KANDO AND VUCA TO MARK KOMORI CENTENARY

Japan’s biggest offset press manufacturer Komori says its 100th anniversary will be focused on delivering Kando – beyond expectations – in the era of Vuca; volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.

Created in October 1923, Komori has only ever manufactured offset presses, unlike its German rivals which started off with letterpress. It now makes presses for commercial, packaging and security print, and has a deal with Israeli print technology developer Landa for digital nano presses, under the Impremia brand.

Sold in ANZ through Print & Pack, the company’s press sales here are fewer than in the heyday of the 1980s-2000s, in line with the trend of all press manufacturers, but still have a loyal following.

Globally, sales in Q1 showed a slight one per cent increase over the same period last year to ¥19.4 billion ($210m). Its Japanese market rebounded from Covid lows, but China and Europe slowed. Heidelberg’s sales in Q1 were €544m, measured in Euros Komori’s were €124m, while Koenig & Bauer achieved €281m. Both the German companies had strong European showings, however Komori says it has strong Q2 sales going through in Europe. Its US sales were up in Q1.

For its centenary, the company is launching Komori 2030, a roadmap for the short to medium term, of which it says, “We have entered an ambiguous socio-economic environment where changes are drastic and predicting the future is difficult. We must survive in these difficult times.”

Komori says the power of print will prevail, and is reportedly looking at inkjet technology as a strong development focus for the future.