Wairarapa Times-Age publisher Andrew Denholm (right), and editor Grant Harding (left) look over a print sample with Webstar operations manager Trevor Howard ahead of Monday’s paper rolling off the presses. PHOTO/JADE CVETKOV
HAYLEY GASTMEIER
Monday’s edition of the Wairarapa Times-Age rolled off the Webstar presses in Masterton on Sunday night, marking the start of a six-year multi-million-dollar deal to print locally.
It’s the first time the paper has been printed in Wairarapa in almost 15 years.
Publisher Andrew Denholm described the new partnership as “the last piece of the jigsaw for supporting local businesses”.
“I’m thrilled to be able to support Webstar,” he said.
“Webstar is a big local employer and it’s great news for its employees and the local economy.”
Webstar, which already prints Wairarapa Property, will take over the printing contract from Beacon Print in Hastings, which has printed the Times-Age for five years.
The deal means that community weekly Midweek will also once again be printed locally.
Webstar operations manager Trevor Howard said the new contract was great news for the company.
“For us it’s a fantastic time moving to newspapers and we’re thoroughly thrilled to be doing it – this will be the first daily newspaper that we’ve printed.”
He said it would fill the gap left from other business streams that were facing a downturn “absolutely perfectly”.
New equipment had been invested in to give the company the ability to produce the newspaper six days a week.
“From start to stop it will probably be about an hour each night for the actual printing, and then of course there’s finishing, depending on if there are inserts.”
Howard said there were additional positive “spin offs” that came as a result of the new partnership.
Denholm, who bought the paper from media giant NZME in June 2016, has had a long association with Webstar, having worked there during his university holidays when it was Government Print.
