| The Polestar Group has won a new contract to produce BBC Magazines title Top Gear. The win is a direct result of recent production performance enhancements and investment initiatives at Polestar Chantry. Coming hard on the heels of other wins on new titles, Olive and Songs of Praise, this latest gain brings the total number of BBC titles printed by the Polestar Group to over 30: around 75% of all BBC Magazines’ titles. Under the new contract, production of BBC Top Gear begins in February with the April edition and will run until the end of 2006. All three titles will be produced at Polestar Chantry in Wakefield and bound at its Middleton Grove bindery in Leeds. Polestar Key Account Manager Alastair Clarke says: “Top Gear and Olive are the kind of high quality, fast turnaround, perfect-bound titles for which Polestar Chantry has an excellent reputation. Polestar’s significant investment at Middleton Grove allows us to offer BBC Magazines an unbeatable package.” David Holland, Polestar Group Development Director says: “Recent investment has resulted in important recognition of the high levels of performance, quality and service we can offer to our customers.” He adds, “BBC Magazines relies on us to produce three-quarters of its titles and these new wins show that we continue to build on our success and deliver on our promises.” Mal Skelton, Production Director at BBC Worldwide says “Polestar’s willingness to invest in plant and people with the right skill-set and experience shows their commitment to our business. Their ability to deliver the kind of quality product we need makes them a good match for BBC Magazines’ titles.“ BBC Top Gear is aimed at predominately male, ABC1 readers across a broad age range. The 320-page magazine is printed 12 times a year with a run length of 180,000. Use of the M600/3 short cut off press together with a new trim size of 285 x 222mm allows significant production advantages, including paper savings. The contract follows the appointment of a new Editor and Art Director bringing an updated, fresh new look to the title that has increased sales. The first Christmas edition of the quarterly Songs of Praise Magazine
was launched at the end of 2003. Each subsequent edition will be
produced to coincide with key points in the calendar such as Easter,
Whitsuntide and Remembrance. The initial twelve-month contract provides
for a print run of 100,000 copies per issue.
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