· Expertise spans the full range of high-speed web applications
· UK market at the forefront of commercial web offset developments
· Trade show exhibit highlights new direction
At IPEX 2014 (Stand S3 – E295), 24 – 29 March, ExCel London, Goss International will highlight the broad scope of applications and opportunities made possible through its ongoing development of web offset technology and support capabilities.
Key advances in the development of the Vpak technology and the new Magnum Compact press come under the spotlight, as well as groundbreaking investments in unique Sunday presses and a UK-first hybrid M-600 system.
"We have responded to the changes in our industry environment by redesigning our business model to ensure competitiveness, longevity and ongoing support for customers," explains Eric Bell, marketing services director. "As well as the recent restructuring around regional parts, service and support centers, the company has also been diversifying its product portfolio to serve customers in neighboring markets where Goss expertise provides an edge."
Goss technical expertise, process knowledge and high-tech industrial manufacturing have now been applied to all high-speed web markets with presses for commercial applications, newspaper, magazines, direct mail, catalogs, books and specialist publications, as well as flexible packaging, labels and folding carton production.
The packaging market is an example where, since Goss last exhibited in the UK, the company has developed and installed groundbreaking Vpak web offset presses. Goss is also opening its first dedicated packaging technology center in the USA for demonstrations, testing and educational programs.
In the commercial web sector, Goss retains worldwide technology and market leadership. New UK investments in Goss technology have been among the most high-profile developments in the graphic arts industry over the past year and have introduced a new wave of cautious optimism to the offset market. These have involved a large-scale investment by Polestar in new press systems, including three Sunday 5000 presses to be installed shortly, and a new 48-page Goss Sunday 4000 press for York Mailing at the former Pindar site in Scarborough, which has just come into operation.
Goss will also soon announce a new hybrid M-600 press order, the first of its kind in the UK.
According to John Chambers, UK sales director for Goss International, these recent orders reflect the pressure on today's print service providers to offer a more flexible service to their customers: "As print buyers themselves are now facing an ever-increasing range of challenges in their markets, our customers need lean workflows, fast turnarounds, adaptable format capabilities, run length flexibility, high levels of automation and top print quality. Ipex will be an excellent opportunity to meet with existing and potential customers to discuss how we are responsive to these needs at a local level."
Another development keeping Goss at the top of its market sectors is the successful launch of the Magnum Compact press, the most highly-automated single-width press on the market. Designed to meet a global requirement for versatility and quick, easy and economical job changeovers, the press is suitable for book, newspaper and semi-commercial printing in runs as low as 500 copies. Goss will showcase its unique features at a series of open house demonstrations this spring, and the first orders are expected to be announced publicly in March.
