Heidelberg and Masterwork join hands to achieve outstanding performance and activate new cooperation, creating value for global customers

Heidelberg and Masterwork join hands to achieve outstanding performance and activate new cooperation, creating value for global customers

On April 13, 2023, Ms. Li Li, Chairman and CEO of Masterwork(MK), and Dr. Ludwin Monz, CEO of Heidelberg, signed a joint statement at the PRINTCHINA2023 exhibition in Guangdong, announcing to the global market that since the two sides formally reached a global agency distribution partnership in 2014, Heidelberg has sold over 1000 units of MK high-end equipment worldwide. This is also an important milestone for the two sides' collaboration in creating value for customers over the past eight years. Top executives, important customers, and industry media participated in the event, witnessing this important moment together.

The signing of this agreement is a commitment from MK and Heidelberg to maintain a long-term and steadfast partnership in the future, as well as a promise to global customers that the two world-class equipment and service providers will continue to provide innovative technologies and high-quality overall solutions for the printing and packaging industry to the global market. With more timely and professional services, they will bring customers high-quality experiences.

▲Signing on site

Ms. Li Li, Chairman and CEO of MK, presented a commemorative gift to Dr. Ludwin Monz, CEO of Heidelberg

In 2014, Heidelberg and MK officially began the strategic partnership, with Heidelberg distributing MK's post-press equipment globally. In 2015, MK acquired Heidelberg's packaging post-press assets, trademarks, and patents, officially starting a deep collaboration. In February 2019, MK and Heidelberg held an investor meeting and announced for the first time that the two parties would conduct equity and comprehensive strategic cooperation, working together to build a printing and packaging industry ecosystem for the future and the world.

According to the agreement, both parties will increase efforts to expand overseas markets on the basis of the 2014 cooperation agreement and achieve dual-direction distribution and supply worldwide. This includes MK promoting Heidelberg's offset printing machines to its key customers in China, while Heidelberg uses its global network to sell MK's post-press products in more than 170 countries. In 2022, the joint venture company by MK and Heidelberg was established, with the factory planned according to standard of German Industry 4.0, achieving the same product quality as the German original factory, and supplying high-end components for both parties. This kind of deep cooperation that enabled MK's market share to grow rapidly in overseas.

At the exhibition booth, Ms. Li Li, Chairman of MK, gave a detailed introduction to the automation and intelligence of the post-press products and solutions brought by MK this time. The solution includes unmanned operation of material conversion, data management of equipment operation, and presents a sample factory with high-end equipment and industrial interconnection intelligence. The Heidelberg CEO and his team fully felt that as the leading Chinese post-press company, MK's continuous innovation in professional technology and its leading role in the development direction of automation and intelligence, made them full of confidence and expectations for future cooperation between the two parties.

Automation Intelligence

As a leading enterprise in the intelligent manufacturing of printing equipment, MK plays a supportive role in upgrading the entire industry's technology. After deep cooperation with Heidelberg for several years, MK successively acquired a German R&D center, a Slovakian production base, multiple patents, and its global distribution channels. With the support of global resources, MK continuously breaks through itself in innovation aspect. In 2021, the Mastermatrix106CSB die-cutting machine with full waste stripping achieved a speed of 9,000 sheets per hour, breaking the global monopoly of overseas brands and quickly expanding its global market with a more competitive advantage.

Through cooperation with Heidelberg, MK has gradually sketched out a picture of the industry ecosystem, from intelligent equipment to intelligent production and then to intelligent factory management, from "Made in China" to "Intelligent Manufacturing in China" and finally to "Intelligent Manufacturing Globally."

MK's cooperation with Heidelberg goes far beyond overseas distribution. In the printing and packaging intelligent manufacturing industry, the future cooperation between the two sides will be more extensive and in-depth. Just like Heidelberg's vision of "building an ecosystem for the printing industry" proposed at this exhibition, MK is also expressing the concept that "innovation leading, ecological interconnection". And this reveals that the two are similar in spirit through careful observation.

We are looking forward to the next milestone of cooperation between MK and Heidelberg!