Speedmaster CX 104 unveiled at EXPO2020 in Dubai

Exhibiting under the slogan ‘Welcome to the Future’, Heidelberg and IST Metz unveiled the new Speedmaster CX 104 to around 100 customers in the Baden-Württemberg pavilion at EXPO2020 in Dubai. The event focused on trends and creative applications in packaging printing and signalled the official market launch of the new universal press in the Middle East region.

The packaging sector in the Middle East recently recorded an annual growth rate in demand of around 10%, driven by far-reaching changes in consumer behaviour attributed to the pandemic and a steep rise in e-commerce sales. A shift in patterns of consumption toward packaged products and a striking uptick in e-commerce demand for packaged food, drink, health, and hygiene products were among the biggest causes of increased and multi-faceted demand for packaging.

Around 100 customers from the Middle East took part in the market launch of the new Heidelberg Speedmaster CX 104 in the region.

“Thanks to its versatility when it comes to substrates and excellent flexibility – supporting everything up to and including navigated or even autonomous production with Push to Stop – the new Speedmaster CX 104 appeals to medium and large-sized packaging companies in particular. Indeed, many medium-sized companies in Middle East are in the process of expanding their capacities right now,” explains David Schmedding, Global Head of Sales & Marketing, Heidelberg. “Moreover, when it comes to the high-performance segment and speeds of up to 16,500 sheets per hour, the Speedmaster CX 104 doesn’t just impress packaging and label printing professionals, but commercial companies, too. After all, given the continued strong growth in the packaging sector, more and more commercial print shops in the region are also turning to packaging printing as a second source of income.”

The versatility of the Speedmaster CX 104 can be taken even further when combining it with drying and UV curing systems from IST Metz. This enables print shops to execute packaging and high-quality commercial printing on virtually any substrate, such as paper, metallized card, plastics, and transparent films. “Heidelberg is working with IST Metz to help its customers become more productive and profitable and therefore more competitive for the long term,” continues Schmedding.

Since the system’s global market launch in the middle of last year, the company has sold around 1,700 printing units in all market segments.

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