Sheetfed diecutting is seen as a good fit for KBA, which has agreed to buy Iberica from flexo and gravure press maker Cerutti.
The German maker of web and sheetfed presses has been expanding progressively into packaging-related markets, seen to offer good growth prospects, and is a market leader in printing of folding cartons.
KBA has agreed with Officine Meccaniche G. Cerutti of Casale Monferrato, near Alessandria, Italy, to take over all of Spanish subsidiary Iberica, which has 60 staff at its base in Barcelona.
The maker of medium and large-format flatbed die-cutters for board and corrugated packaging has mainly been active in Europe and in some overseas markets, but does not have its own manufacturing facilities. KBA says integration into its global sales and service network would greatly improve Iberica's growth prospects.
Cerutti chairman and chief executive Giancarlo Cerutti says Iberica - which operates in the sheetfed sector - is no longer strategic for the web-focussed group. "We enjoy with KBA old and consolidated relationship that are based on mutual esteem and cooperation."