Bolingbrook, IL (December 5th 2002) – The U.S. media group, Freedom Communications has recently placed an order for a Goss Universal 45 for their McAllen, Texas based newspaper The Monitor. The press will be used to print the daily editions of The Monitor. Stephan Wingert, General Manager, The Monitor, comments, "The Monitor has been considering new presses for more than two years, and the shaftless Universal has been our standard for comparison during all of that time. We are delighted to have reached agreement with Goss to buy a Universal, and we look forward to making full use of the color quality and quantity it can deliver." The shaftless press will be configured as six four-high towers and two two-high towers. The order will also include a 1:3:3 folder, as well as a commercial folder unit with two-high formers and a quarter folder. The Monitor’s Universal press is designed to deliver four-section products at 45,000 copies per hour. Each product can contain up to 40 total pages, including 24 in full-color. Citing a need to boost color and productivity as the key drivers behind the order, Wingert continues, "Our core business is the production of a daily newspaper with a circulation of around 40,000 copies. Demand for better and more color in both advertising and editorial features continues to grow, so it is crucial that we are able to meet those requirements. "We have spent a great deal of time identifying the press best suited to meeting our requirements. The Universal 45 has proven abilities that are hard to beat. With up to 24 full-color pages in each Universal press run, we’ll be able to triple the number of color positions available for our news department and our advertisers. The new press will also permit us to reduce our production window by at least an hour." Founded in McAllen, Texas in 1909, The Monitor joined the nationwide media group, Freedom Communications Inc. in 1951. With a daily circulation of approximately 40,000 and 50,000 on a Sunday, the newspaper also provides a variety of services through its online counterpart, www.monitor.com. The Universal press will be installed in all-new Monitor facilities now being developed on a 12-acre site in the rapidly-growing northeastern quadrant of McAllen. The new facilities, totaling 94,000 square feet, are scheduled for occupancy during the second half of 2003. Richard J Sutis, President of Goss International, commented, "We are very proud to receive The Monitor's order. They reviewed their needs very carefully and professionally, and their success will bring benefit to The Monitor as well as Freedom Communications, Inc. Their choice, the Universal, is a very flexible and high quality color press."