Heidelberg held its traditional end-of-year press briefing this week against a backdrop of extraordinary events in the industry and beyond.

With the situation at insolvent rival Manroland in flux, and the ongoing crisis in the Eurozone yet to be resolved, the world’s largest printing equipment manufacturer reaffirmed its confidence in the future of the industry.

 Chairman and chief executive Bernhard Schreier said: "Printing volumes in the future will at worst be no lower than today, but they will change in scope and volumes... the printed word is not on its way out, not now or in the future."

Schreier said Heidelberg was "keeping a close eye" on events around Manroland, amidst the latest speculation that Shanghai Electric could bid for its sheetfed wing.

"We are looking at how developments could impact our business, and whether there are opportunities for us. It is too early to draw definitive conclusions," he said. "It would be good for the industry if capacity is reduced but this is not yet a given. We have to wait to see what happens."

Schreier also noted that publicity in mainstream news channels surrounding Manroland’s failure – some of it inaccurate and misguided regarding the reasons for the insolvency – reflected badly on the industry as a whole. "It is an industry indicator and we have to defend our position to financial analysts in terms of what happened to Manroland," he stated. "The image is in many ways outdated, for example mixing up the newspaper business with the commercial business. It’s clear the reader must be very concerned about the industry overall.

"My focus is to show customers and investors where our industry is headed... my top priority is to improve the profitability of Heidelberg as soon as possible, and secure technological leadership for the benefit of our customers," he added.

Looking ahead to Drupa 2012, Heidelberg has been the biggest single exhibitor since the show’s inception in 1951 and will maintain this status in 2012, said Schreier. That said, Heidelberg will concentrate its own presence in hall one, with its partner companies in hall two.

Schreier said it was important the industry overall capitalised on the opportunities afforded by the exhibition. "It is the industry-leading event worldwide and it is essential that Drupa provides answers and solutions for the future on a global scale.

"Drupa is an opportunity to present the industry to our stakeholders – our customers, but also our customers’ customers. And many of our customers already represent the print industry of the next generation," he said.

Heidelberg will focus its Drupa campaign around business models and applications that enable customers to grow their business and make money. It has added new topics to its ‘HEI’ theme, including HEI Emotions to reflect the tactile qualities of print, and will exhibit under the overall banner of ‘Discover HEI’.