Heidelberg Druck's Istanbul Software Win Lands Alongside a Gallus Leadership Handover

Sade Ofset adopts Prinect Production as Heidelberg links prepress, press room and planning; Gallus gets interim CEO as shares stay 42% below 52-week high.

Heidelberg Druckmaschinen is stitching digital platforms into the machinery it already has on factory floors, and its latest proof point comes from Istanbul. Sade Ofset Packaging & Label has adopted Prinect Production as the central system for digitally controlling its manufacturing, linking prepress, the press room and production planning into a single network. The Turkish packaging and label maker had already swapped out two older machines for a Speedmaster CX 104 the previous year to modernize capacity in its core segments.

The push reflects a broader bet on automated production workflows across the printing industry, with packaging, label printing and software solutions now carrying more weight in Heidelberg's operating setup.

A US Label Order, a Pharma Tie-Up and a Digital Press in Austria

Demand is not confined to one geography. On 29 September, US label printer NextGen Label Group placed an order for another eight-color Gallus Labelmaster 440, with installation slated for early 2027. On the digital side, Austrian print service provider Klampfer Druck installed a Jetfire 50 system to combine digital and offset output for shorter runs — a segment where Heidelberg reports growing interest from Eastern Europe.

Logistics is the other front. Heidelberg and the pfenning group agreed a partnership aimed at digitally linking printing, packaging, serialization and track-and-trace with pharmaceutical logistics, targeting transparency and regulatory compliance along the supply chain. Neither side disclosed the financial terms. The Gallus Group, meanwhile, confirmed its return to the LOUPE India 2026 trade fair.

Gallus Gets a New Interim Boss as Urbinati Moves Upstairs

Alongside the commercial moves, Heidelberg is reworking the leadership of its Gallus subsidiary. Michael Bsirske takes over as interim Chief Executive Officer on 1 November 2026. Incumbent CEO Dario Urbinati moves to the administrative board of Gallus Ferd. Rüesch AG on the same date, and is set to assume the presidency there from 1 January 2027. Uwe Boerner has taken charge of global sales.

The service side is advancing too. Integration of manroland sheetfed's lifecycle and service business is proceeding to plan, with key steps of the merger due to wrap up within the next 18 months.

Shares Stay Under Pressure Ahead of the Autumn Data

None of this has yet moved the stock in day-to-day trading. The shares changed hands at EUR 1.40, leaving them 42 percent below their 52-week high and down 31 percent since the start of the year. A separate reading during the session put the price at EUR 1.42, a 30 percent decline year-to-date.

Hard evidence on the business trajectory is expected in late autumn. Before that, Heidelberg hosts SHIFT 2026, a two-day event on artificial intelligence and digital printing, on 6 and 7 October at its Heidelberg site and the Wiesloch-Walldorf plant.