After its rapprochement with the manufacturer of Durst digital presses in 2019 koenig & Bauer is continuing to build partnerships: the German printing press group is taking a 49% stake in the manufacturer of flexo presses and rotary diecutters for corrugated board, Celmacch.
With this transaction, Koenig & Bauer is further expanding its presence in the paperboard market. Andreas Pleßke, CEO of Koenig & Bauer, explains: "Corrugated aligns with the packaging industry's growing demands for sustainability, especially in the context of the Green Pact for Europe, and is therefore also an expression of our Exceeding Print strategy."
For the German group, this "material with a thousand facets" is one of its major areas of development and now offers "a complete range of machines for corrugated board converters" .
In particular, Celmacch offers the Chroma Evo line of high-definition flexo printers and modular rotary die-cutters since 2019.
From now on, Celmacch will operate under the name of Koenig & Bauer Celmacch. Koenig & Bauer's machines for the corrugated industry are combined under the name Chroma: the printing and diecutting presses developed in partnership with Durst, CorruFlex and CorruCut, become ChromaCut X Pro and Chroma X Pro respectively.
The new group becomes "the only press supplier to cover all price and performance ranges".
Initially, the two groups will focus on combining their sales and service activities, developing new products and expanding the assembly capabilities of Koenig & Bauer Celmacch. The offices of Koenig & Bauer Celmacch and its 50 employees will remain in Desenzano, Italy.
Koenig & Bauer says it may increase its stake in Celmacch Group beyond the initial 49%.
