Kevin Köhn is the proud winner who will be representing Germany in the printing technology category next year at WorldSkills 2015 in São Paulo. Köhn, a printer from Dürmeyer GmbH in Hamburg, saw off seven rivals. Second place went to Marcel Paris from the Mohn Media print shop in Gütersloh, followed in third place by Jörg Strauss from the C.H. Beck print shop in Nördlingen. All the entrants demonstrated their skills at the Print Media Center of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) from October 13 to 16, 2014. Under the critical eye of the panel of judges, entrants had no more than two hours to print a job that had been kept secret till the competition. The panel of judges - Josef Schmid from Kempten vocational school, Reinhold Rill from Verband Druck und Medien Bayern, and Bernhard Nahm from Heidelberg - evaluated the quality of the print products, the time taken, and the use of the equipment provided such as the press and materials. A Speedmaster SX 52 five-color press with coating unit was used for printing.

Support for selecting the entrants was provided this time by Bundesverband Druck und Medien (the German Printing and Media Industries Federation). Competitors needed to have the best grades in this year's final Chamber of Commerce exams and must not be older than 22 by the time of the international competition in Brazil. One woman and seven men made it to the final round. "We need world champions from Germany, and that includes world champions in printing," said Harald Weimer, member of the Management Board responsible for sales and services at Heidelberg, in words of encouragement to the finalists. "What's important is the man or woman on the press who, at the end of the day, decides on the quality of print products. That's why training and commitment to WorldSkills are also so important to us." 

Heidelberg is a founding member of WorldSkills Germany e.V. and is supporting the preliminary round for the German competitors for the sixth time. WorldSkills takes place at varying locations every two years. Heidelberg will also be providing the equipment - offset and digital presses and prepress and postpress equipment at the international competition in São Paulo - at the international competition in São Paulo. 

São Paulo in Brazil will take center stage for the 43rd international WorldSkills competition in mid-August 2015. For the first time in its over 60-year history, the competition will be staged in South America. More than 1,000 entrants in almost 50 sectors and from over 60 countries are expected to compete.