Heidelberg Plans Further Shift Events
Event featured conference presentations and practical workshops
Heidelberg has pronounced its Shift summit a resounding success and plans to run the event again next year.
The two-day event was held earlier this month, with more than 200 international guests in attendance.
Dr David Schmedding, Heidelberg’s chief technology and sales officer, said the manufacturer had created a unique platform with Shift, “where participants can network, discuss the topic of digital transformation and gain inspiration for solutions”.
“We want to support our customers as partners with all our process expertise and experience in process digitalization. Heidelberg will therefore continue the format due to the extremely positive feedback. The industry can already look forward to Shift 2026!”
The conference part of the event featured practical, real-world examples of printers’ own experiences, with Micropress Printers joint managing director Rob Cross taking to the stage to talk about the Suffolk company’s experience in adopting automation, robotics and AI.
Micropress installed the UK’s first latest spec Heidelberg Speedmaster XL106 with Plate to Unit automation earlier this year. The press is an eight-colour perfecting model. The firm has also extended its factory and upgraded its digital printing setup.
Cross told Printweek: “It was a good event, I liked the focus on software as well as hardware and I think that’s definitely a new direction and what’s needed. I really enjoyed it.”
He said other participants were interested in how UK printers were developing their offering.
“It surprised me, actually, how much interest there is in the UK market – we’re seen as quite ahead – so that was interesting.”
German label and packaging printer Bauer Packaging shared details of how it has automated production using Heidelberg Prinect in combination with Symphony from German developer Ctrl-s.
Day two of Shift 2025 involved demonstrations and practical workshops.
Key topics included automation, hybrid print production, and how firms were adapting to manage multiple small orders rather than longer run lengths.