Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, commonly known as Heidelberg, was founded in 1850 by Andreas Hamm, the son of a miller who took over a bell foundry in the town of Frankenthal. Initially, the company produced agricultural and mechanical equipment, but by the late 19th century, it had shifted its focus to printing machinery.

The company gained international recognition with the release of its cylinder printing press in 1914 and, most famously, the “Windmill” (Tiegel) automatic platen press in 1927. Known for its reliability and distinctive design, the Windmill became an icon of the printing industry. In the post-war years, Heidelberg rapidly expanded and became a leading manufacturer of offset printing presses.

From the 1962 onward, Heidelberg specialized in sheetfed offset printing, continuously innovating with increasingly automated and precise machines. In the 1990s, the company invested heavily in prepress and postpress technologies and expanded its global presence by establishing branches and service centers in numerous countries.

Today, Heidelberg is not only the world’s largest manufacturer of offset printing equipment but also a provider of comprehensive solutions in prepress, postpress, and digital workflow integration. The brand remains a symbol of German engineering excellence and a benchmark of quality in the global printing industry.