At its Felsberg site, the WKS Group is investing in two new highly automated Speedmaster XL 106 presses from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG), with the goal of creating a centre of excellence for sheetfed offset printing. The WKS Group, which is headquartered in Wassenberg, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, is one of the leading print and media service providers in Europe’s German-speaking countries.
With some 1000 employees at seven sites throughout Germany, it offers a wide range of commercial printing services, including fulfilment and logistics solutions, and is continuing to grow. Besides the high-volume, industrial-scale production of commercial print products, WKS also provides its customers with digital services such as marketing portals and shop systems. The company always aims to combine quality and delivery reliability with flexibility.
‘Our latest-generation end-to-end sheetfed offset printing solutions are making print shops more efficient, even in a challenging market environment,’ said Dr. David Schmedding, Chief Technology and Sales Officer at HEIDELBERG. ‘Cutting-edge technology goes hand in hand with a collaborative partnership between HEIDELBERG and its customers,’ he added.
The presses being installed at WKS are a Speedmaster XL 106-8-P and a Speedmaster XL 106-8-P+L, each with a fourth-generation CutStar sheeter and a configuration geared toward maximum performance. The new Peak Performance generation presses are designed to address the key challenges in commercial printing, such as competitiveness, cost pressures, the skills shortage, digitalisation, and sustainability.
The new presses will turn the former web offset production shops at the Felsberg site into an ultramodern sheetfed offset printing centre. Complementary postpress investments will ensure efficient, future-oriented production and boost sheetfed offset operations on a long-term basis. The WKS Group mainly uses the site to produce high-quality magazines, brochures, and periodicals.
Both Speedmaster XL 106 presses leverage the potential of industrial print production in terms of productivity, quality, and availability. What’s more, the Push to Stop function, supported by AI-controlled assistance systems, enables largely autonomous performance on an operator-independent basis.
Integrating the fourth-generation CutStar sheeter further increases cost-effectiveness and the level of flexibility when it comes to paper management. The production process is enhanced by three existing Stahlfolder postpress systems from HEIDELBERG that ensure excellent postpress efficiency and precision, while Prinect Production Manager controls the workflow. Comprehensive service agreements give the customer additional certainty regarding the stability of its production operations.
‘The complete portfolio and customer focus of HEIDELBERG remain an example to our sector and have once again won us over,’ said Dr. Ralph Dittmann, Managing Director of the WKS Group. ‘Investing in the latest Peak Performance technology of HEIDELBERG means we are able to unlock further market potential and make the WKS Group more competitive,’ he emphasised.
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