Tuesday, December 4, 2012

NewPage Annouces New Delivery Guarantee Program

NewPage Corporation (NewPage), a leading producer of high quality supercalendered rotogravure and offset printing papers, is pleased to announce today its Supercalendered Delivery Promise. Effective with confirmed orders with a requested delivery date on or after January 1, 2013, NewPage will assure that supercalendered paper will be provided to meet each and every press date. To demonstrate our confidence, customers will be entitled to a discount on their next order of similar size should NewPage not deliver on our Supercalendered Delivery Promise. "The Duluth, Minnesota, mill has been delivering on our commitments for 25 years," said Dawn Polaski, Customer Service manager at the NewPage Duluth mill. "We are thrilled to continue this legacy by offering the Supercalendered Delivery Promise."

Norske Reducing Magazine Paper Production 5%

Norske Skog plans to reduce its magazine paper production by 5%, or approximately 60,000 tonnes, in 2013 by taking temporary downtime throughout the year.
The company currently has a capacity utilization rate of 90% in its magazine paper division. This will be reduced to 85% next year, according to vice president of communications Carsten Dybevig.
"We constantly want to adapt ourselves to the market situation, and we want to use the downtime to achieve a better balance in the market, thus supporting the Euro 25-50/tonne [$32-65/tonne] price increase we seek," Dybevig told RISI.
Norske Skog has a capacity of some 1.26 million tonnes/yr of coated and uncoated magazine paper at three mills in Europe.

West Coast Ports Remain Closed, Worries About East Coast

Port terminals in Los Angeles and Long Beach remained shut this morning because of a strike by clerical workers - and reports today from the East Coast said shippers plan a "congestion surchage" as contract talks in the East remained difficult over a labor pact that is to be completed by Dec. 29.
Some steamship lines called for a $1,000 per 40-ft container congestion surcharge, effective Dec. 30, a contact said.
A contact today said that in the East, where up to 14 ports along the East and Gulf coasts are impacted by the contract, the International Longshoremen's Association was "holding firm" and negotiations "are not friendly."
On the East Coast, the largest port system is comprised of the New York/New Jersey terminals, which is the second largest US recovered paper export port system in the USA. 

Resolute’s CEO on Fort Frances, Resolute Pensions

Fort Frances area politicians meet with Resolute’s CEO:
Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP John Rafferty and Kenora-Rainy River MPP Sarah Campbell met with Richard Garneau, President and CEO of Resolute Forest Products and his advisor John Valley in Toronto recently to discuss the idling of Fort Frances kraft mill and one of its paper machines.
Rafferty asked Garneau if the rumour that Boise offered to buy the Forest Frances mill was true.
“I asked him about Boise and when I said that, he kind of chuckled a little bit and said, ‘That’s the first I’ve heard of it,” Rafferty said. “You know how rumours are. Boise made a strategic decision for them to buy pulp from their Washington mill and keep those guys working, and so that’s what happened,” Rafferty added.

A commitment from the president of Resolute Forest Products to maintain workers pensions.
It came during Richard Garneau's meeting with MP John Rafferty and MPP Sarah Campbell in Toronto.
Rafferty says Garneau told him that unlike some of its competitors, Resolute has not plans to end its commitment to pensions.

American Eagle Introduces New Product

American Eagle Paper Mills introduces antimicrobially treated copy paper with silver ion technology: American Eagle Paper Mills of Tyrone, Pennsylvania introduces their new product, Eagle Armour Copy. New to the market, this recycled, multipurpose copy paper is treated with Biomaster silver ion technology to provide antimicrobial protection to the paper itself against unwanted microorganisms such as mold, mildew, fungus and non-pathogenic bacteria.

Canada’s Wood Products Industry Forecast to Double

Canada’s wood products industry profits forecast to double in 2013:
Canada’s wood products manufacturing industry is set to earn $381 million in pre-tax profits this year, marking its third consecutive year in the black, according to The Conference Board of Canada’s Industrial Outlook-Autumn 2012.
With industry profits forecast to quadruple this year, Canada’s wood products manufacturers are reaping some of the benefits of their restructuring during the past decade. Profits are forecast to double in 2013 to $787 million and exceed$1 billion annually beginning in 2014.

MeadWestvaco Buys Ruby Macons, India

MeadWestvaco buys India's Ruby Macons:
Packaging company MeadWestvaco Corp. says it has completed its acquisition of corrugated packaging materials company Ruby Macons Ltd.
The Richmond, Va.-based company says the move strengthens its presence in India and significantly increases capacity and accelerates its growth in the fast-growing region.

Neenah Paper Offers Alternative to Plastic Cards

Neenah Paper Gives Retailers 'Green' Option: Neenah Paper now offers the new ENVIRONMENT Retail Card, a 100-percent, paper-based stored value card that gives retailers a green alternative to plastic or other less eco-friendly card options. The new retail card is also the brightest paper-based card available. A stored-value card has monetary value or data physically stored on the card and is commonly used by retailers in the form of gift cards, loyalty cards and bounce-back cards.

Folio Announces Eddie and Ozzie Awards

The 2012 Eddie and Ozzie Awards Winners: FOLIO:’s Eddie and Ozzie awards competition is the largest of its kind for magazine publishers. It also has the proud distinction of being the only awards event open to magazines and websites of all kinds—consumer, b-to-b, association, custom and regional, big and small.

National Geographic Launches New Campaign

As social media continues to explode, more and more brands are turning to networking platforms to not only push out completed editorial content, but as a story-telling venue all its own.  In its latest campaign, National Geographic is taking to Twitter and Instagram to help tell its latest narrative, letting readers—and a sponsor—go along for the ride.

Gawker Acquires Guanabee Media

Gawker Acquires Hispanic Media Company Guanabee:
Gawker Media, the online-only publisher that owns brands such as Jezebel, Gizmodo and, of course, Gawker, has taken a strategic move to expand its network into the Hispanic marketplace with the acquisition of Guanabee Media.
The deal gives Gawker all assets surrounding Guanabee.com, which includes the brand's Anyguey vertical, which focuses on sports, gadgets and women, and the Barbara vertical, which focuses on fashion, beauty and relationships for Latinas. With this acquisition Gawker Media will extend its properties to Spanish-speaking audiences worldwide—in January of next year, the company will also launch Gizmodo en Español.

Wagner Named MPA Communications Director

Meredith Wagner Named MPA Communications Director: A change in administration typically means changes in personnel, and so it was on Monday (Dec. 3) when MPA--the Association of Magazine Media president/CEO Mary Berner hired Meredith Wagner as executive VP/communications. Berner has been serving since September, and Wagner will be assuming the responsibilities of predecessor Howard Polskin when she starts on Jan. 7, 2013.

CMO: 54% of Marketers Plan Budget Increases

CMO Council finds 54% of marketers increased budgets this year: More than half of marketers (54%) increased their marketing budgets this year, while 22% had budget reductions and 24% kept budgets flat, according to a report by the Chief Marketing Officer Council.

RRD Launches ActiveDisclosure

RR Donnelley Launches Collaborative Disclosure Management Solution: RRD ActiveDisclosure(SM) System Increases Speed, Control, and Convenience of Financial Reporting to Streamline Workflows and Support Better DecisionsCHICAGO, - R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company today announced the availability of its RRD ActiveDisclosureSM system, a cloud-based solution to draft, collaborate on, and finalize Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosures and other filing requirements.