Offset Printing
Conquering the market
Friday 26. December 2008 - KBA-Grafitec on the Polish market 2005-2008"; this was the motto of the meetings with the sales representatives of the well known producer of the printing presses which took place on 7-9 October in Bialymstok, Lublin and ?eov. The choice of the location for the aforesaid conference was not accidental: Eastern Poland is the least developed part of the country in terms of the graphic art industry.
The meetings in Bialymstok, Lublin and ?eov served for presentations of the company successes achieved in Poland over the past four years and for the new products presented at the Drupa 2008 Trade Fair. Since 2005, KBA-Grafitec has launched 73 presses in Poland; these came from the Dobruka production in the Czech Republic (in total 315 printing units) and the sales results are improving each year. The interest in the printing presses from the KBA syndicate is without doubt prompted by the premieres of the new, constantly improved technology. The information regarding the two premiers for the Rapida 75 and the New Performa 66 this year could not be omitted at this event.
The good mood of the KBA-Grafitec staff is clouded by the fact that the Eastern part of Poland is still “terra incognita” to them. Up to now, the company success can mainly be put down to the printshops from the South and Central parts of Poland. Despite this, Lud?k Buchta, the Marketing Manager, eased any fears by stating: “This situation will soon change. We will shortly be installing a new press in Bia?ymstok, for the first time ever in this part of the country. We are currently interested in creating close contacts with the owners of local printshops who have never previously had the opportunity to visit our stand at the Drupa Trade Fair where they could learn about the new products from our syndicate.
We held a similar event in the Western part of Poland six months ago. We were satisfied with the results and this is why we have decided to repeat the same process. We hope that the outcome will be just as good,” added Lud?k Buchta.
Invited customers heard information regarding the structure of KBA-Grafitec in Poland (8 authorized service companies, 2 large warehouses for spare parts in Warsaw and Krakow, and the option to use the support of the company service) and about the success on the local market (the company dominates the competition in Poland in terms of sales of half-format printing presses). Part of the meeting was dedicated to the new modules from the manufacturers portfolio. The Rapida 75, which received a number of excellent expert reports at Drupa 2008, is being sold with excellent results and according to Adam Slazyinsky, the Head of Sales in Poland, the printing press will reach several new Polish printshops this year. We have to wait for the premier installation of the five-colour Performa 66 (production was launched in the 4th quarter of this year).
Part of each meeting was also dedicated to the offer from Deutsche Leasing designed for graphic art companies. The company has been cooperating with KBA on a long term basis and co-finances the purchases of their customers in many European countries. They have been supporting investment by the Polish printers ever since; they also participated in the financing of the September installation of the Rapida 75 in the Impression Polska printshop.