Traditionally, Ferrostaal, the world’s largest supplier-independent provider of printing equipment, presents itself on the water at the drupa. This year the Ferrostaal ship, moored near the restaurant “Schnellenburg” (Flow gate 5, Rotterdamer Strasse 120, Düsseldorf), will once again offer information, contacts and exciting insights into the world of print and paper.

In view of the choppy waters through which the printing industry is currently moving, Ferrostaal’s Trading division is relying on a strategic expansion of its international image. After more than 50 years experience in the Latin American market and 40 years in Asia, the printing specialists from Essen have started successfully in the Gulf Region with offices in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (Dubai). A top-class customer, “United Printers and Designers”, has already been acquired there for the first large-format Ryobi offset printing system in the Middle East.

Ferrostaal is adopting a new approach in printing business in North America. Instead of opening its own offices, within one year the group has set up a close-meshed network of established dealers via which the entire range of the Japanese vendor Ryobi is offered exclusively for the USA and Canada, including financing and service. “Choppy waters generate movement on the market,” explains Bernd Ahlmann, Executive Vice President Trading, “and we intend to make use of this to strengthen our position.”