Offset Printing
A New Dimension for Education and Research
Thursday 17. January 2008 - MAN Roland presents a ROLAND 200 offset press to the Bauhaus University Weimar with Thuringias Prime Minister Dieter Althaus in attendance
When MAN Roland presented an offset press to the Bauhaus University Weimar, Prime Minister Dieter Althaus remarked that social commitment and exemplary dedication to education and research are characteristics of MAN Roland, and that the alliance of commerce, applied sciences and art can and should be followed by others, not only in Thuringia but all over Germany.
On behalf of the university, Vice-chancellor Prof. Gerd Zimmermann expressed his thanks in particular to MAN Rolands supervisory board chairman Hanno C. Fiedler whose personal involvement made this idea a reality. Fiedler responded by saying that “the exemplary teaching system of the Bauhaus University in Weimar is what forms the point of contact for MAN Roland”. Fiedler hopes that the press will help to give the intellectual works a concrete form. Prof. Gerd Finkbeiner, CEO of MAN Roland, added that the company is eager to actively assist higher education and research with equipment and an exchange of views.
Later in the afternoon Peter Heckwolf, manager of the universitys print shop, said this offset press will give the students of the Design faculty new possibilities to experiment with ideas in the courses and projects and print them in a professional manner. This means the students now have the opportunity to gather practical experience which is not possible in a commercial printing company where time for experimenting is simply not available. The offset press which is to be used exclusively for training purposes fulfills a wish that students and teachers have had for many years.
With this permanent loan of a ROLAND 200 sheetfed offset press to the Bauhaus University Weimar, MAN Roland has opened up a new dimension of opportunities for art and design students. MAN Roland takes its social obligations very seriously and has done so for a long time. The company sees this as corporate culture in the best sense, and this attitude typifies MAN Rolands internal procedures and its external image.
Because MAN Roland regards cooperation with centers for education and higher education as a vital element in know-how transfer and the dialog between industry and applied sciences, MAN Roland works together with numerous institutions, with over 30 national and international universities and technical colleges, research institutes, vocational training colleges and Chambers of Industry and Commerce. Here the company takes an interdisciplinary approach: MAN Roland not only cooperates with printing industry training institutes but also with institutes and universities in the fields of mechanical engineering, product development, automation, business administration, communication technology, and marketing. As an investment in the future of coming generations of academic and research talent, the company has also for decades now organized and financed the regional competition JUGEND FORSCHT (youth research program) together with the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.
Support for the educational institutes takes many forms: lectures and speeches, workshops, traineeships, theses, as well as research projects and publications. For example, MAN Roland cooperates with the Stuttgart Media University to produce the customer magazine »expressis business« which is dedicated mainly to the positioning and strategic alignment of medium-sized printing companies. But no matter what form the support takes, MAN Roland places great importance on personal contacts with the people behind these institutes and actively helps to shape the learning processes.
MAN Roland is the world’s second largest printing systems manufacturer and the world’s market leader in web offset. MAN Roland operates out of Offenbach and Mainhausen, Augsburg and Plauen in Germany. It employs almost 9,000 people and has annual sales of more than EUR 2 billion with an export share of almost 82%.