US Midwest firms invest in KBA press technology

The Rapida press installed at MPS is intended to expand the company’s capabilities while helping to dramatically lower its overall costs due to its productivity, production flexibility and automation credentials, including high production speeds and short make-ready times.

The MPS sale is part of a series announced by KBA North America in the US Midwest. Others to have invested in its technology include commercial printers and packaging firms such as Imagine! Print Solutions, The Garvey Group, Tempt In-Store Productions, CPI Card Group, Bloomington Offset Process Inc., Phillips Litho and Printco.

Imagine! Print Solutions has installed a KBA Rapida 105 41in, 6-color press with UV. This is the firm’s seventh KBA press. 

Bob Lothenbach, founder and president of Imagine! Print Solutions, said: ‘We are continually taking the pulse of our customers and asking them how we are doing. Our customers look to us to provide solutions and creative thinking to help sell their products. Ultimately that is what we do as a company. When we began to receive many new UV projects in packaging, we decided to invest in a new press.

‘We wanted to add capacity for several customer requirements. Our print buyer customers, like everyone else, are looking for higher quality and faster throughput. We can offer these things in combination, not one or the other, with the new KBA press. We have long been a KBA partner with the purchase of the first 6-color Rapida 205 81in press in North America. Since then we have added several additional KBA presses to maintain the quality level and provide us with the best possible performance from our litho department.’

Soren Larsen, senior vice-president of sheet-fed sales for KBA North America, said: ‘We are pleased to partner with many outstanding printing firms located in the Midwest and provide them with KBA’s high quality printing presses.

‘We pride ourselves on cementing strong partnerships with existing and new customers. These distinct firms all have the common theme of growth during challenging times. Each firm is successful due to its strong customer-orientated approach and overall commitment to excellence in the market segments they serve. KBA has developed long-lasting relationships with each of them over many years, providing them with unique solutions of new highly automated equipment that has expanded their operational capabilities. 

‘I applaud our Midwest KBA sales team in this area for this outstanding achievement: Steve Korn, Doug Whitacre and Greg Schiefelbein, each truly partners with their customers to ensure they will have differentiating factors to make their companies stand out.’