Ich bin ein Rolander

The buyer of manroland AG’s Offenbach sheet fed printing equipment division has met with 850 of the site’s workers and has delivered an address to his new employees marking himself as one of them with the words: “Ich bin ein Rolander.”

Langley (pictured) was in Offenbach following his company’s takeover of manroland’s sheet fed business earlier this month. Although his engineering and technology company, Langley Holdings, is based in Nottinghamshire in the UK, the manroland sheet fed division will become its third German-based business.

In his presentation to the Offenbach workers, which took place on 9 February, Langley said “we foresee very good economic prospects for manroland sheet fed following the recent re-structuring…this is a world-class business with an excellent reputation and its production and research & development facilities are superb; everything one expects from the very best of German engineering.

In wrapping up, he added that, “today was the beginning of a new era,” and finished with a new twist on the famous words spoken by John F Kennedy in 1963 to Berlin, “Ich bin ein Rolander.”

Langley’s takeover of the Offenbach business sees his company also claim control of the business’s international marketing organisation in over 40 countries, a development manroland’s insolvency administrator, Werner Scheider, says is positive for its long-term success. However, the Australasian manroland marketing and services company under Steve Dunwell, along with the manroland arm in India, remain with the web-press manufacturing company, manroland web systems, which is now part of the L. Possehl & Co. mbH.

“I am very pleased with the solution which will provide a long-term perspective to the Offenbach location and the sheet fed printing business,” says Schneider. “Tony Langley is well known as a long term investor who acts strategically. I am convinced that a lasting perspective has been found for manroland’s sheet fed printing business.”