Dr Ludwin Monz, chief executtive officer, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG.
Dr Ludwin Monz today succeeded Rainer Hundsdörfer as chairman of the Management Board of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg). Rainer Hundsdörfer, who held the post for six years, is retiring as planned.
After more than ten years at the helm of Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, Ludwin Monz is taking over management duties and will continue to drive forward Heidelberg’s strategic realignment. In the future, he will continue the chosen path of opening up new markets with core competencies, “Our task is to use our technological strength to generate new business. To do this, we have to sustainably increase profitability and resilience and make our existing technological expertise available for new markets in a targeted manner,” says Monz. The printing industry and its structures are changing at a rapid pace. However, customers’ expectations of Heidelberg remain high. “The important goal is therefore not to stand still in our own development,” emphasizes Monz. “We want to prioritize our strategy and the expansion of our leading position in our core markets even more closely in line with customer needs. Because our claim is to always be the best partner for our customers.”
Dr Monz is a recognized leader in German industry with capital market experience. He has had a long and successful career in technology companies, including positions as head of development as well as management of various business units.
“We are delighted to be able to hand over the chairmanship of the Management Board to the experienced hands of Ludwin Monz,” says Dr Martin Sonnenschein, chairman of the Supervisory Board of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG. “With his distinctive expertize in cutting-edge technologies and innovations, he will continue to drive the growth and realignment of the company. We would like to thank Rainer Hundsdörfer for his outstanding achievements and high level of commitment until the end of his term of office. With the successful establishment of eMobility as a new business area, he has had a decisive influence on the realignment of the company.”
2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India
Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and
multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.
The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry.
While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately
their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book
printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.
The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.
Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.
Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.
Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.
