Heidelberg underlined its leading position at this year’s largest industry event, China Print, in Beijing from June 23 to 27. Over the five days of the trade show, several tens of thousands of interested parties visited the trade show and the company’s stand. Heidelberg said that its presentations of the latest solutions were overflowing with a total of 8,000 registered participants.
The world premiere of the new Speedmaster CX 104 sheetfed offset press was the highlight of the trade show and confirmed Heidelberg’s innovative strength and technological leadership in a challenging market environment. With the new press, the company aims to further expand its strong position in the growing packaging segment and meet the increasing demand for flexible printing systems with different automation solutions and variants in the commercial sector. In addition, Heidelberg also showcased a wide range of solutions along the entire value chain in the customer life cycle with intelligent solutions and products.
“The reaction of customers in China to our innovations has been nothing short of euphoric,” said Rainer Hundsdörfer, CEO of the company. “Even before the start of series production of the CX 104, we had orders for more than 500 printing units of this series worldwide, a large proportion of them from China. This proof of confidence and the high demand from China give us tailwind for the current fiscal year.”
The Chinese production site in Shanghai has reportedly been running at full capacity for months, and capacities will be further increased in the current fiscal year due to the high order intake. Around 900 employees currently work in sales, service, and production in the country. In the medium term, Heidelberg’s sales in China in the printing industry’s largest single market are expected to rise from around € 300 million to over € 360 million by 2026.
In addition to the on-site trade show booth, the digital presentation of innovations and solutions is increasingly in demand in China. To complement Heidelberg’s live presence, there was a digital exhibition of the booth with a VR 3D exhibition hall, on social media, numerous live streamings, B2B e-commerce offers, and the shows on the web. Thus, the comprehensive content was broadcast in various formats, bringing seamless online and offline experiences to all visitors. In the process, more than 25,000 trade visitors interacted with the digital ‘Heidelberg Show,’ 40% of them completely online. With a total of 700 minutes of live streaming over five consecutive days, a total of 400,000 viewers were reached. The ‘Digital Show’ concept enabled all customers to receive comprehensive information on-site and online despite travel restrictions caused by the pandemic.