Progress Press in €26m investment
An investment of €26 million in new premises and equipment was announced by Progress Press this morning.
The announcement was made by the directors when they briefed Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi during a tour of the press in St Paul Street, Valletta, this morning.
Managing Director Adrian Hillman said the company had purchased 6,000 square metres of land in Mriehel and had commissioned the construction of 10,000 square metres of factory space. It was also purchasing state-of-the-art machinery for very long high quality print runs.
The investment will place Progress Press in a better position to compete for export orders.
Progress is one of the leading printing presses in Malta, as well as one of the longest-established. It was set up by Gerald Strickland in 1922, originally in Republic Street, Valletta.
It moved to St Paul Street in 1931 but the current premises have become too small for the growth the company expects to make.
Progress Press is engaged in the printing of a range of products including newspapers, magazines, manuals and books (hardback and paperback) with exports to EU countries, the United States and Africa.
Mr Hillman explained that expanding in new, larger premises would mean quicker production times, cost savings in transportation and storage and better economies of scale.
Progress Press was one of the first local printing concerns to achieve FSC standard (Forest Stewardship Council), a scheme through which one guarantees that paper is supplied from sustainably-managed forests.
Dr Gonzi was taken on a tour of the various departments of Progress Press. He congratulated the company for its investment and its export plans.
Progress Press forms part of the Allied Group, which also owns The Times, The Sunday Times and timesofmalta.com.
Dr Gonzi was also shown around by Vincent Buhagiar, Managing Director of Allied Newspapers and Austin Bencini, director.
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21 Comments
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Simone Zerafa Meilak
Nov 23rd 2009, 15:44
Congratulations for this new investment. I wish to congratulate also all The Times employees for the great job carried out daily. Keep up the good work so that the TIMES will remain the leading newspaper in Malta.
d.magro
Nov 22nd 2009, 08:12
Good Luck Times....solid foundation laid by Sir Gerald Strickland tal-Constitutional Party...he started the progress in Malta. Cheers Times:)
Joseph Scicluna
Nov 22nd 2009, 06:28
@ charles j buttigieg
a publicity stunt is when you employ hundreds in corps under military discipline or employ some ten thousand people with the government on the eve of an election doing absolutely nothing and us paying their wages for these last 22 years!
malcolm seychell
Nov 21st 2009, 22:36
Best of luck for this new investment
M. Pace
Nov 21st 2009, 21:49
@ Robert Caruana...you forgot to mention the poor Airmalta pilots who in this so called flair for INVESTMENT that rose up NOW are still not being taken care of. Anyway I wish luck to all those who are keen on investing and a huge applause goes to the Progress Press. This is great news, and especially knowing that our Kulhadd will gain from this investment :)
You are so bored Robert Caruana hehe.
Thanks for making this achievment for Progress Press a political debate. Maybe with your comments you are trying to distract our burdens on the over-high electricity bills.
Dr. John Zammit
Nov 21st 2009, 20:07
Congratulations and wish you more success.
Robert Caruana
Nov 21st 2009, 19:00
@ CHARLES J.TIGIEG
yes you missed the
price watrerhouse coopers
stainless steel
playmobil
mazars
easyget cabin crew....
.....stop watching one news ONLY
Charles J. Buttigieg
Nov 21st 2009, 18:51
No offence was meant to The Times, my favourite news paper, on the contrary they ought to be congratulated. It’s just Dr. Gonzi’s cheap publicity stunts that are making most of us fed up with.
Well done Times, I wish you more success for the future.
Charles J. Buttigieg
Nov 21st 2009, 18:26
@ Robert Caruana
Like the new employment for 87 aircraft engineers for the next four years and the Times moving offices? Of course that’s something good-but is that so grand to make a big issue out of? Or did I miss out on something else because I don’t watch Net TV? Thank Gonzipn for small mercy, veru xotta l-plajja!
A.Gauci Cunningham
Nov 21st 2009, 18:22
Congratulations are in order to The Times of Malta!!
joseph salib
Nov 21st 2009, 17:21
I am 65 and have been reading your distinct papers since I was 8. My later father John worked for about 40 years with progress press. I can't feel but happy at your PROGRESS, and a bit nostalgic after all these years in the capital city. Congratulations!
A.Charles
Nov 21st 2009, 17:18
Congratulations and may you continue to grow. It's high time to have a Maltese newspaper and it can be as good as the Times. How about calling the Times "The Times of Malta" again.
Joe Vella
Nov 21st 2009, 17:07
@ t abela
are you sure that you did not misspell Joseph Muscat name wrong in addressing to Robert Caruana's post.
Poor Gloom and Doom crowd they even cannot rejoice with so much Foreign and local investment is being made in the Maltese Economy. They call themselves Maltese? No wonder the Gloom and Doom crowd took the "Malta" out of their party name.
B Xerri
Nov 21st 2009, 16:19
Congratulations Progress Press and good luck in your new venture , wish you to consider to make again a news paper in Maltese !
M Mifsud
Nov 21st 2009, 16:10
Well done Progress Press and keep up the good work. A very big THANK YOU to all those who risked their lives in order to defend the free press, which we take for granted nowadays.
Joe Morana
Nov 21st 2009, 16:06
Prosit Progres Press for such a strategic investment. and good luck .
t abela
Nov 21st 2009, 15:09
@ robert caruana
get a life
Richard J. Caruana
Nov 21st 2009, 13:13
May I be one of the first to congratulate Progress Press on the announcement of this fantastic investment.
That's the way to go; quality is the keyword.
With its unique track record Progress Press should be able to bring to its readers the highest quality publications and compete even on the international stage.
jbusuttil
Nov 21st 2009, 12:59
WHAT A WEEK IN INVESTMENTS.
Congratulations Progress Press and good luck in your new venture all who work and worked in the Valletta premises deserve to see and work in such an advancement.
J.Tonna
Nov 21st 2009, 12:57
When I was still a student, some 60 years ago, my family told me the if I want to have the best results in my English I should read the Times of Malta daily. Since then I have been reading it regularly, without regret.
I also liked to read 'Il-Berqa', which my father bought everyday and missed it very much when it was stopped being published.
As we now have no truly independent Maltese daily, but only two political ones, does Progress Press and Allied Group think of resurrecting 'Il-Berqa'?? I am sure it will make a hit as many are fed up of reading only political papers.
Robert Caruana
Nov 21st 2009, 12:40
a whole series of investments announced by Gonzi in one week.
Muscat's superficial speech on Mpnday is in shambles. Poor guy!