It’s a little quiet at the modest Sydney offices of Pongrass Newspaper Systems, just around the corner from the busy Bondi Junction retail centre... and managing director Leslie Pongrass couldn’t be more delighted (writes Peter Coleman). “Everyone’s out on installations and training, and that’s the way we like it,” he says. The company’s website tells the story: A bustling year of activity while others have been bemoaning the lack of investment by newspapers at home and overseas. Sales and installations in Australia and New Zealand are booming, and despite the serious economic difficulties faced by US publishers, Pongrass continues to sell new systems and software into that market. Upgrades at Rural Press sites within Fairfax Media extend the rollout of Pongrass advertising and editorial systems into more regional locations. At the ‘Warrnambool Standard’ Pongrass installed their new version 6 Editorial system and integrated it with the existing Pongrass advertising and production systems already in use at the coastal western Victorian city. The new system replaces 35 seats that were connected to the central Cybergraphic system at ‘The Age’. At Wagga Wagga, Pongrass has installed a complete system replacement for the older Atex Enterprise system. The project includes 90 editorial seats plus 35 advertising and 20 production. The products involved include classified and display advertising booking, Ad Layout, Juggler ad tracking, News Editor and editorial pagination systems. In the ‘country music capital’ of Tamworth, Fairfax has also deployed a complete Pongrass system for advertising, production and editorial for the ‘Northern Daily Leader’ and associated titles. And in South Australia, the Fairfax rollout has seen Pongrass Editorial system go into the ‘Whyalla News’. News Editor and an InDesign-based editorial pagination system were also installed this year at the ‘Fiji Times’, part of Rupert Murdoch’s News Limited, which also uses the company’s technology in Papua New Guinea and Cairns. And at the West, a Pongrass editorial system as well as Juggler ad tracking has gone into West Australian Newspapers’ ‘Albany Advertiser’, with classified pagination upgrades at WAN sites including Albany, Broome, Port Hedland and Port Lincoln. Other Australian installations this year have included a complete advertising system for the Shepparton ‘Adviser’ plus upgrades at the independant ‘Bendigo Weekly’ and the Elliott Newspapers’ ‘Midland Express’ in Kyneton, all in Victoria. Pongrass has also been busy in New Zealand, installing classified pagination upgrades at APN News & Media’s ‘Greymouth Evening Star’, and a complete editorial and advertising system at the independent ‘Fiordland Advocate’. Activity in the USA has defied the industry downturn although the sales have concentrated on the classified pagination product. This year’s installs have included papers in Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania, (the Orangeburg (NY) ‘Times & Democrat’, ‘Iowa Farmer Today’, Chippewa (PA) ‘Herald’, Kentucky ‘Advertiser’, Attleboro (MA) ‘Sun Chronicle’ and Decatur (IL) ‘Herald & Review’) which moved to version 7 of the Pongrass classified pagination software. The level of activity is both pleasing and frustrating for Pongrass and general manager Shelley Hando: “Sometimes we’re told we’re too small, and are denied the opportunity of quoting for projects which we are well-equipped to handle,” she says. “The reality is that our systems are quick to install and cost-effective, completing rollouts in under a month.” Low installation and training costs are among the factors making a significant contribution to the continuing sales of the Pongrass systems. And, says Pongrass, “We think the browser based technology of Version 6 may be the most compelling reason for the surge in new system sales.”