Mr. Rafael Penuela, CEO of Manroland Sheetfed GmbH, recently paid a visit to China, meeting customers and giving industry media interviews. He made a firm commitment that the company will actively participate in the development of the country’s printing industry.
“I am very honored to visit China again at a memorable moment – the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up – and experience the great achievements of the Chinese printing industry through the years. Together with our partners we are creating a bright future!”
40th Anniversary Celebration of ZRP Printing Group
One of the important activities of the CEO’s trip to China was the inauguration of a smart factory coinciding with the 40th anniversary celebration of the ZRP Printing and Packaging Group Co., Ltd. in Zhongshan, Guangdong province.
Founded in 1978, ZRP has become a major player in the mainland printing market. It provides promotional tools, smart and personalized packaging products and integrated solutions and services to consumer brands. Since 2003, ZRP has consistently been included in the ranks of “China Top 100 Printing Enterprises”.
As one of Manroland’s strategic partners and benchmark customers in Greater China, the cooperation with ZRP covers a wide range of fields. Innovation, quality and efficiency are hallmarks of the thriving partnership. Over the years, ZRP has always been among the first companies to use newly rolled out Manroland Sheetfed presses. These include the latest nine-color ROLAND 700 EVOLUTION with double coating and ultra-high automation and smart technologies. Awarded the RedDot Design in 2015, the ROLAND 700 EVOLUTION is the new-generation synonymous to top productivity and print quality.
Together with Manroland, ZRP is the first printer in China to fully implement the TOP comprehensive performance management project. This aims to improve every aspect – technical, organizational structure and personnel – that is crucial to the productivity of printing companies. With the help of TOP, a company’s potential is fully realized.
To celebrate the event, Mr. Penuela brought a special gift from Manroland’s headquarters in Germany: a lithographic printing plate of the 1950s, which is one of Manroland’s collections.
Whilst Mr. Huang Huanran, Chairman of the ZRP Group received the ‘precious’ lithographic printing plate from Mr. Penuela, the Manroland Sheetfed CEO spoke eloquently of the significance of the gift and its origins.
Since Alois Senefelder invented the lithographic printing press in 1796, the small German city of Offenbach am Main and Manroland, which calls the district its home, have been witness to the glorious history of lithographic printing – from its birth, development and acceptance as the mainstream printing method in the pre-offset printing era.
Benefiting from its deep knowledge of the workings of lithographic printing, as well as the later trend of printing on metal plates, Faber & Schleicher built the first sheetfed rotary offset printing press, called ‘Roland,’ in 1911. Faber & Schleicher, the predecessor of Manroland, was founded by two technology pioneers, Louis Faber and Adolf Schleicher. More than a century since that breakthrough, technological advances have been continuously made and offset printing has evolved. Forty years of ZRP, innovation never ends!
“Innovation is the foundation for companies to survive and develop. Just like the pioneer of Manroland technology a hundred years ago, the ZRP Printing Group has been growing and evolving steadily for 40 years,” Mr. Penuela said. “I sincerely hope that the ZRP Printing Group will have a happy 40th birthday and continue to be brilliant. Manroland is committed to helping Chinese printing companies to succeed.”
Joint media interview
During the trip, Mr. Penuela gave interviews to several industry media reporters from China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore. He elaborated on the latest technology developed by Manroland and its regional service strategy.
With Manroland Sheetfed entering a new era, Mr. Penuela is confident of steering the group in the right direction, aided by his more than 20 years of customer service experience. Given responsibility for manroland’s global operations, Mr. Penuela trusts that his capable colleagues and the team spirit of the company’s employees worldwide will continue to provide cutting-edge services and solutions to printing companies.
Paying attention to the profitability of printing companies is the key to ensuring sustainable success and the core of Manroland’s development of technologies and solutions
When talking about the company’s expectations for the future, Mr. Penuela said that Manroland Sheetfed pays close attention to the needs of printers, combining Manroland’s traditional strengths with innovative spirit. “Our goal is to provide customers with the best sheetfed offset printing solutions and services,” he said. “Our sheetfed presses are recognized as the best printing presses in the world. I am convinced that together with the service portfolio we offer, customers will be able to keep their presses in good running condition. As the best business partner of printing companies worldwide, we look forward to working with our Chinese friends to achieve a brighter future.”
When talking about the Chinese printing market, Mr. Penuela mentioned that the Chinese economy has made a leap in both product quality and quantity. On the one hand, the domestic market is constantly developing and manufacturing high-quality products; on the other hand, more domestic brands are evolving into internationally renowned brands. This has led to further growth in demand for high-quality printed products. In spite of the temporary fluctuations in the economic environment, Mr. Penuela saw that a big number of partners have successfully adapted to the times and redeployed their development strategies. This has enabled them to quickly return to growth.
Manroland is committed to developing technologies that will help companies achieve innovative ideas, efficient processes and future-oriented production methods.
About Manroland Sheetfed
Manroland Sheetfed GmbH is a leading German producer of sheetfed offset litho printing presses. Founded in 1871, the company is one of the oldest producers of printing presses in the world. Today the company has its own subsidiaries in over 40 countries and is a global watchword for supreme quality and reliability. Manroland Sheetfed GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of the privately owned UK engineering group, Langley Holdings plc.