News International and Smurfit open joint plant

News International and Jefferson Smurfit have officially opened their new 39m (60m) joint-venture printing plant in Kells, County Meath in Ireland (<i>PrintWeek</i>, 6 July 2001).

The plant will employ 106 people and print four News International titles: the Irish Sun, the Irish News of the World and the Irish editions of The Times and The Sunday Times.

The new plant was officially opened by Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, in a ceremony attended by News Corporation chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch. The plant will allow News International to print all of its Irish editions in Ireland for the first time.

The County Meath plant houses three CTP lines and took delivery of three second-hand KBA Commander presses last year.

It is situated on a 10-acre site 40 miles outside Dublin.