Heidelberg Expands Consumables Business in Germany
01/15/2009
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Acquisition of ink specialist Ulrich Schweizer GmbH/IPS GmbH
in Waiblingen, Germany
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Customers benefit from special Saphira-brand application
packages
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) is expanding the range
of printing plates, inks, coatings and print additives it offers
customers in Germany by acquiring the ink specialist Ulrich
Schweizer GmbH/IPS GmbH (Schweizer), based in Waiblingen.
Schweizer has been supplying the industry with sheetfed
offset consumables for over 35 years and is one of Germany's
biggest service providers for Pantone and spot colors. The company
boasts a state-of-the-art ink-mixing plant and also offers a
24-hour delivery service.
"The acquisition of Schweizer is a further boost to our
strategy of continuous expansion in the consumables business at
Heidelberg," explains Peter Tix, Head of the Consumables
division at Heidelberg. "In addition to high-quality machines, our
customers also expect highly skilled application support on site.
Our carefully tested solutions ensure optimum interplay between
prepress, press, software and consumables."
At drupa in May 2008, Heidelberg pooled all its consumables under
the Saphira brand. Saphira consumables deliver smooth and reliable
production that raises productivity levels and cuts downtimes. The
company offers packages known as Saphira Performance Kits, which
contain consumables that have been carefully selected to deliver
optimum results when used together in its machines.
As a result of the acquisition, Ulrich Schweizer GmbH has
been renamed Saphira Handelsgesellschaft mbH.
The new company is based in Waiblingen, and Dr. Uwe Lemcke
and Kai-Erik Ströbel have been appointed as Managing
Directors.
Kai-Erik Ströbel comments on the acquisition: "The
success of Schweizer is based on an unyielding customer focus,
outstanding service, and decades of experience and know-how in the
production and application of inks. What's more, we have
established a reputation as one of the leading service providers
for sheetfed offset inks in the German state of
Baden-Württemberg. By working with Heidelberg and its sales
and service organization, we can now offer our portfolio throughout
Germany and expand our range of specialist products and services
even further."
The number of products available online is also to be increased.
Thanks to the online shop at
www.saphira-shop.de,
customers can order their own specific inks from a selection of
over 24,000 Pantone inks at any time, day or night. Tones can also
be fine-tuned to specific printing stocks and the relevant data
stored online in a customer database.
Both parties have agreed not to disclose the conditions of
the acquisition.
Image 1:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) is expanding
the range of printing plates, inks, coatings and print additives it
offers customers in Germany by acquiring the ink specialist Ulrich
Schweizer GmbH/IPS GmbH (Schweizer), based in Waiblingen.
Image 2:
Dr. Uwe Lemcke, Managing Director of Saphira
Handelsgesellschaft mbH
Image 3:
Kai-Erik Ströbel, Managing Director of Saphira
Handelsgesellschaft mbH
For further information, please contact:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Corporate Public Relations
Thomas Fichtl
Tel.: +49 (0)6221 92 59 00
Fax: +49 (0)6221 92 50 69
E-mail:
thomas.fichtl@heidelberg.com
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