For a number of years now, Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) has been keeping well abreast of the growing demand for modern pre-press, press and finishing technology from the countries which form the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Having purchased several KBA Rapida sheetfed offset presses, the publishing house of Blitz-Inform in Kiev is now investing in two 16-page Compacta 215 commercial web offset presses to further strengthen its market position in the Ukraine.
Blitz-Inform is a rapidly growing printing and publishing house which need not fear comparison with well-known European companies. Sergey I. Melnichuk, chairman of the supervisory board said, "The Blitz-Inform Holding is market leader in its sector and enjoys a pristine reputation in Ukrainian business circles. Blitz-Print is already the largest and most modern printing house in the Ukraine and still growing strong. We provide our customers with a full range of print products and a host of other services, all of which correspond to high European standards because we utilise state-of-the-art equipment. Our decision in favour of the Compacta 215 presses was influenced by the very positive experiences we have had with our KBA sheetfed presses and the professional teamwork with KBA’s representative, Poligraphimport. It is our long-term goal to develop the Ukraine into a country which is also well known abroad for its excellent printing industry".
Organic Growth Leads to Success
The Ukraine gained independence in 1991 and, covering an area of 600,000 km2 (232,000 mile2), it is the second largest country in Europe after Russia. The capital of Kiev is the cultural and economic centre of the country and home to 2.6m of the country's 48m citizens. Founded in 1992, the publishing house of Blitz-Inform is part of the Blitz-Inform Holding. The printing house of Blitz-Print was founded in 1994 and the packaging printing houses of Blitz-Pack and Blitz-Flex followed in 1996 and 1998 respectively. With four companies in Kiev and 28 local offices throughout the Ukraine, the holding company’s workforce of 4,000 achieves a turnover of USD 100m (EURO 89m). The company’s key products are magazines, advertising brochures, packaging and labels. Whilst the Ukraine is the principal market, products are also exported via Kiev to Russia and Belarus. Well-known products include "NATALY", a women's magazine of more than 280 pages and a circulation of 700,000, and "BUSINESS", the most popular business magazine with a circulation of 100,000.
Future-driving Technology
Both KBA Compacta 215 presses are slated to arrive in Kiev at the turn of the year. The 16-page commercial web presses will be positioned face-to-face and will each feature five printing units with fully automatic plate changing equipment. One printing unit on one press line will be equipped with the imprinter function for flying copy changes on both sides of the web. Reels will be fed to the Pastostar RC reelstands via the Patras M reel transport system which features a stripping and weighing station. An inline colour measurement and control system will ensure the press reaches optimum colour as quick as possible. An additional former and a cut-off cassette support a wide variety of production. The production management system KBA Logotronic professional already used for the company’s sheet-fed presses will also provide printers and management with an optimum overview of the current production status with the new presses. Investment criteria which the presses had to fulfil include high production flexibility with potential to address future needs and optimisation of costs due to a low degree of production waste and rapid makeready.
Positive Effects Well beyond the Ukraine
KBA has been consistently enhancing its service and sales network in eastern Europe. In the period from 1999 to 2002, sales of KBA sheetfed offset presses increased eight-fold in the countries of the CIS. Albrecht Bolza-Sch?nemann, president of KBA said: "We are extremely proud to be able to follow up our success with sheetfed presses by supplying the first commercial web offset presses to Blitz-Inform. We are privileged to be able to assist this company to grow organically and to be actively participating in market developments in the Ukraine. Blitz-Inform is one of KBA’s key reference customers and a driving force in the Ukrainian and CIS markets".