Mr Heuer, systems from Planatol glue among other things advertising brochures which are inserted in newspapers. In many western industrial countries, the newspapers are under pressure from competition with the Internet. Some were already closed down. Has this development caused loss of business for Planatol System?

Heuer: No. Already now, many customers have gone over to stop the insertion of their advertising brochures into the newspapers and to send them separately to the households. Advertising expenditure will not decrease in future, it will probably even increase. These advertising brochures are made for a mass market.

Digital printing is on the way up. What role does it play for the fold-gluing systems from Planatol which are presently used in rotary printing?

Heuer: From our point of view, digital printing is not yet suited for long print runs. Therefore, we do not think that it will be found in industrial applications in the short term. But should that time come, we shall, of course, be ready to act immediately. Our systems can also be integrated into digital printing machines without any problems.

Print products have been produced “in-line” in rotary printing presses for a long time already. They are stitched or glued in the fold in the folder of the rotary press, trimmed on three sides in the finishing unit which is directly linked to the folder, then stacked and packed and finally placed on the pallet fully automatically.

How strongly has Planatol System been affected by the global economic crisis?

Heuer: We took measures and implemented structural changes in good time in order to manage the challenges arising as a result of the economic crisis. We focused, for instance, more and more on the less volatile service business. Thanks to our measures, we have positioned ourselves so well for the future that we are able to respond to new tasks in a flexible way. In 2010, our sales were already higher than the projected figures, and in the current year, they will probably exceed our plans as well.