Finishing & Screen Printing

“The newspaper industry is alive and well”

Tuesday 22. October 2013 - Successful Muller Martini Appearance at the World Publishing Expo in Berlin

Muller Martini welcomed far more visitors at its stand at the World Publishing Expo newspaper fair in Berlin than last year. Customers were enthusiastic about the Muller Martini mailroom party in Axel Springer AG’s Spandau printing house featuring Europe’s biggest mailroom.
Volker Leonhardt, Managing Director of Muller Martini Germany, was visibly satisfied with the three-day appearance of Muller Martini: “The response of customers in Berlin was a lot stronger than at last year’s fair in Frankfurt. We had lots of good project discussions at our stand, which indicate emerging hope in the newspaper industry.”
The positive mood was also sensed by Vladimir Georgiev, Managing Director of IPK Rodina printing house based in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia that produces with two ProLiner newspaper inserting systems from Muller Martini: “The premises of the fair in Berlin were not only more suitable than in Frankfurt, I also think that the fair had more visitors. I consider the good mood to be a positive signal and proof that the newspaper industry is alive and well.” Having worked in the graphic arts industry for many years, Vladimir Georgiev appreciates the manageable size of the newspaper fair. “You get an excellent overview of the state of the art in a short period of time and can exchange experiences with colleagues.”
This is also the reason why Christian Basse, Managing Director of SKN Druck und Verlag GmbH & Co in Germany’s Emden, who has commissioned the world’s first FlexLiner newspaper inserting system from Muller Martin, appreciates the World Publishing Expo: “It’s a small, but very manageable fair for newspaper publishing houses, where I always find all relevant contacts and can get an idea of how the newspaper industry is performing.” Although Christian Basse keeps up to speed on the industry trends via the specialist press, “the individual fair stands provided me with an outstanding reflection of what I have read.”
Connex.Mailroom and investment protection program
The presentation of the Connex.Mailroom process management system, which enables a comprehensive and systematic data overview of the production in the mailroom, also saw great interest. As such, it is possible – motto: “management by numbers” – to read specific queries on downtimes, inserts and output reached just in time and in a simple manner.
The presentations of the comprehensive MMServices program, i.e. the life cycle management, from Muller Martini, also attracted lots of visitors. The service portfolio allows newspaper manufacturers to respond flexibly to current challenges and to secure the long-term profitability of the mailroom. The Muller Martini exports showed customers how they can keep their systems productive over a longest possible period of time with a customized investment protection program.
Visit to the Spandau printing house
One of the highlights of the fair in Berlin was the visit to Axel Springer AG’s Spandau printing house, where in addition to nine daily and five weekly newspapers more than 3.5 million advertisement newspapers are printed and assembled on Muller Martini systems every week. The visit to Europe’s biggest mailroom was part of the Muller Martini customer event, where attendees could exchange ideas on the opportunities and challenges of the newspaper industry in a relaxed atmosphere. “It was an impressive journey through 20 years of Muller Martini mailroom technology,” said Volker Leonhardt, emphasizing the successful event. “Our customers were impressed how Axel Springer anticipates market changes with permanent new investments and higher automation and thereby secures its competitiveness for the future.”