Pitts said that NJP is considering two greenfield sites outside Norwich for the planned 22,000-24,000m2 printworks. The sites are at Longwater to the west of the city and on the Broadland business park to the east.
He added that a planning application had been tendered on one site and that a decision on which to develop would be made next month.
Building is expected to begin in the autumn with printing at the new plant due to start next year. But printing will continue at NJP's leased Barrack Street site in central Norwich for up to three more years.
In the hunt for new web offset presses for the plant, Pitts said that an unnamed preferred supplier had "begun to emerge" from KBA, Heidelberg and MAN Roland. A decision is expected in August, following print testing at the beginning of July.
"We know MAN Roland pretty well already because we have one of its machines, but we don't know Heidelberg or KBA so we are focusing on those two presses," he said.
Pitts said that the choice of supplier would depend primarily on the "technical aspects" of the presses, rather than on finance terms.
"The choice is predicated on the technical side, but obviously it's part of the picture and we have to have a financial solution that will fit. I'm not worried about that," he said.
He added that factors such as service and resources from the manufacturer were more important than the question of finance.
For the construction of the new plant, Pitts said: "There are several developers in Norwich interested in doing a deal with us, and we now have to decide which one to go with. But the funding for that is available too."
New Jarrold's senior management team has also been completed this week. Paul Comer joined as financial director on Monday (14 June) from Polestar. Ian Thorpe, a former Jarrold apprentice, started at NJP on Wednesday (16 June) from St Ives as sales and marketing director after a period of gardening leave.
They join Pitts, commercial director David Medler and human resources director Greg Kane at the head of the company.
Story by Josh Brooks
