"Heidelberg’s second home"

How do you turn two empty halls into a world-class showroom in under a month? Ask Haff

Heidelberg technical manager Franz Haaf started planning the four megawatt presentation in Halls 1 and 2 – "Heidelberg’s second home" – in early 2006.

"Based on a wish-list, you make a plan, to see where you can put what," he said. The wish was realised in a total of 50 pre-press, press and post-press exhibits. "We started by putting in the 200-tonne Speedmaster XL 162 – that machine is 27.9m long and we had a 30m space for it."

Although it would normally take up to six months to erect a print factory of this size, Haaf and his team of 150 qualified engineers managed to do it in just 28 days. His secret? "Always keep calm. Each machine is a project and has its own schedule.

Putting them all together requires a planning sheet with 2,700 positions. We have to keep looking forward, solving problems as they occur."

During the show, Haaf does find time to have a look around other halls: "I like to have a look at the bigger picture, at how others present their machines and their services." Still, his drupa schedule hasn’t ended yet: "After drupa closes on 11 June, we’ll start the disassembling in a very structured way. We’ll finish on 27 June."