In Hangzhou, China, two KBA newspaper presses that rolled into action at Zhejiang Daily News Group in February and March have surpassed all expectations in terms of quality and performance, according to KBA. The two presses comprise the biggest single press order that KBA has sent to China.
KBA says that although imports of newspaper presses slackened last year, China remains a major market for foreign technology, and KBA's German-built presses enjoy a first-class reputation in the booming Zhejiang industrial zone southwest of Shanghai. The presses include a Commander and a Comet SC.
The company continues that Zhejiang Daily News Group has invested exclusively in KBA technology in recent years. Alongside the Commander and Comets there are Colora presses in operation, some of which also have a heatset capability.
For the new KBA Commander and Comet SC presses Zhejiang Daily News Group built a 40,000sqm printing plant, at a cost of 328 million yuan. The existing US and Japanese newspaper presses were also moved to the new location.
The three-section KBA Commander is configured with twelve Pastostar reelstands, eight H-type towers and three KF 5 double jaw folders. It has a cylinder circumference of 1,092mm, a maximum web width of 1,700mm and a maximum output of 85,000 copies per hour.
The smaller Comet SC has the same cylinder circumference but a web 1,000mm wide, and comprises three DLP reelstands plus two eight-couple towers with one heatset dryer and one KF 3 folder apiece, both presses have EAE consoles.
He Xiaoqi plant manager at the Zhejiang Daily says, “This investment represents a landmark in our company's evolution and will strengthen our position still further.”
Xiaoqi concludes, “The presses have surpassed all our expectations in terms of performance and product quality, having passed the Ifra test with flying colours in April. We mainly use the Commander to print our three main titles, and the Comet for contract work.”
