Progress Press Company Ltd has won a four-year contract to print perfect bound books for the International Trade Centre, the joint agency of the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations based in Geneva.

The contract was awarded on June 14 after a public call for tenders was issued last November in the UN's Global Marketplace Tender Alert Service.

"This is a feather in our cap," said Alex Falzon, Progress Press sales manager. "Working for such an influential entity not only allows us to prove ourselves to world market leaders but is also a boost for our employees who know they are being entrusted by the best out there to deliver excellent work."

Work is ongoing at the new printing press site in Mrieħel. Construction has been completed in a number of areas, including administration and web printing. New machinery has already started being installed and its testing is expected to start soon, with printing on site scheduled to begin this October.

Progress Press managing director Adrian Hillman said: "This project is a great achievement for Allied Group of Companies and continues a vision of excellence which was sought from our very beginnings by the legendary Mabel Strickland. Our new premises will allow us to be more competitive, yet, turning out work of high quality and, more importantly, work that has never yet been produced locally. Indeed, this is an achievement for Malta as a country and puts us firmly on the printing map, competing against the best industry leaders beyond our shores."