Walstead to close Grange

Walstead Group plans to close Grange Press, which was the the first business in the Wyndeham Group.

The firm has began a 30-day consultation today (6 February) with with the 59 staff at the West-Sussex sheetfed plant.

“It is a regrettable decision for the long serving and dedicated workforce, who have been very good,” said Walstead Group chief operating officer Roy Kingston.

“This is purely a reflection of the state of the market and not the workforce.

“I would stress this is a meaningful consultation and nothing is confirmed, we are in no hurry to get out of Grange and there is no timeline.”

All the work produced at Grange, which includes covers, publications and some commercial work, can be handled by the firm's other sheetfed facilities at its Roche site in Cornwall. Roche runs a Heidelberg and a Manroland long perfector while Grange runs two Komori presses and one Heidelberg.

Last month Walstead began a consultation over the loss of 26 jobs due to reduced pressroom shifts at its Bicester web offset site.

If Grange closes it will be the end of an era for Walstead, as it is the last of the remaining Wyndeham Group businesses it was founded around.

The firm was the foundation of the Wyndeham business built by Bryan Bedson. The Wyndeham brand was recently retired.