KBA North America announces that its latest corporate Report 39 includes informative articles on three of its successful U.S. print customers. These “real-world” stories capture the advanced technology, the thriving expansion, and the strong partnership forged with KBA.
 
Expansion is the key theme of the article on Motivating Graphics, a global printing company based in Fort Worth, Texas. This customer purchased a new Rapida 162 64-inch six-color press, making it the third KBA press for the large sheetfed and web firm that provides packaging and printing for the high-tech telecommunications market in North America, South America, Central America, China and Europe.
 
“We were very excited to be adding this new KBA press to our line-up,” says Ray Glenn Clark, president of Motivating Graphics. “It increases our platform of automated technology allowing us greater flexibility, shorter turnaround, less waste and additional efficiency to continue to serve our customers at the high level that they are accustomed. We also believe that it will help to grow our business into new markets.”
Clark especially noted the array of new technology featured on the Rapida 162. “My sons and I saw the new QualiTronic Color Control system in action at Drupa 2008 and were very impressed with its capabilities,” he says. “We recognized it as a major advancement in inline quality control and see it as being an operator-friendly system for our press team. We were eager to have it featured on our new press along with all the rest of KBA’s unique highly-automated technology.”
 
Another expansion article highlights Malnove, the largest independent folding carton manufacturer in North America. This customer equipped its Jacksonville, Florida, facility with a new Rapida 142 seven-color coater press with delivery extension. “We installed the first large format Rapida 142 in the US at our Omaha plant in 1997,” says president Paul Malnove. “We have continued to support a strategy based on a common press platform across all of our facilities. The benefit to our customers is that we are able to produce any carton, for any customer, in any plant with the same quality and pictorial results. The Rapida 142 supports that strategy.” The new press has brought many dynamic strengths and benefits to the Jacksonville facility. In addition to its KBA Densitronic Pro, a combined density and color measuring system for quality control both during and after printing, the press is equipped with a full array of automation, including a system that changes all the plates on the press simultaneously, thus increasing productivity and reducing makeready. Malnove plans to continue its growth in UV printing and its new Rapida 142 is UV-ready.
 
The final article profiling a North American customer is Marshall & Bruce Printing Company, in which KBA demonstrated its strong partnership during one of the most critical moments in the firm’s history. When the Cumberland River burst its banks in May 2010 the press room at Marshall & Bruce Printing Company, a commercial printing, packaging and fulfillment specialist in Nashville, Tennessee, was flooded to a depth of three feet. The 145-year-old firm sits just across the street from the river, which reached nearly 12ft above flood stage and topped out at 51.9ft before the waters finally began to recede. “One of our employees, Casey Johnson, came to our facility in the middle of the night and cut the electric,” says president Chip Smith. “That was a key decision and helped to save our company.”
 
 “The most pressing problem was our Rapida 105,” Smith recalls. “KBA provided an incredible team of mechanics and electricians who stayed with us for seven weeks. They came into a very difficult situation, had great attitudes throughout the process, and saw the job through to completion. I am confident that we would not be back on our feet today without the focus and support from KBA.” “When the press was first able to be turned on after the flood, we celebrated,” says Smith. “When the press printed its first sheets again, we celebrated. When the main computer began to work again, we celebrated. Our entire company revolved around our Rapida 105 and the high quality of work we produced. It’s the linchpin of our business.”
 
To read the complete 39th edition of KBA Report, Koenig & Bauer’s corporate magazine featuring trends and print applications from around the world, please download it at: http://www.kba.com/fileadmin/user_upload/KBA_Report/KBA_Report39_e.pdf