June 30, 2003 -- “Winning Strategies for the New Business Environment” was the motto for the 56th World Newspaper Congress of the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) held in Dublin, Ireland from 8 till 11 June 2003. Some 1100 delegates from the world’s leading newspapers shared their thoughts on trends, challenges and opportunities in the newspaper industry. The prestigious event kicked off with the first World Press golf tournament which was sponsored by MAN Roland. In his address “Shaping the Future of the Newspaper”, MAN Roland CEO Gerd Finkbeiner outlined creative and innovative ideas for newspaper production. Raise quality, cut costs. According to Finkbeiner this is not a contradiction but a must for newspaper publishers who want to remain successful in the future. A look at the print product portfolio shows that the newspaper, with a global market share of around 25 percent and an annual growth rate of circa four percent, will continue to play an important role in the future. Especially in the presently difficult economic situation, lowering production costs – which historically account for about one-third of a newspaper’s total costs – and at the same time raising quality are key factors for making the newspaper attractive again, not just for the readers but for advertisers as well, and also a way to increase profits. With proper quality and cost management, savings of 25 to 30 percent are quite possible. Recipes for success: Life Cycle Management and innovative production A total view of production process costs has to take much more than the initial investment sum into account. A study shows that annual costs for an average production line are often four to five times higher than the initial investment sum. These costs can be reduced by implementing MAN Roland’s Life Cycle Management programme which can lower the running costs of a pressline by at least 20 %. Costs can also be minimised through innovative newspaper production concepts such as the MAN Roland COLORMAN format XXL. Thanks to its 9-cylinder design, one-third fewer components are needed. And not least of all, the increasing degree of automation, digitisation and networking that Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) brings to newspaper production significantly reduces makeready and production time and thus costs as well. Finding new solutions together Finkbeiner believes that the newspaper business needs to be totally overhauled and the active dialogue of all concerned is absolutely essential to achieve this. This is the only way to move forward. “We have to stop basing forecasts for the future solely on the statistics of years gone by”, he says. “That is like trying to drive a car by only looking in the rear-view mirror …”