Works are currently underway at Walstead Bicester in Oxfordshire to house the huge press, which has a maximum web with of 2.64m, a 445mm cut-off and runs at up to 60,000iph.
Walstead group CEO Paul Utting told Printweek: “We are gearing up the plant for current and future demand.”
The Sunday 5000 will be installed on an existing empty press bay at Bicester, but work has been required to raise the roof at that part of the factory in order to accommodate the folder superstructure.
Since the press was removed from YM’s Chantry site it has been cleaned and refurbished in the Netherlands.
In addition, the M600 16pp web from Chantry is also bound for Bicester where it will replace an older Polyman cover press, while a second Ferag line from Pindar’s Scarborough site is also being installed at the busy plant where it joins another ex-Pindar Ferag that is already in situ.
Utting said the Ferag and M600 should be running at the end of Q1, with the Sunday 5000 slated to be up and running in Q2.
He said the various equipment moves and associated works would involve an investment of around £8m.
“It is an exciting time and it’s nice in this market to be talking about investment and growth,” Utting stated.
“Most of our customers see their key titles in print as far ahead as they can see.”
Utting also said that despite uncertainty around paper prices and energy costs, and the general economic situation, he was “optimistic about print and the future of our business”.
Walstead Group has already picked up some additional contracts due to the upcoming closure of the Prinovis gravure factory in Liverpool, which is set to shut down on 30 June.
News UK and Bauer Media, which currently print time-sensitive weekly products at Prinovis, are yet to comment officially on their future print plans.
Walstead’s platform revamp also involves removing an ex-Southernprint web press from Walstead Roche in Cornwall, where it had been in storage. It will be used for parts.
The mothballed 32pp web at Walstead York is also being taken out. Utting said the site, which was reopened just over eight months ago and focuses on press-finished products, was performing well.
“It’s a slightly different market and an important part of our offering,” he added.
The former YM Chantry site has been cleared and handed back to its landlord.
The bindery at Scarborough is almost clear, while the sheetfed press from the former Pindar operation has gone to Walstead’s Spanish operation.
Utting said that plans for the ex-Pindar 40pp short-grain Lithoman, 48pp short-grain Sunday 4000, and 48pp five-unit long-grain Lithoman were being finalised.
“We have ideas about what to do with that equipment but we’re not confirming that yet. We are tidying up the platform and there’s a lot going on,” he explained.
“Overall, it’s a big project for Roy [Kingston, group chief operating officer] and his team, but it’s all positive.”
Walstead Bicester is the biggest single-site web offset facility in the UK, and currently runs five web presses, four of which are 72pp format. It also has a large bindery that includes perfect binding, stitching, and mailroom equipment.
Walstead Group also has operations in Spain, Poland, Austria, Czech Republic and Slovenia. The group had sales of €546.4m (£488m) in its most recent financial year.
