Business News
Goss International financial results consistent in 2007
Monday 21. April 2008 - Company exceeded $1.1 billion in sales, advanced key innovations and entered 2008 with solid order backlog
Goss International achieved sales, order and earnings results in 2007 that were consistent with 2006 figures, while introducing key innovations and executing groundbreaking projects for printers and publishers worldwide.
Sales of Goss web offset presses, print finishing systems and aftermarket services exceeded $1.1 billion. Each individual Goss International manufacturing entity in America, Asia and Europe achieved profitability on a net income basis. The company entered 2008 with an order backlog in excess of $650 million, which was better than projected and stronger than the 2007 beginning backlog.
“Our customers are enhancing the value of print and redefining their printing operations through their ingenuity,” according to Goss International CEO Bob Brown. “In 2007, we demonstrated our sustained focus on the innovations, resources and project management capabilities necessary to support 21st century production platforms and business development.”
The first Goss press systems with four-color Automatic Transfer technology and next-generation control automation went into full production at Cox Target Media in the United States in 2007. The transformational technology allows presses to print continuously, without stopping for job changes. Goss International also completed the first installation of its innovative FPS press with heatset and coldset capabilities at Independent News and Media in Northern Ireland.
Brown says operational performance and market success continue to have a positive, reciprocal impact on Goss Internationals ability to drive R&D initiatives, maintain global manufacturing and support capabilities, and create opportunities for printers and publishers.
“Innovations like our gapless Sunday press platform, FPS press, and DigiRail, Autoplate and Automatic Transfer technologies continue to differentiate Goss International,” Brown explains. “Our leadership also extends to the software systems complementing these mechanical breakthroughs, and the combination is taking print production to entirely new levels of automation, efficiency and value.”
Additional highlights for Goss International in 2007 included shipment of close to 400 Universal and Uniliner printing units from its facility in Nantes, France, installation of the largest double-width newspaper press ever ordered in China at Shenzhen Press Group, and delivery of a 12-tower press ahead of schedule for The New York Times.
Goss Internationals joint venture operation in China, Shanghai Goss Graphic Systems, set a new record for sales volume in 2007, shipping more than 1,200 Community SSC and Magnum press units to 28 countries. Annual revenues for the joint venture have nearly tripled since 2000.
The Goss M-600 remained the worldwide leader among 16-page web presses in 2007, with systems shipped to 18 countries. Goss International announced that a unique new M600 Folia press configuration, designed as an alternative to sheetfed perfecting presses, was under development and would be demonstrated at the drupa 2008 tradeshow in Germany.
The company also continued to expand its gapless-blanket Sunday press platform, announcing the worlds first 96-page web press with a width of 2860 mm (112 inches). Grafiche Mazzucchelli will be the first to install the Sunday 5000 system in Italy in 2008.
Sales volumes for Goss print finishing systems increased in 2007, boosted primarily by demand for Magnapak newspaper packaging systems and Pacesetter 2200 and 2500 saddlestitchers. Customers ordered 14 new Pacesetter systems in 2007, and an ability to accommodate full A4-size products is expected to expand market opportunities for the product worldwide.
Goss International is headquartered in the United States and has approximately 4,000 employees. The company has major development and manufacturing facilities in England, France, Japan, The Netherlands and the United States and a joint venture operation in China.