Goss International has secured a contract to upgrade three large Goss Colorliner double-width presses at The Star Publications in Malaysia.

Goss International will retrofit the three presses, originally installed in 2002, with a complete new Goss control system, including a new drive system. Web cleaning devices and spraybar upgrades from Baldwin as well as automated color and cut-off register systems with closed-loop fan-out control will also be included in the project.

The Goss control upgrade will replace the existing Honeywell control system in its entirety, including on-machine controls, control desks and management information systems. The upgrade will be carried out in a phased manner to ensure that full seven-day production is uninterrupted throughout the project.

The new Goss controls will utilize field-proven hardware and software developed for the latest Goss Colorliner presses, including the FPS model. Key to the program is the ability to run individual four-high towers and folders on different control platforms (the previous Honeywell and new Goss platforms) during the upgrade. Software is carefully structured so that machine controls, external interfaces and control desks/management information systems can be replaced in a phased manner.

The design of the Goss control system also allows an upgrade of the drive system to the latest generation, energy saving IndraDrive technology for a comparable price to refurbishing existing ten-year-old Indramat DIAX03 technology - a key advantage of the Goss system.

"Our selection of Goss International to upgrade our presses was influenced by the long-term Goss commitment to printed matter," explains Mr Calvin Kan, group business director for The Star, Malaysia. "We have confidence in their continued support for their in-house control upgrade. Their project management was demonstrated on our original install, so their ability to manage the multiple vendors on this enhancement program for our presses is well proven. We look forward to another successful project with Goss."

The Star is Malaysia's leading English newspaper with a daily circulation of over 300,000 copies. The company has two print plants in Shah Alam and Penang.