As journalist we are all to know that the press has been based in Wapping for years and years and its growing phenomenon has caught the eyes of millions people round the world, especially those living in London. Well times have changed and Murdoch’s news empire is moving miles across London to its new home in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire. Yep you heard it right, his new press palace situated on the A10 between Enfield and Waltham Cross is finished has been completed.

The futuristic complex which seems to have popped right out of a sci-fi film cost News International a portion of £650m and spans the size of 23 football pitches, it is equipped with 12 new printing press which can produce over 86,000 newspapers each; that is more then 1,000,000 an hour! This is more then 75% more then the previous Wapping plant was capable of with holding. The plant is just one of 3 new places that NI have created within the UK, the other two smaller ones based in Knowsley near Liverpool and the Eurocentral near Glasgow in Scotland.

The new Broxbourne site will revolutionise the look and design of NI’s famous papers including The Sun, News of the World, the Times and the Sunday Times; expanding their editorial pages and colour advertising. The Sunday Times will benefit the most with its business section pushing back deadline till Saturday afternoon; also most of the supplements are currently printed on Wednesday and Saturday but now will all be done on one day. I have seen this site being built; I have seen it grow from the ground up… literally; and what a magnificent building it is. I see it everyday when I am back home in Enfield as I drive round going from place to place shopping and going out, it will be a remarkable day when the plant fully opens at the end of April. It has been reported that it is the largest printing press in the world! It is the £350m crown jewel that the NI’s own. I also drove past and wanted to have a job there, perfect location near to home, great experience with News International’s new printing plant … who would say no to work there? I certainly wouldn’t I would jump at the chance it means I could walk to work from my home.

 

This plant will make it possible for full results from Premiership and Champions League football matches across the country for the first time, this was a problem in some publications because of the early edition deadlines; but not anymore.

Clive Milner, the managing director of NI says: “Our investment in Broxbourne is a step change in manufacturing and that step change is delivered by next generation technology, one of the things we will see as you go around this plant is a lack of people.” The plant only uses 450 staff to maintain the flow of newspapers each day.  The Broxboune site will also produce newspapers for the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Times when Telegraph Media Groups exits its contract with the West Ferry plant in East London. When all 12 printing presses at Broxbourne are operational the plant will print 1.5m copies of the Sun, 550,000 of the Times and 600,000 of the Daily Telegraph each night. How amazing does that sound? (in my opinion its really amazing!)