Heidelberg to Unveil New Partner Program At Graph Expo 2006

KENNESAW, GA—September 20, 2006—Following the success of its systemservice 36plus program announced at PRINT 05, Heidelberg will establish the next milestone in service offerings with the unveiling of its new Partner Program at Graph Expo 2006. Show attendees can learn more about Heidelberg’s new service offerings in the systemservicearea of Heidelberg’s booth #1200 at the tradeshow, which is being held in Chicago at McCormick Place on Oct. 15-18.

The Heidelberg Partner Program is a suite of 20 customized services that provides customers with the flexibility to select the services that best meet their needs. With the new program, customers can build their own service plan choosing from a suite of standard and premium offerings. The program also provides customers with access to the latest intelligent support tools, premium expertise, Heidelberg’s American Logistics Center and a team of service experts.

“Heidelberg recognizes that press operators know better than anyone the key issues in their production processes and the service modules they need to best secure their production,” said Richard Mack, director of systemservice business development, Heidelberg USA. “With our new Partner Program, customers can purchase the services they need without having to buy a complete package.”

The suite of offerings includes predictive and preventative services in the areas of parts supply, repair service, remote diagnostics, remote inspection, software support and maintenance inspection. All Heidelberg equipment is covered, including prepress, press and postpress solutions. Among the customer advantages of this new program are:

Customized program to fit every print shop’s needs
Peace of mind through comprehensive service coverage solutions
Full protection of customers’ investments
Higher production security through higher equipment availability
Sustained high quality through optimum device settings
Life cycle cost savings for service and repair

To help customers determine which service offerings are right for their shops’ needs, Heidelberg offers a free analysis of the customer’s services demands. At that time, the customer decides which machines and processes are most important to secure his production, and then determines which tasks he would like to delegate to Heidelberg, such as routine Maintenance Inspections or Parts Supply.

“We have seen an increasing demand from commercial and packaging operations looking to outsource equipment management to achieve the best service and support for their systems,” said Mack. “Heidelberg is committed to helping our customers maximize their investments in Heidelberg equipment and achieve maximum uptime and in their shops while lowering operating costs. We have a strong team of experts dedicated to serving as partners for our customers in helping them successfully operate their shops over the long term.”

Another booth highlight will be Heidelberg’s systemservice 36plus. Since its introduction last year, systemservice36plus has seen tremendous success across North America. To date, more than 200 new presses have been sold with the systemservice 36plus package automatically included at no additional cost.

The concept of systemservice 36plus combines intelligent support services, an annual Heidelberg inspection including maintenance and full coverage of all repair services and parts for 36 months. Intelligent support services consist of around-the-clock expert team support, Web-based Remote Service and access to Heidelberg’s eSelfhelp online help tool. In addition to maintenance and repair coverage, Heidelberg’s annual inspection includes a detailed summary report on the condition of the press. With this comprehensive service package, customers benefit from maximum productivity of their Heidelberg equipment.

Heidelberg has the largest service organization in the print media industry with 600 highly skilled service employees and a Technical Support Center that delivers expert advice with the latest technology. Heidelberg service offerings and activities are combined under the umbrella term “systemservice.” This offering provides continuous support for customers from the pre-sales stage to installation and beyond. Heidelberg systemservice experts will be on hand at Graph Expo to guide booth visitors through the company’s various service offerings and the new Partner Program. Many of the program’s 20 service modules will be demonstrated at the booth.

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
With a global market share for sheetfed offset printing machines of more than 40 percent, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) is the world’s leading solution provider for commercial and industrial customers in the print media industry. Headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany, the Company focuses on the entire process and value chain for popular format classes in the sheetfed offset and flexographic printing sectors. Apart from printing presses, the product portfolio includes plate imaging devices and finishing equipment, as well as software components designed to integrate all print manufacturing processes. In addition, Heidelberg offers a wide range of spare parts, consumables, used equipment and services, along with extensive training programs provided by the Print Media Academy. Furthermore, the Company assists its customers’ investment plans by offering financing concepts.

Heidelberg is most active within the major OECD industrial regions and is expanding its involvement within growing markets such as Asia and Eastern Europe. With development and production sites in six countries and some 250 sales offices world-wide, the Company offers services to more than 200,000 customers around the globe. Heidelberg generates 85 percent of global sales through company-owned sales offices and well above 80 percent outside of Germany. In fiscal year 2005/2006, Heidelberg achieved sales of Euro 3.586 billion referring to the divisions Press, Postpress and Financial Services as well as a net profit of Euro 135 million.

As of March 31, 2006, the Group employed 18,716 staff worldwide.