Goss Announces Contracts in U.S. and Abroad

By: E&P Staff Goss International, Bolingbrook, Ill., has signed contracts for presses and packaging equipment with U.S. and Latin American newspapers.

The manufacturer also announced that in 2006 it saw a third consecutive year of sales and earnings growth, with pre-tax earnings of $61 million on sales of $1.14 billion.

Goss has sold a shaftless Magnapack system to the Roanoke (Va.) Times, the paper's second such system. The Times, which prints on a 1x4 Mainstream press developed by Heidelberg, will use the new 32-station system for Sunday packages as well as daily inserting and two community newspapers. The new system features dual delivery and a 30,000-papers-per-hour cycle speed, which will allow the paper to double its packaging capacity.

The Magnapack is equipped with Goss' Omnizone controls, which Goss will install on the paper's existing Magnapak system.

Goss also has sold new Omnizone and Omnicon control systems to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where it will upgrade the daily's four Goss NP630 inserters, purchased in 2000. The Review-Journal, which prints on a keyless Goss Newsliner, purchased the new inserter controls to improve efficiency and give insert advertisers more options and flexibility for microzoning and selective inserting.

On the press side, Goss announced the sale of a Magnum 4 to another Las Vegas publisher. Creel Printing, which specializes in catalog, publication and newspaper printing, is installing the new singlewide newspaper press to handle an increase in weekly regional papers.

The four-page press with eight four-high towers and two N-40 folders will go into production at Creel in June, equipped with a 22-inch cut-off, 35-inch web-width, Omnicon controls and quarterfold capability.

Another Magnum 4 went into Michigan Web Press to expand its Davisburg operations. The singlewide, one-around, footprint-shaftless press that shipped in January will be configured as six four-high towers with a Universal 1:3:3 jaw folder. At speeds up to 40,000 copies per hour, the press can deliver as many as 40 broadsheet or 80 tabloid pages running in straight mode.

The new Magnum 4 gives the printer 44 Goss press units and two Universal folders, which are used to print a range of broadsheet and tabloid newspapers.

To the south, Corporacion La Prensa, based in Panama City, Panama, has ordered three Universal 75 towers to boost capacity by 50%. The company bought two Universal towers in 1998, and three more in 2000.

Corporacion La Prensa publishes the dailies La Prensa and Mi Diario, and prints the international edition of the Miami Herald, along with various magazines, catalogs, supplements and brochures.