Offset Printing

Printing in the Champions League

Thursday 06. September 2012 - KBA Rapida 106 at Agema Corporation in Milan

KBA can boast another impressive reference installation in the Italian litho market. Agema Grafiche, a successful business division of Milan-based Agema Corporation, fired up a highly automated Rapida 106 five-colour coater press last autumn. The project indicates that alongside the packaging sector investment is picking up again in the commercial and publications sectors.
What most impressed management about the 18,000sph medium-format world makeready champion were its many unique features and the quality it delivered. The family enterprise founded early last century in Viale Monza demands the highest standards of both staff and suppliers. This is reflected in its banner “L’eccelenza nella communicazione e nella stampa” (“communications and printing excellence”).
Communications experts for luxury brands
Under the aegis of president Egidio Marazzi, Agema Corporation has evolved into a flourishing business whose success is founded on passion, competence and ongoing innovation. Its five profitable divisions – Agema Grafiche (printing and publishing), Agema Rosso (advertising), Agema Oro (events and entertainment), Agema Blue (web and video) and Agema Verde (research and sustainability) – offer customers top-quality concepts for raising their profiles even in economically challenging times.
The success of the AGEMA Corporation’s communications experts is driven by a strategy centred not purely on profit, but on innovative alliances and future perspectives. Professionalism and quality awareness in all activities are core objectives of Agema Corporation’s 60-strong team of specialists, who offer customers like the Bolton Group, L’Oréal, Banca Popolare di Milano, A2A Energia and many others in the financial and credit sector, wholesale, technology, energy, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics industries attractive communications concepts and print solutions.
Design and atmosphere: value added an obligation
Egidio Marazzi, who guides the communications group and its numerous international activities (shipping logistics, food exports, architectural design), expresses his successful philosophy in promotional presentations that combine elegance, atmosphere, ethical values, passion and cutting-edge technologies. The president has imparted his vision to his management team, who sustain and express it in every project. In addition to offset printing, which launched the company on the road to success with contracts from customers like Mars, Conad and Sammontana, Agema also offers digital print services for individual applications and direct marketing. The company’s premises in Viale Monza in the heart of Milan are in a historic palace whose interior and atmosphere reflect the creativity of the staff working there.
Creativity and social impact
Alongside its communications and print activities Agema Corporation pursues numerous social, cultural and religious projects. Its commitments range from a private, non-profit fund, Fondo per L’Ambiente Italiano (FAI), for preserving and developing Italy’s historic cultural and natural resources, to sponsoring events such as Family Day and the Pope’s visit to Milan, to providing essential resources for children’s aid projects in Africa. The company video “I Miracoli Esistono” (miracles exist; www.miracoli.agema.it) offers an insight into Agema’s strategy. One of the most noticeable features of the presentation is a focus on feline characteristics, reflecting the symbolised cat in Agema’s logo. They include personality, individuality and sensitivity – Agema’s fundamental principles.
KBA presentation prompted switch
President Egidio Marazzi says: “The balance between giving and taking is the central focus of all our activities and collaborative alliances. Open communications, quality, professionalism and innovative thinking are our topmost priorities. We select our partners according to these criteria and work together to create perspectives for the future. After Agema Grafiche had been operating presses from another German vendor for some years, our instinct told us that the time was ripe for a change. KBA’s presentation convinced us that AGEMA Grafiche has systematically advanced its technology.”
Making the right decision
Traffic restrictions and limited access in Milan city centre meant that the new KBA Rapida 106 had to be delivered to the Viale Monza plant in multiple shipments. Egidio Marazzi is well satisfied with the production start: “We made the right decision. The Rapida 106’s output, print quality and ease of handling are proof that our strategy was a success. Its high production output and fast makeready enable us to respond spontaneously to individual enquiries and offer our customers the quality excellence they demand. KBA-Italia’s technical support during commissioning and maintenance was impressive.”