König & Bauer AG - Henan Daily orders third Comet press

Early this month Henan Daily Newspaper Group in Zhengzhou, the capital of China’s most densely populated province, Henan, reaffirmed its successful association with Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) by signing a contract for a third Comet press line. The order follows the installation in 2001 and 2005 of two Comet press lines with a total of eight towers and four folders.

Henan Daily plant manager Chen Guo Sheng says: “The two single-width Comet presses demonstrate their high output, reliability and superior print quality day in and day out. Thanks to their flexibility and ease of operation, we can switch from one of our many in-house and contract titles to another in a minimum of time.” Henan Daily general manager Zhang Jian is equally impressed. “We have always been 100 per cent satisfied with the support KBA has provided, from the initial concept right through to after-sales service. So it’s a pleasure to be working with KBA and the Comet once again as part of our expansion project.”

Following a recent order for a Comet from Beijing Daily Group KBA sales director Stefan Segger was delighted to receive a second order from China for this popular press type within just a few months. “The new press line will make Henan Daily the biggest Comet user to date in China. This latest contract reflects the esteem in which our newspaper press technology is held among Chinese media houses.”

High level of productivity, flexibility and quality
The new 75,000cph Comet press for Zhengzhou will come on stream this autumn. In addition to high-circulation titles such as the Henan Daily, Dahe Daily and Henan Commercial Daily the Zhengzhou plant contract prints a large number of other publications. These include several in English – China Daily, China Youth Daily, Workers Daily and Peoples Daily. The four-high press with a cylinder circumference of 1092mm (43in) and a web width variable between 630 and 870mm (24.85 - 34.25in) will comprise four Pastoline reelstands, three towers with fan-out compensation and colour register controls, and a KF3 jaw folder. The contract also includes three KBA consoles with colour preset and diagnostics PC for remote maintenance.

The Koenig & Bauer Group is one of the largest press manufacturers worldwide and has the broadest press range in the industry. The parent company is Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) with facilities in Würzburg, Radebeul, Frankenthal and Trennfeld (all in Germany).

The other core members of the Group are Maschinenfabrik KBA-Mödling AG in Mödling, near Vienna (Austria), KBA-Grafitec s.r.o. in Dobruška (Czech Republic), KBA-Metronic AG in Veitshöchheim, near Würzburg (Germany), KBA-MetalPrint GmbH in Stuttgart (also Germany) and KBA-GIORI S.A. in Lausanne (Switzerland). KBA North America Inc. in Dallas, Texas (USA), is our sales and service subsidiary for the US and Canada. In addition we have sales and service outlets in the UK, France, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Brazil, Russia, Poland, Australia, China, Malaysia and Singapore, plus a global network of dealers. The core companies in the Group employ some 7,500 people.