KBA is inking a deal with MIS supplier Optimus Group to roll out its MIS solutions in the Asia Pacific, Western Europe, Canada and the US from March. Optimus says its MIS tools, such as Dash, Cloud and Cloud Mobile, are already in use across a variety of print sectors, including book printing, sheet fed litho, wide format, digital, web offset, labels and packaging – its systems are designed to manage any substrate or process.
Nicola Bisset, group managing director for Optimus, and Ralf Sammeck, KBA vice president for the sheetfed product house
KBA’s agreement is for worldwide sales and distribution; further markets are expected to follow the initial roll out. It says some of its customers are already using Optimus MIS, and praises its flexibility and user-friendly implementation. Going ahead, Optimus systems will be offered as part of a closed-loop workflow with KBA presses. Dave Lewis, general manager sheet fed presses with KBA Australia, says the fruits of the partnership will extend to Australian customers. The deal is non-exclusiove for both parties, meaning KBA customers can specify other MIS solutions and Optimus can be used with any other offset press, as well as digital printers. In the Asia Pacific, Optimus reps have been busy hosting introductions and demonstration appointments with KBA customers in Singapore. Nicola Bisset, group managing director for Optimus, tells AP, “The reaction from KBA customers in Singapore has been exceptionally positive with customer visits along with a seminar which was well attended by KBA customers. We expect to see significant interest from the Asia Pacific for our combined solutions.” Ralf Sammeck, vice president for KBA’s sheetfed product house, says customers can still choose to go with other MIS providers, though the two have been collaborating for efficient solutions. He says, “We have worked with other partners in this field in the past, and our customers can continue to rely on our openness and flexibility if they wish to integrate existing or new KBA Rapidas into their preferred MIS solutions. “But when we recently decided to offer MIS solutions as part of a closed-loop workflow with our presses, Optimus was our first choice.” Bisset adds that the two companies have been working together “to create an integrated workflow with Optimus dash MIS and KBA Logotronic, so that customers can benefit from all of the efficiencies both solutions can provide.” The agreement is an opportunity for Optimus to extend its footprint; she says, “KBA possesses a broad, global customer base, in countries in which we are not present to date. Our partnership is a fantastic opportunity to reach further potential customers. “KBA is similar to Optimus in the way it places the customer’s needs in the foreground, and is well known for its excellent service. The cooperation will enable both sides to further strengthen their brand image and reputation.” While Optimus has signed up to exhibit at the upcoming Ipex 2014 in March, KBA is still conspicuous by its absence from the supplier list. Optimus is also partnered with Heidelberg, Esko, Agfa and Kodak, with representation in Australia, the UK, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Colombia, South Africa and Italy.
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