Mondi Closes Newsprint PM

http://www.mondigroup.com/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-349/

Mondi has permanently halted production on the 110,000 tonne/yr newsprint machine PM 4 at its Merebank mill near Durban in South Africa, which is operated by its subsidiary Mondi Shanduka Newsprint. The PM was halted in late June.

Most of the consultation process with employee representatives has been concluded, a Mondi spokesperson said, adding that since there were still a few details to finalize, she could not yet say how many employees will be let go as a result of the closure.
Mondi announced plans to close the machine in early May, due to the "ongoing decline in domestic newsprint demand and reorganization within the publishing sector." The output of PM 4 has been going solely to the South African market.

Shandong Chenming Considers New PM

http://www.risiinfo.com/pulpandpaper/news/Shandong-Chenming-mulling-over-new-350000-tonneyr-PM-at-Jiangxi-site-in-China.html?source=rssfw

Shandong Chenming Paper Holdings may build a new 350,000 tonne/yr PM at its site in Nanchang city, Jiangxi province. 

The plan was approved by the firm's board of directors last week, but needs to be greenlit by shareholders.

According to the firm, a total of around RMB 1.83 billion ($295.7 million) will be pumped into the project. Some RMB 477.47 million will be paid outright by the firm itself, and the remaining will be funded by bank loans.
A contact from Shandong Chenming said that the project is currently at a preliminary stage. A timeline has not been hammered out, and no equipment supplier has been fixed.
The source said that his firm is evaluating which grade to produce on the new machine. I
The site is operated by Shandong Chenming subsidiary Jiangxi Chenming Paper. It currently houses a 350,000 tonne/yr lightweight coated paper (LWC) unit, a 200,000 tonne/yr BCTMP line and a 150,000 tonne/yr deinking pulp line.

Chinese Pulp, RCP Imports Up

China's total pulp imports crept up 3.0% in May compared to the previous month, climbing to nearly 1.532 million tonnes, according to data from China Customs.

The May growth was due to an 8.7% increase in bleached softwood kraft (BSK) pulp imports, while intake of bleached hardwood kraft (BHK) pulp fell 7.2%.
BSK imports rose to 588,684 tonnes that month, from 541,498 tonnes in April.

Meanwhile, BHK imports dropped from 628,471 in April to 583,291 tonnes.

May's total pulp import figure was 2.5% higher than the nearly 1.495 million tonnes recorded in the same month of 2012.
Pulp imports for the first five months came to just over 6.963 million tonnes, a decrease of 4.1% from the preceding year.
China's recovered paper (RCP) imports climbed 5.1% to just over 2.798 million tonnes in May, up from almost 2.663 million tonnes in April, according to data from China Customs.
May's figure was 0.6% lower than the 2.816 million tonnes recorded in May 2012.
Total RCP imports in the first five months came in at almost 12.654 million tonnes, down 0.2% from the year-earlier period.

Carlyle Group Acquires Chesapeake

http:/ww.reuters.com/article/2013/07/03/carlyle-brief-idUSWLB003TU20130703

Global Alternative Asset Manager The Carlyle Group today announced the acquisition of Chesapeake, one of the largest global suppliers of value-added paper-based packaging products and services from Irving Place Capital and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management.

Capital for this investment will come from Carlyle Europe Partners III L.P., a €5.3billion fund that makes mid- and large-cap investments. Further terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Neenah to Sell Gruppo Cordenons Paper

http://www.paperage.com/2013news/07_02_2013neenah_paper_gruppo_cordenons.html

Neenah Paper today announced it has signed an exclusive partnership agreement with Gruppo Cordenons, the Italian maker of high quality fine papers, to market and distribute all Cordenons papers to the US and Canada.

The papers will continue to be manufactured by Gruppo Cordenons at its two paper mills in Italy, the Cordenons Mill, a state of the art facility and at the Scurelle paper mill, both in Northern Italy. The papers will be available to Neenah distributors beginning September 3, 2013.

USW Says National Envelope Remains Strong

http://www.usw.org/media_center/releases_advisories?id=0722
The United Steelworkers (USW) Union is reassuring its members employed by National Envelope, as well as the company's customers and suppliers, that the union is committed to seeing the business remain strong as it works through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.
"Our union is dedicated to ensuring that National Envelope works through this bankruptcy process to be a stronger, restructured company that is able to capitalize on market opportunities, and be a secure employer for our members and their local communities," said USW International President Leo W. Gerard.

Davler Media Group Buys New York Spaces

http://www.foliomag.com/2013/davler-media-group-buys-new-york-spaces#.UdR7G1OYyKw 
Montvale, New Jersey-based Wainscot Media, which publishes 18 regional magazines, has sold New York Spaces to Davler Media Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it includes the magazine, published 9 times per year, its website and its Top 50 Design Gala.

New York Spaces was bolstered by Wainscot's purchase of New York Home from Hour Media back in 2007 when the company folded the latter title into its existing luxury interior design magazine. Jason Kontos, who was editor-in-chief of New York Home and then New York Spaces, will continue in this role with Davler Media. Five other employees will also remain with the magazine.

Hearst's Esquire Tries Paywall

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/esquire-experiments-online-paywall-150979

For the first time, Esquire is dipping its toe into the realm of paid Web content. This morning, the Hearst Magazines title published “The Prophet,” a feature from its August issue, online—and rather than offering the entire article for free or posting a teaser to get readers to buy the magazine itself, Esquire is asking readers to pay $1.99 for the privilege of reading the article online.

SANDOW Sells Furniture Today Group

http://www.foliomag.com/2013/sandow-media-sells-furniture-today-group#.UdR7V1OYyK

SANDOW, publisher of Luxe Interiors + Design, Worth and NewBeauty, among others, announced today that it sold its Furniture Today Media Group to newly-formed FT Media Holdings, LLC.
Financial terms were not released. SANDOW's chairman and CEO Adam Sandow declined to offer any other details on a sale price, but says the group's profits grew 40 percent since the company bought the Furniture Today assets from Reed Business Information in 2010. 
The RBI deal also included Interior Design, which SANDOW will keep.

Financial Times/Wyndeham Extend Contract

http://whattheythink.com/news/64321-financial-times-extends-print-contract-wyndeham/?utm_source=whattheythink&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rs

Wyndeham Group has renewed and extended its printing contract with the Financial Times for a further three years until May 2016. This new arrangement includes additional titles moving to Wyndeham from Polestar.The portfolio, which includes the weekly Financial Adviser and monthly Money Management, will move to Wyndeham in August and will join the existing titles How to Spend It and Investors Chronicle together with other work which are currently printed at Wyndeham’s Peterborough and Heron web offset sites.