Koenig & Bauer and RobCo driving robotic IMPACT

(L to R) Christian Steinmaßl, member of group management, Dr Stephen Kimmich, CEO, and Markus Faude, vice president factory & machine automation (Koenig & Bauer); Nenad Menga, RVP Central Europe, Arjan van Staveren, CRO, and Roman Hölzl, CEO and co-founder (RobCo)

Koenig & Bauer has formed a strategic partnership with Munich-based robotics company RobCo, with the aim to further advance automation in the printing and packaging industry. The move forms part of the printing press manufacturer’s strategic framework ‘IMPACT’ and marks a key step towards creating an ‘open, highly flexible automation ecosystem’.

Dr Stephen Kimmich, CEO of Koenig & Bauer, says: “In times of volatile markets, our customers demand far more than just outstanding printing technology – they demand autonomy, fail-safe processes, and absolute resilience along the entire value chain. Through our strategic framework ‘IMPACT’, we want to play a key role in shaping this growing requirement and this partnership with RobCo aims to break down technological silos and provide the market with scalable solutions for the future.”

“Anyone who wants to remain competitive in modern production needs seamlessly interlocking overall systems and processes – fully orchestrated from a single source.”

RobCo produces robot systems using no-code technology, meaning they can be configured for new tasks without deep programming knowledge. The systems are designed so they can be used to automate intermediate steps that arise between the printing process and processing of materials.

Roman Hölzl, CEO and co-founder of RobCo, adds: “Many automation projects do not fail because of the robotics itself, but because of its complexity. But through our no-code platform, we can enable companies to integrate and adapt robotics applications into their production processes much faster and more easily. Together with Koenig & Bauer, we combine deep industry knowledge with a flexible automation platform to make robotics accessible to significantly more companies and pave the way to more productive, resilient manufacturing processes.”

Koenig & Bauer has established a factory and machine automation unit with the aim to incorporate this technology into its offer to customers, with a particular focus on the post-press sector. Initial customer installation of the robotics offer is scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.

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