HEIDELBERG Presses Ahead with Strategic Development

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG) has started financial year 2026/2027 by systematically continuing its transition to a more broadly based technology company. 

HEIDELBERG is setting the course for future growth with several strategic initiatives. Besides expanding its core business by taking over manroland sheetfed lifecycle business and POLAR production operations, the company is also tapping into additional potential by taking advantage of new market opportunities arising from energy storage systems and the European defense sector.

“This financial year at HEIDELBERG is all about investments in line with our strategic agenda. We are looking to further strengthen the company’s market position and tap into new potential. This will create the basis for profitable growth and sustainable value enhancement in the coming years,” says Jürgen Otto, CEO of HEIDELBERG.

Integration of the manroland sheetfed Group’s lifecycle business and global sales and service companies, together with full acquisition of POLAR post press systems, has further enhanced the strategic position of HEIDELBERG as a systems integrator in its core business. 

As part of the manroland sheetfed transaction, HEIDELBERG has also secured the intellectual property rights for the Roland 900 / Cartonmaster in the large-format sheetfed offset segment. 

The first press of this model has already been sold, and HEIDELBERG is currently looking into further production and development options for this system at a low-cost location. In this way, the company is reinforcing its leading position in the printing and packaging sector.

At the recent international aerospace trade show ILA Berlin, ONBERG signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a further joint venture – with the Ukrainian drone developer Skyeton. The Skyeton portfolio includes high-tech, combat-proven surveillance drones, which are being combined with the HEIDELBERG unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to create an autonomous system of systems. 

The unmanned air-ground systems that are currently being developed in rapid innovation cycles in Ukraine are increasingly regarded as a future defense solution. In July, ONBERG opened a Live Hub to demonstrate integrated counter-UAS capabilities at its Brandenburg site, where decision-makers from public authorities, operators of critical infrastructure, the armed forces, and industry can see exactly how integrated protection from enemy drones works in practice.

The move by HD Advanced Technologies into the production of sodium-ion battery storage systems is also opening new potential. The company has teamed up with Swiss business PHENOGY to collaborate on a technology and industry platform in this sector. 

As an initial step, HD Advanced Technologies will start handling the industrial manufacturing of complete energy storage systems for PHENOGY – from procurement and production through to rollout, installation, service, and maintenance. The two companies are also laying the groundwork for a joint venture focusing on the development and industrial manufacturing of sodium-ion battery cells based on PHENOGY’s cell chemistry and a specific printing process from HEIDELBERG.