Coveted honour bestowed by executive attendees at the Fifth Annual Digital Packaging Summit in the USA

• 95 printing/packaging executives gather to pick up information on the latest digital technologies
• Koenig & Bauer and Durst demonstrate their holistic approach for folding carton production of the future
• All eyes on the launch of the new VariJET 106 at drupa 2020

At the Fifth Annual Digital Packaging Summit, which was held in Ponte Vedra Beach/Florida in November 2019, Koenig & Bauer was honoured with the coveted “Company to Watch” award. The three-day event is organised and coordinated by NAPCO Media and the magazine Packaging Impressions, and played host to 95 executives from the printing and packaging industries who were keen to find out about the latest developments in digital technologies for use in packaging printing. During the event, the attendees were also asked to vote for the company which they considered the “Company to Watch”.

Some 43 solution providers were in attendance at the event to present their products and answer questions. Eric Frank, senior vice president of marketing and product management at Koenig & Bauer (US) explains: “The Digital Packaging Summit was a unique opportunity to present our company’s digital vision in close cooperation with our joint venture partner Durst. It also provided a forum for personal discussions on the future direction of our industry. And we are naturally very proud of the award.”

Left to right: Brian Ludwick, VP & publisher/brand director at Packaging Impressions, congratulates Eric Frank, senior vice president of marketing and product management at Koenig & Bauer (US), and Maik Laubin, sales director for digital solutions at Koenig & Bauer Sheetfed, and presents them with the coveted “Company to Watch” award along with David Pesko, EVP at NAPCO Media and event director for the Digital Packaging Summit.

Maik Laubin, sales director for digital solutions at Koenig & Bauer Sheetfed, spoke about the VariJET 106 for digital folding carton production and the hybrid approach it uses. His summary: “The event was an outstanding venue for us to inform potential users about the VariJET 106 and to gain a better understanding of the exact needs of the folding carton market.” The VariJET 106 is to be launched at drupa 2020 in Düsseldorf. The development partners Koenig & Bauer, Durst and their joint venture expect tremendous interest in the new press, which will help users to enhance their competitive standing, to grow into new markets and to extend their product portfolios.

The VariJET 106 combines the strengths of digital inkjet with those of classic offset printing and inline finishing by integrating inkjet technology from Durst into the platform used for the high-performance Rapida 106 sheetfed offset press. The fully modular concept enables process steps such as coating, offset printing or subsequent die-cutting to be combined with inkjet printing in an inline process. This makes printers ideally equipped to handle the folding carton production of the future, whether that means personalised, regionalised and individualised print products or regular alternation between short and medium runs. Each VariJET 106 can be configured exactly the way a print company requires for its particular production needs. It is this unique flexibility which defines the VariJET 106 as the most productive and most cost-efficient hybrid printing system on the emerging market for digital packaging printing.

“Koenig & Bauer (US) has been a loyal supporter of the Digital Packaging Summit ever since we started the event,” says David Pesko, executive vice president at NAPCO Media and event director. “We congratulate them on winning this coveted award. Votes for the “Company to Watch” award are cast by all our executive attendees, with the award going to the company which they feel is the most innovative and one to keep an eye on moving forward.”