As in past years, around 60 print professionals from Argentina, Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala, Cuba, Mexico and Peru recently flew over to Germany in two groups for visits to the KBA sheetfed offset manufacturing facility in Radebeul and to German users of Rapida sheetfed offset presses. The first one-week tour at the beginning of April was geared specifically to packaging printers, while a second in mid-April targeted representatives of commercial printing companies.

The packaging printers were first invited to press demonstrations in the KBA customer and training centre, where they were introduced to a five-colour Rapida 105 with inline coater, a Rapida 106 with double coating and cold foil module, and a large-format Rapida 145. They were subsequently able to experience both medium- and large-format Rapida presses in a variety of configurations for inline finishing in actual production at the rlc packaging group in Rüdersdorf near Berlin and at Kroha in Barleben.

The commercial group also began its programme at the KBA facility in Radebeul. A focus was placed on practice-oriented demonstrations of a five-colour Rapida 75 with coater, an eight-colour Rapida 105 perfector press, a ten-colour 106 for 5/5 perfecting, and a large-format Rapida 145 in high-speed production, all including a diversity of job changeovers. The tour then continued to DCT in Coburg (with an eight-colour Rapida 106 used also for web-to-print jobs), to Vogel Druck und Medienservice in Höchberg near Würzburg (Rapida 105 and 106 presses, including a nine-colour perfector with DriveTronic SPC dedicated drive technology), to the headquarters of Koenig & Bauer AG in Würzburg, and to AZ Druck und Datentechnik in Kempten, whose Rapida 106 features also the Flying JobChange option.

The guests from Latin America were very impressed by the intensive and varied programme of visits, and by the modern Rapida technology. KBA expects considerable further growth on the markets in Central and South America. Last year also saw the founding of KBA Latina in Mexico City, as a sales and service subsidiary responsible not only for Mexico, but also for Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Alongside preparations for a further KBA subsidiary in Sao Paulo, Brazil, these plans to strengthen the company's local presence are already bearing fruit. Already in its first year, KBA Latina was able to report record sales of 47 printing units to Mexican print companies.