Its not clear at this stage whether any deal would cover Heidelbergs entire web portfolio, which includes newspaper and commercial heatset presses, or if it would be solely for the commercial side.
One supplier source thought there was a high likelihood of a deal being struck. Its complementary because Goss is fundamentally newspapers and Heidelberg is fundamentally commercial webs. Perhaps a joint venture, then both can say they havent sold out.
Heidelberg only entered the newspaper market in 2000 with the Mainstream 80 then the triple-width Tristream. Ironically, Goss launched a rival to the Mainstream, the Uniliner S, last year.
Goss International director of marketing David Stamp declined to comment.
One web industry source said a tie-up could be good news for both companies. Its a logical step for Goss because it hasnt had serious heatset capability since the demise of Baker Perkins, he said. And Heidelberg has had a stab at newspapers but not been very successful, so for them a merger with another company as well established and well respected as Goss would be a good move.
Heidelberg seemed to have lost its way in commercial web over the last three to four years, he added.
Goss, meanwhile, had been given a get out of jail free card when it went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US, and its subsequent exit in early 2002, coupled with its history and large customer base, meant it would a have a strong presence.
However, the source warned that there could be cultural difficulties arising from any deal between the companies. The mindsets of the Americans and the Germans will be difficult to marry together, he said.
