'Frederick (Md.) News-Post' Inks with GMA at America East

By: Jim Rosenberg Tuesday afternoon, the Frederick (Md.) News-Post signed a contract here in the GMA booth at the America East trade show for a 24-into-2 SLS3000 inserter, NewsGrip gripper conveyor, and SAM production-planning software.

The equipment and software system will be part of post-press operations at the paper's new $44 million production and distribution facility, groundbreaking for which is expected shortly. Designed by Dario Designs, the plant will house a TKS ColorTop 4000UDH two-around, three-page-wide press.

The Japanese press will be outfitted with a Swedish stitcher made by Tolerans, according to executives at supplier Print2Finish, Yardley, Pa.Although a contractor has yet to be selected, according to Distribution Manager Bill Pritchard, construction and equipment installation are to be completed next year, when production will migrate from the existing site. By fall of 2008, all production is to run live at the new plant.

Until comfortable running all operations at the new site, said Pritchard, "we'll probably be working through dual plants."

While Randall family members and GMA executives toasted the sale and posed for photos, Pritchard and operations director Bob K. Clay filled in other blanks in post-press: two dedicated tie lines off the inserter to Quipp Systems Packman packaging systems and three run-of-press lines to Quipp 500 series stackers and Viper wrappers. Offline inserting on the GMA machine will be supported by five hopper loaders, with an expectation of achieving a net inserting rate "in the low 20s" on the system rated at 32,000/hour.

Looking forward to both the hardware and software, Pritchard said of the current 16-into-2 inserter: "We outgrew that machine probably two years ago." And as for production planning and monitoring, he called SAM a "lifesaver," because "we're doing everything now on Excel spreadsheets." Pritchard added that the final choice "came down to the Goss Magnapak and the GMA -- both very good pieces of equipment."

Familiar with GMA from his earlier position at The Sun in Baltimore, he said due diligence was performed and that several user sites had been visited, while also acknowledging that "we had a real good relationship with GMA, and that certainly helped."