Durst and Koenig and Bauer Enter Joint Venture for Digital Printing Production Lines

Durst, a manufacturer of advanced digital printing and production technologies, has entered into a 50/50 joint venture with printing press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer for the joint development and marketing of single-pass digital printing systems for folding carton and cartonboard corrugated industry.

As technology leader in inkjet printing, Durst bundles this expertise with the market presence and excellent mechanical engineering of the Koenig & Bauer Group, which, with more than 5,700 employees, is one of the world's major suppliers of packaging and banknote printing.

In future, fully automated production lines will be developed in the joint venture and distributed worldwide. The digital transformation is also in the packaging industry, as the ever-changing requirements can no longer be met with conventional production technologies. Unlike in the graphics industry, an inkjet press alone is not enough, but there is a need to integrate different peripheral systems into a fully automatic production line. The new partner company will be based in Germany and will also manage the service and ink business in close cooperation with the global network of both companies.

“Durst and Koenig & Bauer is really a 'perfect match' because combining our strengths will drive digitalization in the packaging industry,” said Christoph Gamper, CEO of Durst Group. “Both companies are similar in their culture and strategic direction, and both are technology leaders in their fields. With the partnership, we are even more strongly positioning ourselves as a high-end systems supplier to the industry.”

Claus Bolza-Schünemann, CEO of Koenig & Bauer AG, said: “We look forward to the joint innovations and further development of future-oriented digital printing solutions for folding carton and corrugated board printing, which offer our customers added value. For folding carton printing, the modular concept of the VariJET enables the combination of digital inkjet printing with off-set printing and inline finishing options. Durst is the ideal partner for these goals because of its existing know-how and experience with inkjet and its high-quality solutions.”