NELA gives an extremely positive summary of this year’s drupa, considering the rather cautious expectations which the German manufacturer had prior to the show. But visitor numbers on NELA’s booth quickly proved that automation in commercial printing, for which the company presented it’s Plate On Demand concepts, was one of the cutting-edge themes. The market’s great interest in pre-press automation solutions for sheet-fed offset printing was confirmed by customer orders taken in the course of the exhibition.

Automated plate handling, in-line bending of different plate sizes, plate sorting according to print job or press, scratch-free and damage-free transport to the press – these were the themes that inspired many visitors to the NELA booth during the 11 show days. Those visitors – mostly sheet-fed printers – were interested not only in the NELA SF-Bender, but above all in the different options for plate stacking, sorting and transportation. With Plate on Demand, NELA offers different solutions for various requirements. It seems that there is a general awareness now that challenges such as rising plate volumes, fast job changes, excellent print quality and increasing price pressure can only be mastered with intelligent automation systems. “For years we have been transferring our vast experience stemming from many automation projects in newspaper printing into the commercial print market. Drupa has proven impressively that this market exists and that it is looking for appropriate solutions”, summarizes Martin Haselbach, NELA’s Head of Sales Graphic Systems, the company’s show success. “Our customers and partners can now rely on our know-how and on our established and reliable solutions.”

During the show, NELA could acquire numerous new projects also in regions outside Europe, such as the US and Asia. The already successful show was crowned by the closure of several orders for SF-Benders with automatic plate sorting systems.

The NELA Group with NELA Brüder Neumeister in Germany, NELA USA and NELA Asia forms one of the largest manufacturers of high-quality optical control devices for industrial applications, process control and automation. It serves several markets like the Graphic Arts Industry as well as the Automotive and Medical Industries. NELA’s offset print business includes optical in line punch bending machines, both for newspaper and commercial printers, as well as plate automation and transportation systems.

With more than 3000 installations around the world, NELA is a market and technology leader. NELA’s parts inspection business includes automated optical 100% inspection of rubber seals, plastics, metal, ceramics and sintered mass parts. In this highly diversified market, NELA is among the technology leaders. In our plants in Lahr, Germany, and River Falls, USA, 200 employees manufacture state-of-the-art precision equipment in modern and spacious production facilities.