Heidelberg is integrating the lifecycle business and global sales and service subsidiaries of the manroland sheetfed Group, a move the company says will strengthen its position in the printing and packaging industry. The transaction brings together the two companies’ geographic presence, service capabilities, and customer networks, with the initial focus on maintaining global service and spare parts supply for manroland systems.
The integration, according to Heidelberg, will result in a comprehensive, globally positioned service and lifecycle portfolio, expanding the company’s offering as a full-service provider and building what it describes as a foundation for sustainable growth and recurring revenue.
“With this transaction, we are ensuring that the acquired manroland business can continue to operate reliably. The combination of manroland sheetfed’s service and spare parts business and its sales subsidiaries with Heidelberg strengthens our global role as a systems integrator and enables us to seamlessly ensure the supply of manroland users worldwide. Together with our strong service and logistics network, we offer our customers a global range of service and spare parts,” said Jürgen Otto, chief executive officer of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen.
Anthony Langley, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Langley Holdings, said, “The agreement with Heidelberg ensures continuity in service and spare parts supply while integrating the business into a global organization that has the necessary scale and infrastructure to support manroland users over the long term.”
As part of the transaction, Heidelberg is acquiring manroland sheetfed’s service and spare parts business through approximately 35 country organizations with around 600 employees. The acquisition includes the technology and intellectual property related to service and spare parts, as well as selected assets. Heidelberg is also acquiring the IP for the Roland 900 / Cartonmaster in the large-format sheetfed offset segment, and said it is evaluating options for the production and further development of this system.
The integration is said to significantly expand Heidelberg’s international structures and sales and service network, ensuring continuity for more than 3,000 manroland users worldwide. Heidelberg said it is taking over service and spare parts supply for these customers effective immediately, fully integrating them into its global service network. The company added that familiar local contacts for manroland customers will generally remain in place.
Through the Heidelberg infrastructure, manroland users are said to gain access to standardized service processes and support coverage across more than 170 countries. For customers considering a technology change, Heidelberg said it offers the option to upgrade to its Speedmaster systems, with a defined framework for the transition covering technical improvements and efficiency gains. The expanded lifecycle services offering includes consumables rolled out specifically to the installed base.
Combined with Heidelberg’s Prinect workflow software, post-press solutions, and data-driven services, the company said the integration creates an end-to-end offering aimed at boosting customer productivity and unlocking additional revenue potential.
David Schmedding, executive board member for technology and sales at Heidelberg, said, “This integration is the next logical step in implementing our strategy in our core business. With the acquisition of the global service and spare parts business for manroland presses, we are offering print shops a seamless transition in the operation of their systems. Customers benefit from a significantly more comprehensive range of services, a reliable supply of spare parts, and innovative solutions from a single source. This creates sustainable added value for our customers worldwide.”