World record – Heidelberg supplies WestRock with longest ever Speedmasters

Print Solutions

Heidelberg has delivered the two longest Speedmaster sheetfed offset presses ever produced to leading global packaging manufacturer WestRock. The longest, delivered to WestRock’s Tczew, Poland facility, is a 42 metre, specially adapted custom configuration of an XL 106 with a total of 20 printing and coating units.

This record breaking press represents a key Heidelberg business strategy: ‘We help our customers simplify their printing processes and boost their productivity by offering them a high level of automation and flexibility, something that is especially important at a time when the skills shortage is becoming more acute worldwide,’ said CEO Ludwin Monz. This business strategy is increasingly paying dividends. With annual growth of approximately 2.3 percent forecast, the folding carton market is a strategic growth segment for Heidelberg.

Around half the sheetfed offset presses the company sells and installs go to packaging customers.

The trend toward ever more sustainable packaging, such as folding cartons, is driving demand. Cartons are increasingly replacing plastic packaging in everything from food and cosmetics to pharmaceuticals.

In addition, Heidelberg is supplying a further Speedmaster XL 106 with a total of 19 printing and coating units to a WestRock site in Obersulm, Germany – the second longest in the world.

The record breaking presses supplied to WestRock can print particularly high quality and eye catching packaging. With its large number of printing and coating units, the highly flexible long Speedmaster XL 106 configuration is suitable for handling a wide range of packaging applications with striking coating and metallic effects as well as sustainable products – completely in line, double sided, and in a single pass.

Mark Shaw, business leader, EMEA and APAC at WestRock, said: ‘Innovation and sustainability are the bedrock of WestRock’s operation, and by investing in print technology from Heidelberg we are futureproofing our capabilities for our customers. There is no better demonstration of this than the two longest presses in the world being developed specifically for WestRock facilities. As brands continue to drive demand for sustainable, fibre based packaging, through our continued investment and industry leading expertise, we are well positioned to meet these needs.’

A trend is emerging, particularly in folding carton and label printing, toward customised, long press configurations. After all, manufacturers of branded goods are keen to create new purchase incentives time after time by offering stand out, sustainable packaging designed with particularly striking effects.

Heidelberg specialises in custom configurations of this kind. The Speedmaster XL systems in particular can be adapted in numerous ways to meet customer specific requirements.

‘Projects such as the one for WestRock involve particularly high mechanical engineering demands and close consultation with the customer. We combine two things – first class printing press construction and user friendly operation,’ said Christian Steinmassl, who is in charge of the packaging segment at Heidelberg.

The operating concept must be designed in such a way that, even with a press of this length and complexity, staff always have all processes under control via the Prinect Press Center.