Printing center in Oetwil has had its day
The printing presses in Oetwil am See, ZH, have been idle since early Thursday morning. After the last newspapers published by Zürcher Oberland Medien were printed, the plant was shut down.
The Zürcher Oberländer, the Anzeiger von Uster, and the weekly newspaper Regio.ch are now printed at the Tamedia printing center in Bubenberg, Zurich. The same applies to the Zürichsee-Zeitung and the Zürcher Unterländer. The relocation of the printing facility took place in stages.
The Bubenberg printing center prints, among others, the *Tages-Anzeiger*, *20 Minuten*, the *Sonntagszeitung*, *Finanz und Wirtschaft*, the *Landbote*, the *Tagblatt der Stadt Zürich*, and *Migros-Magazin*. The printing capacity is more than sufficient to handle the additional regional newspapers, said Christoph Zimmer, Tamedia’s media spokesperson, in response to a query from the SDA news agency. Only minor investments were required to make adjustments to the post-press process.
Tamedia had the Closure of the DZO This was already announced last October. At the time, the move was justified by the generally significant overcapacity in newspaper printing throughout Switzerland. This overcapacity is particularly pronounced in the Zurich area, said the Tamedia spokesperson. Operating two printing centers in such a small area therefore does not make economic sense.
In addition, production at the Bubenberg printing center can be carried out more cost-effectively than before. Printing costs there are down by a double-digit percentage, as Zimmer explained. For daily newspapers, which are under pressure due to a decline in advertising revenue, this is a significant contribution to profitability.
Only three printing centers left
The closure of the printing center is part of a long-term printing strategy by Tamedia and the French-Swiss media company Edipress, which will be fully integrated into the Zurich-based media company in 2013. Newspaper printing will be concentrated at the three printing centers in Zurich, Bern, and Bussigny in order to produce as close to customers as possible and keep transportation distances short. Soon, some of the printing presses from Oetwil am See will also be located in Bussigny. The goal is to upgrade and modernize the printing center in French-speaking Switzerland, Zimmer said. As recently as 2005, DZO had invested around 30 million francs in a new printing press.
The closure of the DZO affects 96 employees. Of these, 16 took early retirement, and 18 were offered positions at the Bubenberg printing center. It remains to be seen what will happen to the production facilities in Oetwil am See. Negotiations with specific interested parties are not currently underway, Zimmer said. However, Zimmer added that there is still time, as dismantling the printing presses will take several months.
