Swedish Newspaper Goes Tabloid With New Goss Press

The Swedish Newspaper, Norra Vasterbotten, will be converted to tabloid format from Berliner with the installation of a new four high, eight-tower Goss Magnum 4 press.

The Goss Magnum will be installed in a modern facility that is currently being built on the outskirts of Skelleftea in northern Sweden.

The press will feature a 560mm cut-off machine and will have one N40 folder with quarterfold balloon former and eight reelstands.

Footprint shaftless throughout, the press has also been specified with Goss's Omnicon Level 3 controls with remote control of ink keys and pre-setting of key auxiliaries.

The press specification mirrors that of Norwegian publisher, Agderposten Trykk AS, who installed Europe's first Magnum 4 press earlier this year.

Press demonstrations at Agderposten were key to the decision-making process for Norra Vasterbotten.

According to the publisher Norra Vasterbotten Tidnings' managing director, Anders Westermark, said that after the company's investigations had satisfied all criteria, the decision to choose a new supplier in Goss was made because of press specifications, value and confidence.

With a strong emphasis on local news, Norra Vasterbotten has a circulation of 30,000 copies per edition by subscription, equating to 75 per cent of all households in its area of circulation.

That has led to a growth in demand for colour advertising pages, which is currently unfulfilled by the company's existing press.

The new single-width Goss Magnum 4 press will double full-colour capacity to 64 pages in a single pass, at claimed speeds up to 40,000 copies per hour.

Moving printing operations off site from the headquarters in Skelleftea to the new dedicated facility will free up additional office and editorial space for further growth, said Anders Westermark.

Westermark said: "The combination of price and quality for the size and productivity of the press was excellent.

Through our dealings with Goss International and the press performance we observed, we really felt that this choice constituted a safe and reliable option for the long term.

Competition today is tough but we have big plans for the future development of Norra Vasterbotten, as well as our freesheet title and the whole company, so we want to ensure we have the equipment that can take us there." Locally know as 'Norran', Norra Vasterbotten was first published in 1911 by a group of newspaper enthusiasts, led by Anton Wikstrom, to encourage local democratic debate.

Today it is owned by a local foundation of which Wikstrom's grandson, Cal, is chairman.

Its original aims are upheld and extended across the brand in to website and additional activities.

Westermark explained: "We are extremely local and we are very, very good at it.

We encourage our readers and clients to believe that Norran belongs to them.

That is our unique selling point and we believe we can build that strength in to new areas of business growth.

We want to be world champions in being local." Urban Svenhage, Goss International's Nordic sales and business manager, added: "This project has truly been a pleasure to work on because the enthusiasm and vision of the company encourages all involved to see it succeed.

Norran already has an impressive website that successfully feeds the brand, with its short, fast news directing the reader to the printed product for in-depth analysis.

When the newspaper celebrates its 100th anniversary in a few years' time, I have no doubt at all that it will be with a colourful, modern title that makes its local readership proud." The Goss Magnum 4 press is scheduled to be in production in September 2008, within a year of it being ordered.

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