Koenig & Bauer has entered into a strategic partnership with Munich-based robotics company RobCo to develop no-code robotics applications for printing and packaging production environments. The collaboration forms part of Koenig & Bauer’s strategic framework, IMPACT, and is intended to support greater automation across production workflows, particularly in areas where manual handling still exists between printing and subsequent processing stages.
According to Koenig & Bauer, the partnership will focus on machine peripherals and postpress interfaces, including intermediate processes from material feeding through to palletising. The company said RobCo’s robot systems are designed to help automate these steps and connect them into more continuous digital workflows. A key element of the collaboration is the use of no-code technology, which allows robotic systems to be configured for new tasks without requiring specialist programming knowledge. Koenig & Bauer said this approach is intended to make automation more accessible for production teams and reduce dependence on highly specialised IT resources.
The companies said the initiative responds to wider manufacturing challenges, including margin pressure, labour shortages and the need for more resilient production processes. For packaging printers and converters, the development is particularly relevant in postpress and logistics-related areas, where manual interfaces can affect productivity, consistency and throughput.
Koenig & Bauer said its Factory & Machine Automation unit will act as a group-wide automation hub for the initiative. The unit will work with RobCo to develop flexible automation architecture that can be applied across different production environments. Dr Stephen Kimmich, CEO of Koenig & Bauer, said customers increasingly require more than printing technology, with demand growing for autonomous, reliable and resilient production processes across the value chain. Roman Hölzl, CEO and Co-Founder of RobCo, said the company’s no-code platform is aimed at helping manufacturers integrate and adapt robotics applications more quickly and easily within existing production processes.
Koenig & Bauer said the first customer installation under the partnership is scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.