MAN Roland has predicted that its plants will be working at full capacity well into next year in the wake of a 10% rise in new orders for the first quarter of 2001.


Net sales also rose 14% to 260m (E414m), with new orders hitting 368m.


"Our expectations of continuing growth in 2001 despite the noticeable economic gloom in basic selling markets are based on full order books in the web-fed sector and the introduction of new products in the sheetfed sector," said chairman Gerd Finkbeiner.


The number of employees in the group worldwide rose 7%, mainly due to the expansion of digital systems.


Executive vice president of digital printing systems Dr Josef Schneider said all DICOweb presses in testing at pilot customers were "performing well".


Schneider said that although MAN Roland had not achieved all the goals it had set out, "the test results on the DICOweb convey no problems".


Impac, now AGI Media Packaging, and Wyndeham Press signed up for the DICOweb at Drupa (PrintWeek, 26 May 2000).


A single web-fed press business sector is also being created within MAN Roland, which will merge MAN Plamag with MAN Roland Druckmaschinen.


The group has appointed Dr Ingo Koch as deputy member of the board for financial management, information technology and legal affairs, replacing Anton Weinmann, who joins MAN Nutzfahrzeuge.


Story by Andy Scott