Dobruška / Despite the import duties which remain due for printing presses delivered to China, KBA has been able to record further sales on the Chinese market to follow up its very successful participation at the Print China fair in April 2007. One of the most recent orders was received from the northern port city Tianjin, the centre of the new Chinese “boom zone” Bohai-Rim. As the outcome of intensive market research, Tianjin Yiyao Printing Co. Ltd. has chosen a KBA Rapida 105 universal with six printing units, coating tower, double-length delivery extension and UV options.

The profound competence of an experienced sales team at KBA China, backed up with valuable support from the KBA design departments in Germany, produced a press configuration tailored specifically to the user's needs, and in the end tipped the scales in favour of the Rapida. At the same time, Tianjin Yiyao was able to visit comparable KBA installations in China. It was noted positively that these installations were almost exclusively at former customers of another German manufacturer and that – as in the cases of Leo Paper, Guizhou Yongji und Huzhou Tianwai – these customers had each already ordered three presses from KBA within only a very short period. “Only a frontrunner can be successful in the long term,” says Zhou Di, the general manager of Tianjin Yiyao. “The decision to go with KBA was not an easy decision to take, but the modern sheetfed offset technology and KBA's pioneering work in the fields of UV and hybrid finishing were absolutely convincing.” The management team at Tianjin Yiyao is certain that the diverse finishing possibilities offered by the new press will prove a successful response to the increased price competition which has evolved in recent years through a flood of simple four and five-colour presses into the country.

Signing of the contracts with Xing Xiuyun, general manager of Tianjin Foreign Trade (Group) Niche Company, Zhou Di, general manager of Tianjin Yiyao, and Walter Zehner, KBA Printing Machinery (left to right)

In most cases, imports of printing presses to China have no longer been exempt from customs duty since the end of 2005. It is true that the technical specifications for the exemption of printing presses from customs duty were redefined on 1st March this year – which a German competitor of KBA interpreted falsely as a re-introduction of exemption, leading understandably to a certain agitation also in China –, but the prerequisites for the granting of exemption for capital goods have been tightened to such an extent since December 2005 that, with the exception of the newspaper sector, no further exemptions are granted for projects in the printing industry.

The modern Tianjin Yiyao print centre will soon be welcoming a six-colour Rapida 105 universal with UV options

Against this background, Tianjin Yiyao faced an existential question: Either to stagnate, or to swim against the tide with the largest single investment in the company's history, despite the additional burden of 28.7% customs duty and import tax. “That was a historical decision for Tianjin Yiyao as a company, but at the same time also for the further development of the Chinese printing industry as a whole,” says Walter Zehner, general manager of the KBA subsidiary in China. “The intention behind the stricter import policy, namely, is to encourage the Chinese print industry to shift its emphasis from pure volume production towards quality work. At the moment, the high levies means that only first-class companies are investing in first-class equipment. With the decision to purchase its Rapida 105 universal with coater and UV options, Tianjin Yiyao has laid a stable foundation for the future.”

The negotiating teams from Tianjin Yiyao and KBA after signing the contracts

Tianjin Yiyao, an ISO-certified company, is one of the largest producers of pharmaceutical packaging in China, and at the same time market leader for special packaging with security features. With the latest investment, it has remained true to its motto of “Four Novelties” - new press, new equipment features, new processes and new materials.