Medium-format Rapidas are a hit in Singapore and Southeast Asia

A five-colour Rapida 105 with coater from Koenig & Bauer (KBA) was installed at Singaporean commercial printer Ngai Heng in early 2013. The success story of the high-performance KBA Rapida press series continues in the Asia Pacific region with this installation.

Both the high-end Rapida 106 and the all-rounder Rapida 105, which is based on the same technological platform as the Rapida 106, are particularly valued by commercial, book and packaging printers in the Far East. Superlarge sheetfed presses from the market leader in large format have also proved very popular here. It is therefore no surprise that KBA is growing steadily in this region.

Despite structural changes in the print media landscape, production director Lawrence Lui has clear ideas on how Ngai Heng has been able to sustain its success. “We have to keep a close eye on our costs, locally as well as globally, since the markets have been increasingly consolidated and saturated. Trends have shown that quantities ordered by our customers are getting smaller too”, says Teo Kok Leong, senior manager of sales and business development at Ngai Heng.

Whereas some printing houses hesitate when it comes to investing in new equipment, the prominent commercial printing firm in Singapore has decided to follow a different strategy. Teo Kok Leong explains: “In order to maintain our high printing standards we have to replace older presses with state of the art technology. Too many printers have already dropped off the face of the earth as they reacted too late. Products will keep getting more personalised and prices will subsequently increase. It is now the right time to invest in cutting-edge kit to face the hurdles of the media shift”.

Established in 1960, Ngai Heng has consistently delivered quality book binding services and the printing of office stationary, corporate materials, promotional items, books and packaging. The company offers a wide range of services, from consultation and design work, to finished print products. To ensure that these products exceed their clients’ expectations, the commercial printer decided to switch to cutting-edge sheetfed technology from KBA. The almost 200-year-long history of KBA and its broad product range of technical solutions helped to win Ngai Heng’s trust. “You can’t go wrong with technology from a manufacturer of high-end solutions covering all of the major print segments. If KBA can build massive multi-tower newspaper presses 24/7 around the world, we trust that their sheetfed technology will prove just as reliable in the long run”, says Kok Leong.

KBA sales director Charles Ang: “Ngai Heng is extremely pleased with the performance of its first Rapida 105. The global success of this press is down to its reliability, price-performance ratio, comparatively high level of automation, ease of operation and excellent printing quality”. These benefits are greatly appreciated by users in Southeast Asia. Lawrence Lui: “The press has performed great. It has proven to be a real advantage for our daily operations”.