Details of New €50m Investment for Printing Plant at Citywest, Dublin, Ireland

Commenting on the Company's new facility, Mr. Gavin O'Reilly, Managing Director, IN(I)L said: "Citywest, designed to meet Independent Newspapers' production requirements for the next 30 years, will be the finest newspaper production facility in the world.

"In co-operation with our staff and unions, we aim to establish new staffing levels and working practices that will withstand all forms of new competition, including competition from an increasingly audio-visual and Internet world.

Commenting on the Company's broader plans, Mr. O'Reilly said "What we are unveiling today is more than a new print plant, it is a philosophy which will allow us the freedom to compete in an increasingly competitive environment. It is about equipping our Company to compete on a level playing pitch, for the benefit of our brands, our employees and our collective future.

Paying tribute to the specialist four-man team working on the project, comprising: David Palmer, Chairman, IN(I)L; Jack Gilroy, Director Special Projects; Andrew Donagher, Group Financial Controller - Ireland; and Barry Gilbert (former Production Director, Financial Times, London), Mr. O'Reilly said: "The team has undertaken a thorough investigation of all production operations and equipment options world-wide, which will result in a new state-of-the-art printing plant on a green-field site, equipped with the very latest technology which will radically transform the newspaper industry here.

THE PRESSHALL: Designed by architects Robinson Keefe Devane, the landmark design press hall will be an impressive 200 feet long and 57 feet in height. It will be entirely surrounded by glass, showcasing the dark blue presses within as a piece of industrial architecture. A white aerofoil-shaped roof 'floats' over the presshall, behind which, a three storey building will house the newsprint reel store, the publishing and dispatch areas, modern offices, a well equipped restaurant, changing rooms, workshops and storage.