New Zealand publisher, the Beacon Media Group, is taking on a major newspaper printing contract with APN News & Media, following the trans-Tasman media company’s decision to outsource its print production in the lower North Island.
The deal will see the Beacon will print over 500,000 lower North Island daily and community newspapers every week from later this year.
The company, which is privately owned by the Spring family, has had a presence in Whakatane since 1939 and owns newspaper, commercial and digital printing and web offset printing businesses in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato.
Under the agreement Beacon will buy some APN printing equipment and set up a new site in Hastings. Beacon Media Group chief executive Simon Ellis (pictured) said the expansion was a significant development for the company and it looked forward to working closely with APN.
“In addition, we expect this will also see more growth in our Whakatane newspaper printing plant,” he said.
Martin Simons, APN New Zealand chief executive, said the decision to outsource its printing requirements in the lower North Island would simplify the company’s ‘back office’ functions.
According to Simons, the move would create a more infrastructure-light publishing model focusing on delivering the best content to meet changing customer needs, and on advertising sales.
Simons said APN had a track record of establishing successful partnerships with service providers that included print services, and in other areas, such as subediting and advertising production.
The company has already outsourced printing for its glossy magazines, including the New Zealand Women’s Weekly and the Listener, consolidating its upper North Island printing at Ellerslie.
The APN publications to be printed by the Beacon group are: CHB Mail, Dannevirke Evening News, Entertainment Extra, Hawke’s Bay Today, HB Drivetime, Taupo Weekender, The Hastings Leader, The Napier Courier, Village Press, Bush Telegraph, Wairarapa Times Age, Horowhenua Chronicle, Masterton Your Property, Stratford Press, Wanganui Chronicle, Wanganui Midweek and the Wairarapa Times Age Midweek.
The deal is a boon for the Beacon Media Group, which has made significant investment over the past 12 months, with new premises established for its businesses in Rotorua (Dudfield Bryce Printers) and Morrinsville (Arrow Printing).
The deal with Beacon comes as APN works to consolidate its NZ print footprint. Earlier in the year, APN made moves to reclaim some cash with the proposed sell-off of its Christchurch, Oamaru and Wellington publishing businesses in NZ.
In its financial year presentation to shareholders, the company said it would continue with its program in the NZ Media business, which included the proposed consolidation of printing operations to a single company owned plant.