishing, consumables and waste disposal. Alongside print pros from the United Arab Emirates the demos given by KBA and Giffin Graphics attracted visitors from Saudi-Arabia, Kuwait, Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere.

Talks reflected a keen interest in KBA presses among printers in the Middle East, with existing sheetfed projects being pursued further and new ones initiated. Although recent events in the region have generally put a brake on investment, several presses were sold and a contract for another is nearing conclusion. Over the past two years printers in the Middle East have taken delivery of 100 KBA printing and coating units. A Rapida 105 five-colour press with coater, delivery extension and automatic plate changing will soon come on stream at Mazoon Printing in Muttrah, Oman, a Rapida 106 six-colour coater press was snapped up by Emirates Printing Press in Dubai, and a four-colour Rapida 105 is destined for the Ministry of Education in Sanaa, Yemen.