Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) has delivered the two longest sheetfed offset presses ever produced to leading global packaging manufacturer WestRock. 

The longest, delivered to WestRock’s facility in Tczew, Poland, is a 42-meter, specially adapted custom configuration of a Speedmaster XL 106 with a total of 20 printing and coating units.

This record-breaking press represents a key Heidelberg business strategy.

“We help our customers simplify their printing processes and boost their productivity by offering them a high level of automation and flexibility, something that is especially important at a time when the skills shortage is becoming more acute worldwide,” says Heidelberg CEO Dr. Ludwin Monz. 

This business strategy is increasingly paying dividends. With annual growth of approximately 2.3 percent forecast, the folding carton market is a strategic growth segment for Heidelberg.

Around half the sheetfed offset presses Heidelberg sells and installs go to packaging customers. “Heidelberg is now the market leader in packaging printing, with Speedmaster XL technology playing a key role,” Monz notes.

The trend toward ever more sustainable packaging, such as folding cartons, is driving demand. Cartons are increasingly replacing plastic packaging in everything from food and cosmetics to pharmaceuticals.

Read this recent case study of a company choosing corrugated cardboard as a more sustainable option than the packaging material it had traditionally used.

In addition, Heidelberg is supplying a further Speedmaster XL 106 with a total of 19 printing and coating units to a WestRock site in Obersulm, Germany – the second longest in the world.

The record-breaking presses supplied to WestRock can print particularly high-quality and eye-catching packaging. With its large number of printing and coating units, the highly flexible long Speedmaster XL 106 configuration is suitable for handling a wide range of packaging applications with striking coating and metallic effects as well as sustainable products – completely inline, double-sided, and in a single pass.

About WestRock

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, WestRock is a global leader in sustainable paper and packaging solutions with more than 50,000 teammates in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Its integrated packaging capabilities offer end-to-end solutions to help customers across food and beverage, healthcare, e-commerce and beyond meet their greatest challenges.

Mark Shaw, Business Leader, EMEA and APAC at WestRock, said: “Innovation and sustainability are the bedrock of WestRock’s operation, and by investing in print technology from Heidelberg we are future-proofing our capabilities for our customers. There is no better demonstration of this than the two longest presses in the world being developed specifically for WestRock facilities. As brands continue to drive demand for sustainable, fiber-based packaging, through our continued investment and industry-leading expertise, we are well positioned to meet these needs.”