KBA’s run of sales for its productive Commander CL press continues with an order for the Main-Echo in Aschaffenburg.
The German regional publisher’s three-tower all-colour press will go live late next year – replacing a 14-year-old manroland line – and follows an order for Märkische Allgemeine in Potsdam near Berlin.
It is the seventh of this type sold to Germany and the tenth worldwide since its launch two years ago. Main-Echo managing director Ulrich Eymann cited high productivity levels and fast edition changes which will allow the publisher to optimise local editions and “economically strengthen newspaper titles”.
The family-run company with more than 300 employees is broadly diversified with high-quality print products and innovative online solutions, a mail delivery service, software services and a travel agency. It also has commercial and form printing subsidiaries and a division which publishes art titles.
Founded in 1945, the daily Main-Echo has a circulation of 75,000 copies in eight local editions, while weekly free consumer magazine top shop is delivered in six editions to more than 230,000 households. Other work includes the Kurier am Wochenende, a monthly event magazine, telephone and business directories and monthly titles.
The double-width press will have a Rhine format 510mm cut-off and 1400 mm maximum web width. Equipment includes automatic reel handling with stripping station, automatic pagination changers, automated roller locks, fan-out compensation, automatic colour-register controls, cylinder washing systems, automatic inking-unit cleaning and central ink pumping. Three
turner bars (with half-cover web leads and spadea capabilities), a folder superstructure with three formers, skip slitter, ribbon and section stitcher ahead of the KF5 jaw folder are supported by cut-off register and web-edge and web-centre controls. Provision has been made to produce glued four-page centrespreads.
Pictured: KBA executive vice-president Christoph Müller with managing directors of Main-Echo Ulrich Eymann and Reinhard Golembiewski, as well as KBA sales director Alexander Huttenlocher and sales manager Günter Noll (both standing)