The transformation in the global printing industry has created new challenges for the entire sector. To meet customers’ current and future requirements and maintain its leading position as the industry’s most reliable partner in the future, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) has also undergone a transformation and reoriented its corporate strategy accordingly. Heidelberg places the benefits to customers and their success at the center of all its activities.

In addition to the traditional main markets of commercial and packaging printing, the product portfolio will also be geared further toward the global market’s future growth segments, especially digital printing, consumables, and services. This approach is now also reflected at the new Print Media Center (PMC) Commercial in Wiesloch-Walldorf and marks the start of the run-up to drupa in 2016.

“The focus is no longer simply on equipment, but far more on the integrated overall process and all the requisite components,” explained Heidelberg CEO Dr. Gerold Linzbach. “The benefits we offer our customers are always our key consideration, because our own success depends on that of our customers,” he added. The reorientation essentially consists of placing the core business of sheetfed offset printing on a profitable footing and providing further support in successfully establishing the growth areas of digital printing, services, and consumables on the market. This new approach is also reflected in a modified brand image.

Over 500 customers came from all over the world for three days of celebrations to mark the opening of the PMC Commercial, which covers an area totaling over 4,700 square meters and offered visitors practical demonstrations of integrated print production with a constant focus on customer benefits. The centerpiece of the PMC Commercial is an innovative presentation platform that uses interactive media to illustrate the aspects of workflow, consumables, and services and highlight their role in the overall process from the customer’s perspective when it comes to delivering high-quality, stable production.

Together with the Print Media Center Packaging, Wiesloch-Walldorf now boasts the industry’s largest demonstration center for commercial and packaging printing anywhere in the world. The PMC Packaging opened in 2008 and covers an area of around 5,400 square meters. It demonstrates expert know-how in folding carton production, surface finishing, and all kinds of special applications.

A total of 100 employees and 10 trainees work at the two Print Media Centers, conducting almost 1,200 customer-specific demonstrations in 2014. In addition to this, a total of nearly 2,000 visitors attended open house and other events. The two PMCs form part of the global Print Media Center Network that also serves the American and Asian markets with centers in Kennesaw near Atlanta and Qingpu near Shanghai.