Koenig & Bauer Celmacch has installed a ChromaCUT High Tech 2400 at Sambo Corrugated Board Co. Ltd. in South Korea.
But the most important part of this story is not only the machine.
It is the money behind the machine.
This is the first ChromaCUT High Tech sold to Asia, according to Koenig & Bauer, and it has now been installed at one of South Korea’s established corrugated producers. For plant owners, production directors and investors, that raises a much bigger question: if a major Korean producer is investing in high-end European corrugated printing and die-cutting technology, what does it say about the next stage of competition in Asia?
This is not a small upgrade.
The installed line includes a 2.4-metre ChromaCUT High Tech 2400, four bottom printing units, double vacuum transport, a rotary die cutter, a vacuum bundle stripping stacker and an integrated Alliance system with pre-feeder, breaker and palletizer. In practice, this is not just a press. It is a production system designed to improve printing quality, die-cutting, waste removal, handling, automation and the full production flow.
For corrugated board producers, the real questions are simple:
How much does a line like this cost?
How quickly can it pay back?
How many Chroma machines are already installed worldwide?
And will Sambo’s move force other Korean and Asian producers to reconsider their own converting equipment?
Why This Installation Looks More Important Than a Standard Press Release
Many machinery announcements say the same thing: a new machine was ordered, installed or commissioned.
This one is different because of the geography, the customer and the technology level.
South Korea is not a low-cost packaging market. It is a developed industrial economy with strong demand from electronics, food, beverage, e-commerce, retail and export-oriented manufacturers. Koenig & Bauer itself points to the country’s advanced industrial environment and major groups such as Samsung, LG, Kia and Hyundai when explaining why the Korean market matters.
Sambo Corrugated Board is also not a marginal buyer. Koenig & Bauer described the company as a family-owned business founded in 1973, operating five corrugated processing plants and one paper mill in South Korea. The company had around 800 employees as of the earlier order announcement and customers including Lotte, Coupang, CJ, OB and Hite.
That is why this installation matters.
Koenig & Bauer Celmacch entered the Asian ChromaCUT High Tech market through a serious reference customer.
In machinery sales, references are almost as important as specifications. A plant director does not only ask what the machine can do. He asks who already trusted it, what type of plant is using it, what customers that plant serves, and whether the investment is likely to produce a return.
What Sambo Said
The first announcement of the project included a direct customer comment from Sambo.
The company said it had a clear idea of the machine it wanted, and that after discussions with Koenig & Bauer Celmacch it became clear the ChromaCUT High Tech would meet its expectations. Sambo also said it had looked at many machines in Europe and gained insight into how well Koenig & Bauer machines produce.
This quote is important because it tells us something about the buying process.
Sambo did not appear to buy only from a brochure.
It evaluated machines in Europe.
It compared production technology.
It looked for confidence before making a major capital investment.
For other corrugated producers, that is the real lesson: a high-end machine purchase is not a simple supplier decision. It is a strategic decision about the future of the plant.
What Koenig & Bauer Celmacch Said
Luca Celotti, Managing Director / General Manager of Koenig & Bauer Celmacch, also framed the project as more than a single installation. In the 2024 announcement, he said modern technologies, new functions and simple, intuitive operation characterize the company’s machines. In the 2026 installation announcement, he described the Sambo partnership as an important milestone and said the project shows how the company’s technologies can meet advanced production requirements with high quality and operational efficiency.
This matters because Koenig & Bauer Celmacch is clearly positioning Chroma not only as a machine family, but as a global platform for high-end corrugated printing and converting.
The Money Question: No Price Disclosed, but the Investment Logic Is Clear
Koenig & Bauer Celmacch has not publicly disclosed the price of the Sambo ChromaCUT High Tech 2400.
That is normal for high-end industrial equipment. The final price of a line like this depends on working width, printing units, drying systems, inspection, servo technology, die-cutting configuration, feeders, stackers, palletizers, installation, commissioning, training and service package.
It would be risky to publish a precise number without confirmation from Koenig & Bauer Celmacch, Sambo or an independent machinery expert.
But the configuration tells us enough to understand the investment category.
This is a high-end line.
A producer does not buy this type of equipment only because an old machine is tired.
It buys it because it expects measurable returns from several areas:
higher net output per shift;
shorter makeready and changeover time;
better print registration;
less waste;
less manual handling;
better die-cutting quality;
fewer defects and customer claims;
stronger ability to serve branded, retail, e-commerce, beverage and export customers.
That is where the ROI is.
The machine is expensive.
But in a high-volume plant, even small improvements in productivity, waste and labour use can become financially meaningful.
A Simple ROI Model for Plant Directors
This is not an official Sambo calculation. It is an illustrative corruga.expert model for understanding how a high-end converting line can pay back.
Imagine a corrugated plant where the new line creates value in four areas:
- It increases saleable output by improving speed and reducing downtime.
- It reduces setup and changeover losses.
- It cuts board waste by improving process stability and inspection.
- It reduces manual bottlenecks in feeding, stripping, stacking and palletizing.
For a plant converting large annual volumes, a waste reduction of even 1–2% can be significant. If the plant is also able to win higher-margin printed packaging orders, the financial effect becomes stronger.
The important point is that ROI should not be calculated only from machine speed.
It should be calculated from the full economics of the plant:
machine utilisation;
real output per shift;
changeover time;
waste rate;
number of operators;
energy consumption;
maintenance costs;
spare parts;
customer claims;
lost orders due to insufficient print quality;
and the margin difference between commodity boxes and higher-value printed corrugated packaging.
This is the calculation every plant owner should make before buying a line of this class.
Why South Korea Is a Strategic Market
South Korea is a strong test market for this type of equipment because it combines demanding customers, advanced manufacturing and a competitive domestic packaging sector.
The country’s packaging demand is linked to sectors where corrugated quality matters: electronics, e-commerce, beverages, food, consumer goods and export packaging. If a producer serves customers such as Coupang, Lotte, CJ, OB or Hite, it is not competing only on basic box supply. It is competing on reliability, speed, print quality, service and consistency.
This is why the Korean market is interesting for Koenig & Bauer Celmacch.
A successful reference at Sambo can become a signal to other producers in Korea and beyond.
The question now is not only whether Sambo will benefit.
The question is who will follow.
Chroma Around the World: What Is Publicly Visible
Koenig & Bauer Celmacch does not publish one complete global number for all Chroma installations.
That is a limitation.
But public announcements show that Chroma is already visible across important customers and regions.
Sambo Corrugated Board, South Korea — ChromaCUT High Tech 2400, four bottom printing units, double vacuum transport, rotary die cutter, vacuum bundle stripping stacker and Alliance peripherals. This is the first ChromaCUT High Tech sold to Asia and now an important reference installation.
Saica Group, Europe — six machines ordered from Koenig & Bauer Celmacch: four ChromaCUT X Pro machines for England, Portugal, France and Italy, and two Chroma HighTech machines for Spain. Koenig & Bauer described this as a massive investment in corrugated board-processing machinery.
Model AG, Switzerland — Chroma X Pro 2100 with seven printing units, high automation and production speeds up to 14,000 sheets per hour. Model’s team emphasized short makeready times, intuitive handling and high automation as essential requirements.
Other publicly visible references include Viallon in France, Packon Basim in Turkey, Allard Emballages Brive / Hinojosa Group in France, Hinojosa in Spain and DS Smith Spain, based on Koenig & Bauer Celmacch’s public news archive.
This is still not a full installed-base map.
But the pattern is clear.
Europe remains the strongest publicly visible Chroma geography.
South Korea now gives the platform an important Asian reference.
For machinery suppliers, that matters.
For competitors, it matters too.
What Changed After Celmacch Joined Koenig & Bauer
The Sambo installation also has to be read through the Koenig & Bauer Celmacch strategy.
Koenig & Bauer completed the acquisition of 49% of Celmacch Group S.r.l. after official approval for foreign direct investment in Italy. The company said the partnership combines Celmacch’s experience in high-board line flexo presses and rotary die cutters with Koenig & Bauer’s broader printing technology expertise.
The partnership also changed the product architecture. Koenig & Bauer said CorruCUT would become ChromaCUT X Pro and CorruFLEX would become Chroma X Pro.
In 2025, Koenig & Bauer announced a strategic realignment of its High Board Line portfolio, creating a joint platform and a central centre of excellence for the Chroma portfolio at Koenig & Bauer Celmacch in Desenzano del Garda. The company said the Chroma Smart, Chroma High Tech and Chroma X Pro series would be developed there as part of a broader commitment to the growing corrugated board market.
This makes Sambo more than an Asian installation.
It is part of the Chroma platform story after Celmacch became part of the Koenig & Bauer strategy.
What Makes the Sambo Line Technically Important
The 2024 order announcement said the machine would have a 2.4 m working width, pre-setting during production, automatic anilox roll changeover, register control, infrared dryer technology for coated corrugated board, sensor-controlled dryer temperature, direct drive technology and belt-driven vacuum transport.
The 2026 installation announcement added further configuration details: four bottom printing units, double vacuum transport section, rotary die cutter, vacuum bundle stripping stacker and Alliance pre-feeder, breaker and palletizer. It also noted that the vacuum stripping stacker was customized with dual brushes and a dedicated air knife system to improve waste management and final stack quality.
For technologists, these details matter.
Servo and direct-drive systems support motion control and registration.
Vacuum transport supports sheet stability.
Drying technology matters especially for coated corrugated board.
Inspection and register control reduce quality risk.
Automated stripping and palletizing reduce bottlenecks after printing and die-cutting.
This is exactly why the installation should not be viewed only as a printing machine.
It is a system for controlling quality, speed, waste and labour.
The Competitive Question: Who Should Be Watching?
The Sambo installation creates a competitive question for the Korean and wider Asian market.
If one established producer improves high-end printing, die-cutting and automation, other producers may have to respond.
Not necessarily by buying the same machine.
But they must ask:
Can our current equipment match this level of print quality?
Can we compete on fast changeovers?
Can we serve premium branded packaging customers?
Can we control defects at the same level?
Can we reduce manual bottlenecks?
Can we protect margins if a competitor becomes more automated?
This is where the story becomes more interesting than a press release.
One installation can become a benchmark.
And benchmarks change investment behaviour.
Chroma vs the Wider Machinery Market
Koenig & Bauer Celmacch is not alone in the high-end corrugated equipment market.
Plant directors also compare European, Japanese and other international suppliers. The competitive field includes companies associated with corrugators, flexo folder-gluers, rotary die-cutting, printing and automation systems.
That is why Sambo’s European machine visits are important.
The company did not simply accept a supplier claim. It looked at machines in operation before deciding.
For corruga.expert, this is one of the most important open questions:
Which machines did Sambo compare?
Which plants did it visit in Europe?
Was the choice driven mainly by print quality, automation, service, ROI, drying on coated board, or supplier confidence?
These answers would make the article stronger — and we will continue to seek them.
When Should a Plant Consider a Line Like This?
A ChromaCUT High Tech or similar high-end line is not for every producer.
It becomes more relevant when several conditions are present.
The plant has enough volume to load the machine properly.
The customer base includes branded packaging, beverage, food, electronics, e-commerce or export customers.
Print quality is becoming a competitive factor.
The plant has many SKUs and changeover time is expensive.
Manual handling creates bottlenecks.
Waste levels are high enough that even small improvements matter financially.
The plant wants to move from commodity packaging into higher-value printed corrugated packaging.
Existing equipment limits speed, print accuracy, die-cutting quality or automation.
Customer requirements are becoming more demanding.
The producer needs a stronger technological reference for sales.
If many of these points are true, a high-end line may become a strategic option.
If only one or two are true, the investment may be difficult to justify.
Questions Every Director Should Ask Before Buying
Before buying equipment of this class, a plant director should ask more than the purchase price.
The important questions are:
What is the full installed cost, including peripherals?
What is included in commissioning and training?
How many operators are needed per shift?
What is the real production speed on our product mix?
How fast is the changeover on our typical jobs?
What is the expected waste during setup?
What board grades and coated materials can be processed reliably?
What inspection systems are included?
How much energy does the full line consume?
Which spare parts must be stocked locally?
What is the service response time?
How many similar machines are running in comparable plants?
Can we visit reference plants?
Can the supplier show real ROI examples?
What risks should we expect during the first six months?
These are the questions that turn a machinery purchase into a business decision.
Source Discipline: What Is Known and What Is Still Missing
Several facts are public and confirmed by Koenig & Bauer and Koenig & Bauer Celmacch:
the Sambo order was announced in October 2024;
the machine was planned for installation by the end of 2025;
Koenig & Bauer Celmacch announced the installation in June 2026;
the installed machine is a ChromaCUT High Tech 2400;
the line includes four bottom printing units, vacuum transport, rotary die-cutting, vacuum stripping stacker and Alliance peripherals;
Sambo is an established South Korean corrugated producer with paper and converting operations;
the ChromaCUT High Tech was described as the first of this type sold to Asia.
But several key questions remain unanswered publicly:
the project price;
the full installed cost with peripherals;
the payback period expected by Sambo;
the full global installed base of Chroma machines;
the number of Chroma machines sold after Koenig & Bauer acquired 49% of Celmacch;
the names of the European plants Sambo visited before making the decision;
the current output results after installation.
These missing numbers are not a reason to ignore the story.
They are the reason to ask better questions.
Why This Story Matters
The headline may be Sambo.
But the real story is bigger.
Koenig & Bauer Celmacch has gained a serious reference in Asia.
Sambo has strengthened its high-end printing and converting capabilities.
Competitors in South Korea and other Asian markets now have a new benchmark to watch.
And corrugated producers everywhere have to ask a practical question:
Are we buying equipment only to replace old machines?
Or are we investing to change the economics of the plant?
That is why this installation matters.
In corrugated packaging, machinery decisions show where owners are putting real money.
And money usually tells the truth about where the market is going.
corruga.expert
