North Wales Newspapers Adds Ferag EasySert

By: E&P Staff Among the biggest private newspaper groups in Britain, and the last in Wales, NWN Media Ltd. (North Wales Newspapers) began using Ferag UTR conveyors and four MultiStack compensating stackers two years ago at a new plant in Flintshire, for which a used inserter also was acquired to process what was then a modest insert volume.

Ferag's introduction of EasySert last year interested NWN Operations Director Huw Jones, who saw new opportunities with the faster machine capable of handling a wide range of inserts down to A6 format and including add-ons such as CDs and DVDs. "With EasySert, we can acquire completely new types of jobs," Jones said in a statement.

Installed a few months ago, NWN Media's EasySert line was integrated into its existing Ferag system, with direct transfer of finished products to the MultiStack machines. Three products can be inserted in one pass via JetFeeder hopper. Ferag RollStream is used for precollecting. The modular RollStream can be expanded, and EasySert can be extended to 40 hopper stations.

Jones credited EasySert's quick format changes for enabling efficient production of many different jobs, even for the lowest circulation ranges.

In addition to its own 12 dailies, weeklies and monthlies, NWN Media produces several titles under contract.