Asking for confirmation: Bethel factory in Germany

by bats in the belfry 7 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  bats in the belfry

  In January 2015 my devout and longtime 'in the truth' JW relatives (50+ years) went to the German Bethel factory in Selters. They were shocked seeing an near empty factory floor and were told that some printing presses supposedly have been sold to 'worldy' companies.
  
  I got to hear the stunning admission out of their mouths: "We left with the impression they are closing up shop".
  
  Just whoa! To me it sounds like a firesale - "because everything must go" (Die Hard IV).
  

  
  Has anyone else seen the factory in that condition? Or, is it just an overrated personal opinion?

  
  

  
  
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  TheOldHippie

  DEFINITELY an overrated personal opinion. The German plants are printing like never before. Must have been either the oldest equipment having been sold, or some specific, fringe-like equipment. Friends of mine were there a few months ago and told me it was business and man power like never before.
  
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  insidetheKH

  some old stuff was sold and replaced by new stuff
  
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  DesirousOfChange

  It's my understanding that the German Branch has been printing more than the US plants combined for over a decade.

  Still, more and more emphasis on printing pdf's at home and downloading to your iPad are going to reduce the paper copies.  More witnessing with "tracts" vs giving away books will do the same.

  Doc
  
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  fastJehu

  A new MANROLAND Printing machine was installed in 2010.

  The new machine prints faster and more then the old machines together. With selling the old machines, a lot of space was not longer needed on this floor.

  Another point: In the past delivered paper was stored on the same floor as the printing machines. It was difficult to have the right temperature and humidity for the paper. So the storage of the paper was transfered to a different floor. Now much more paper can be stored there with special air-conditioning. Now the new paper rolls for the new printing machine are changed in the floor directly under the MANROLAND. So if you are visiting the new machine, you can see the paper coming from the "underground" directly into the machine. With this change, a lot of space on the printing floor became free.

  Then on the same floor is the export. On some days/weeks this area is full, on other days/weeks empty. It depends on how much is stored for shipping. So the weeks before the summer conventions there is no free space.

  So your JW relatives must have seen the empty spaces

  - no older printing machines

  - no paper and

  - empty export department.

  
  
  
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  bats in the belfry

  Thank you all for the answers. Thank you fastJehu for the detailed report.
  

  
  

  
  
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  Elisa1966

  In a letter to all JW´s who have spent money, Selters reports that they have printed from the "Life big questions"-tract about 18 million copies in German language and from all tracts together (also in German) about 244 millions copies in the last service year.
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  prologos

  efficient, loyal as always, Kadavergehorsam.