Heidelberg integrates the lifecycle business and global sales and service companies of the manroland sheetfed Group

Print Solutions

Langley Holdings has reached an agreement with Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) for the transfer of significant parts of the Manroland Sheetfed business.

The combination of two companies that have shaped the history of printing press manufacturing for decades brings together geographic presence, high service quality, and a consistent customer focus. In the initial phase, the primary focus will be on continuing to operate manroland systems by maintaining the global service and spare parts offerings.

Thanks to these combined activities, a comprehensive, globally positioned service and lifecycle portfolio, including specialists for comprehensive customer support, will be available in the future. The company is thus further expanding its offering as a full service provider and laying the foundation for sustainable growth and increasing recurring revenue.

‘With this transaction, we are ensuring that the acquired manroland business can continue to operate reliably. The combination of manroland sheetfed’s service and spare parts business and its sales subsidiaries with Heidelberg strengthens our global role as a systems integrator and enables us to seamlessly ensure the supply of manroland users worldwide. Together with our strong service and logistics network, we offer our customers a global range of service and spare parts,’ said Jürgen Otto, CEO of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG.

‘The agreement with Heidelberg ensures continuity in service and spare parts supply while integrating the business into a global organisation that has the necessary scale and infrastructure to support manroland users over the long term,’ said Anthony Langley, chairman of the board and CEO of Langley Holdings plc.

Acquisition of the service and spare parts business, including intellectual property, as well as approximately 35 market organisations with a global presence and about 600 employees

As part of the transaction, Heidelberg is acquiring manroland sheetfed’s service and spare parts business through approximately 35 country organisations with about 600 employees. In addition, Heidelberg is acquiring the technology and intellectual property (IP) related to service and spare parts, as well as selected assets.

This integration significantly strengthens Heidelberg’s international structures, expands its sales and service network, and ensures continuity for well over 3000 manroland users worldwide. At the same time, direct customer access is being expanded, and a solid foundation is being laid for further business growth. As part of the transaction, Heidelberg is also securing the IP for the Roland 900/Cartonmaster in the large format sheetfed offset segment. The company is currently evaluating options for the production and further development of this system.

By combining the customer bases, Heidelberg gains direct access to print shops with manroland sheetfed presses and assists them in continuing to operate their systems. To this end, it is taking over service and spare parts supply worldwide effective immediately and is fully integrating these customers into its global service network. The familiar local contacts for manroland customers will generally remain in place.

Through integration into the Heidelberg infrastructure, manroland users also gain access to technology, standardised service processes, and a consistent level of support worldwide in over 170 countries. For customers considering a technology change, Heidelberg also offers the option to upgrade to the latest Speedmaster systems. 

Dr David Schmedding, executive board member for technology and sales at Heidelberg, summarised: ‘This integration is the next logical step in implementing our strategy in our core business. With the acquisition of the global service and spare parts business for manroland presses, we are offering print shops a seamless transition in the operation of their systems. Customers benefit from a significantly more comprehensive range of services, a reliable supply of spare parts, and innovative solutions from a single source. This creates sustainable added value for our customers worldwide.’

Langley Holdings acquired the sheetfed division of the former Manroland AG out of German insolvency proceedings in 2012 and has since financially supported the business for more than a decade. As noted in the chairman’s review in Langley Holdings’ 2025 Annual Report, the group delivered a record performance in 2025, but the Print Technologies division continued to record significant losses.

Against this backdrop, Langley concluded that a strategic solution was required for Manroland Sheetfed, its customers, employees and installed base.

Anthony Langley added, ‘Since acquiring Manroland Sheetfed in 2012, Langley has supported the business through a hugely challenging period for the global printing press industry.

'The agreement with Heidelberg ensures continuity of service and spare parts support, while placing the company within a global organisation with the scale and infrastructure to support Manroland users over the long term.’