Komori has just signed off a deal to bring Benny Landa’s hotly-anticipated Nanographic press technology to market, starting with the S10FC B1 folding carton press in late 2014.
- Benny Landa, CEO and founder, Landa Corporation
Locking down the collaboration that saw the 90-year-old Japanese offset giant provide the sheet-fed platforms for the drupa 2012 launch of Landa’s game-changing technology, Komori will now not only be the global supplier of all sheet-fed Landa press platforms, but will also be preparing its own branded Nanographic press for launch.
Despite the drupa connection the deal was not a fait accompli, as Landa engineers spent the better part of a year assessing the industry’s leading press vendors from around the world on all manner of strict criteria. According to Landa Corp, contenders were evaluated on reliability, cost effectiveness, robustness of design and calibre of engineering, with consideration also going to financial stability, technical resources and its ‘culture of innovation’.
Benny Landa himself confirms, however, that Komori was always a firm favourite for the landmark launch.
“Komori is an outstanding partner for Landa, bringing an extremely high calibre of engineering expertise, second-to-none quality and performance, together with a fervent commitment and willingness to invest in the future. It is gratifying to have as our strategic partner the one global press vendor that continues to thrive despite the challenges faced by the industry,” said Landa.
The deal will further secure Komori’s place at the forefront of press innovation, with a recent spate of high-end installations reported in the past year, and strong support from early adopters working to stay competitive in a demanding industry.
Locally, Trent Nankervis has been running Australia’s first Komori eight-colour H-UV Lithrone for the past six months at his Melbourne CMYKhub facility, and is among the first in country to have his money down on the new Landa press when it hits the market.
“This technology gives our resellers the market edge. Our whole reason for being is to have really exciting technology and a diverse mix of technology that our resellers can plug into, and help them compete and have a future,” said Nankervis.
Following length evaluation on their own part, Komori agrees that Nanography has the potential deliver on its promise to match offset quality and speed at the lowest cost per page in the digital printing industry.
Yoshiharu Komori, president and CEO, Komori, said, “Our teams have been closely monitoring Landa’s development and have been amazed with the progress made so far, which exceeds our expectations.”