October 9th, 2006 – Family-owned business F.D. Hoekstra Boom, based in Emmeloord, the Netherlands, will receive the first Goss FPS press installation in mainland Europe. Adding yet another distinction to its long list of printing industry premiers, the company continues to drive towards industry innovation for business success. “Pioneering is in our blood,” says Bauke Jaap Hoekstra, CEO of Hoekstra Boom. “With a company philosophy of embracing change and always looking to future improvements, we were particularly taken with the future-proofing of the FPS technology. We want to be best positioned to be able to seize new opportunities and explore unanticipated avenues in the future. This is one of the key advantages provided by the Flexible Printing System.” The Goss Flexible Printing System press for F.D. Hoekstra Boom will comprise two 4 x 2 four-high towers with 58 cm cut-off and 1680 mm web width, two Goss Contiweb FD pasters and a 2:5:5 modular jaw folder equipped with stitcher, skip slitter and quarterfold capability. The press has also been specified with a fully integrated Goss press control system, including extensive presetting capabilities, predictive maintenance and self-learning technologies. According to Bauke Jaap Hoekstra, quality in every part of the production process is of primary importance to the company and was the stimulus behind working for the IFRA ISO award. “We need the best pre-press systems, the best newspaper press, the best finishing equipment and the best people. Everything must run at an optimal level all of the time; it is what we strive to achieve on a daily basis.” Hoekstra Boom's own IFRA/ISO-standard print form was tested on the Goss FPS in Preston, UK and passed with flying colors. The proven and documented results achievable with Goss DigiRail digital inking and ‘Preset and Forget' technology coupled with high levels of automation, semi-automatic plate-loading, automatic blanket washing and self-learning spraybar technologies were persuasive reasons behind the investment decision. Very much inline with the philosophy behind the Goss FPS is the publisher's decision to consider future production changes now, by including preparation for changeable cut-off on both the units and the folder. The press will be housed in a new low-height building adjacent to the existing press hall where a Goss Universal 70 press currently handles print requirements at the Emmerloord site. Like the press itself, the press hall has been designed to provide maximum flexibility to allow for future expansion and changing requirements. Today F.D. Hoekstra Boom owns two subsidiary companies, Veenstra & de Vries based in Meppel and NRD BV based in Leeuwarden. These two companies together account for 1.5 million printed copies per week, while the Emmeloord site prints approximately 1.8 million copies every week across 70 different regional newspaper titles. The roots of the company go back to 1882, when Bauke Jaap Hoekstra's great grandparents set up a small family printing business. From these humble beginnings the company has grown bigger and stronger through insightful business development, acquisitions and technical investment. Not surprisingly, the opportunities available through adopting an industrial process approach to print production are of keen interest to Bauke Jaap Hoekstra. This, he believes, is the way to move forward as a business today and was instrumental in the choice of Goss FPS technology. “The success of this company is the result of specialization. We specialize in the production of newspapers, in the broadest sense of the word, but also in entrepreneurship and teamwork,” explains Bauke Jaap Hoekstra. “Our team is committed to producing excellent quality work, quickly and for a good price; our entrepreneurial ethos drives us to optimize processes and capabilities to ensure we can reliably maintain these standards, no matter what the future may throw at us. Having ultimate production flexibility within clearly defined, sustainable parameters of quality and consistency is our objective here. The Goss FPS press fits these aspirations perfectly.”