CPI UK has appointed a new operations director (non-mass market) and charged him with overseeing the planned rationalisation of its sites.


Chris Foreman, who has held senior manufacturing positions with Xerox and Dowty Electrics, joined the book group this week.



He will be based at The Bath Press and one of his first tasks will be to help with the integration of Trowbridge-based Redwood Books into The Bath Press and short-run facility Bookcraft - a move that was announced last week.
Redwood's short-run paperback capacity will
be split roughly 80%-
20% between Bath and Bookcraft respectively, said CPI UK managing director Peter Palframan.



He added that the Redwood move would take place over the next three months and there were no plans for redundancies among the plant's 119 staff, "although we accept not everyone may wish to transfer".



Foreman will also spend much of the next year planning the relocation of The Bath Press from its city centre site to a new greenfield location.



Prospective sites for the new "print village" have been narrowed down to four, and CPI plans to make the move in early 2003. "Redwood was always going to be part of the print village," said Palframan.



Bruno Lavorgna has stepped up to take over as general manager of The Bath Press. He was previously manager of pre-press and printing and replaces Angus Campbell who left to join St Ives' paperback arm Clays in August.



l CPI has also become a minority shareholder of German publishing group's Holzbrinck's two printers, Clausen & Bosse (25.1%) and Franz Spiegel (40%).


Story by Lauretta Roberts.