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KBA Celebrates 200 Years and Rebrands As Koenig & Bauer

More than 700 people from around world on September 21 gathered at the Vogel Convention Center in Würzburg, Germany, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Koenig & Bauer. The world’s second largest printing press manufacturer began its third century by introducing a new branding position to its guests.

A day before its jubilee celebration on Thursday evening, CEO Claus Bolza-Schünemann unveiled the new brand to a group of 60 journalists who then toured the company’s Würzburg manufacturing facility. Bolza-Schünemann explained the brand KBA, which was introduced in 1990 after the takeover of Albert-Frankenthal AG, is reverting to the original brand of Koenig & Bauer – the surnames of its founders. This brand position includes a new logo and product design.

“Koenig & Bauer AG today has 33 subsidiaries. Twelve of them produce their own products for their own customers. We see the company anniversary as an ideal time to place all activities of the Group, from classic printing to digital printing, including prepress and post-press and top service, under a strong common roof again,” said Bolza-Schüneman. “The relaunch is intended to strengthen the employee’s pride in the history of the company and the pride of new employees, who have joined the Group through acquisitions, in the common brand Koenig & Bauer, and to allow old and new customers to feel the strength of this traditional brand even more, with a modern appearance and product design.”

The company also takes on a new moniker, “We’re on it” to describe its position in the market. The ampersand between the surnames of the founders of the company was chosen as the short form of the brand name Koenig & Bauer, designed in the new company font, for promotional activities.

The new product design, which was on display on some of the company’s demonstration and testing presses in the Würzburg facility, is to be implemented immediately for new products, and successively up until drupa 2020 for all other product families of the Koenig & Bauer Group. Koenig & Bauer explains its company colour blue becomes warmer and more accentuated, while its use is reduced, with the use of new dark and light shades of grey.