With shrinking web offset global volumes KBA is cutting its web press manufacturing staff, and will distribute Tensor’s budget single-width web presses, to make up for the decreasing demand for its own high end machines. Some 200 German workers will lose their jobs by November, with two web offset subsidiaries cut by more than half from 371 to 164 staff. The company did post a solid rise in quarterly sales in May, including a 41.4 per cent rise in web and special press sales, which now make up 39 per cent of the business. However, this only equated to a revenue increase of 2.4 per cent, with the division losing €11.4m (around AU$16.6m), while sheetfed turned a profit.
KBA driven to low-end press deal, l-r: Christoph Müller, executive vice president for KBA’s web press product house; Mattias Anderson, CEO of Tensor International; and Alexander Huttenlocher, sales director for web offset presses with KBA
KBA is now the world’s second biggest sheetfed manufacturer as well as the second biggest offset press maker. The company says it made ‘intensive efforts to generate additional orders’ for its heatset and coldet webs but the resulting volumes were not sufficient, and capacity adjustments needed to be made at other plants. It says, “There was no other option but to sustainably improve the completely inadequate capacity utilisation in order for the business to operate cost efficiently.” The changes should have no impact on the KBA’s Australian business, which is profitable and delivered its best result in seven years last year, according to KBA Australia director Dave Lewis. The press maker has also signed a distribution agreement with American manufacturer Tensor, which makes single-width web offset presses for semi-commercial, insert and newspaper print. KBA will distribute Tensor’s single-width presses in selected countries on a commission basis, along with its own high-end presses via its global sales network. It says that in the current industry environment, such an alliance between manufacturers whose products address various segments within the market ‘make sense with respect to costs.’ KBA says the Tensor machines are suitable for ‘heavily budget-oriented smaller newspaper houses.’ The web offset manufacturing market has been hammered since onset the GFC, with the US, which used to be the world’s biggest buyer of commercial web presses, virtually stopping buying, and much of Europe following suit.
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