Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft announced it aims to further strengthen its leading competitive position in the growth market of China and has therefore set up a production joint venture with its long-standing partner and strategic anchor shareholder Masterwork Group Co., Ltd. (Masterwork). Heidelberg will benefit from the closer cooperation in the value-added chain between the two companies, particularly at its production site near Shanghai. The two companies also expect the expansion of their strategic cooperation through joint parts production by the joint venture at Masterwork's site in Tianjin to open up substantial opportunities for boosting efficiency.

Under the terms of the cooperation agreement, the joint venture will take over some of the machine parts previously manufactured by Heidelberg. The main customers are Heidelberg Graphics Equipment (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., as the local Group company in China, and Masterwork and its affiliated companies. Production is scheduled to start at Masterwork's new and innovative site in Tianjin at the beginning of 2021.

The increasing purchase of locally manufactured parts will significantly increase competitiveness in this growth market.