Mackenzie Closed for Repairs

The Mackenzie Pulp Mill in British Columbia had to unexpectedly shut down production on September 30 and it has remained idle since, after a vapor duct collapsed in its bleaching tower, RISI has learned. Workers at the 235,000 tonnes/yr northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK), unbleached kraft (UKP), and sawdust pulp mill are now working on repairs. The company is expected to loose  10,500 tonnes of output.

Fibria Expanding into Biofuels

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-09/fibria-plans-brazil-wood-to-fuel-plant-to-diversify-sales.html
Fibria Celulose SA (FIBR3), the world’s largest pulp producer, is expanding into biofuels as an expected global oversupply of the main raw material in paper threatens to depress prices, Chief Executive Officer Marcelo Castelli said.

Its first plant will be able to produce about 22 million gallons (83 million liters) of fuel a year from wood and will open in 2015 after about two years of construction, Castelli said yesterday in a telephone interview.
Fibria, based in Sao Paulo, expects to get as much as a quarter of its revenue by 2025 from biofuels and other products made from its forestry assets. That will reduce its reliance on pulp, which accounted for about 94 percent of its 5.9 billion reais ($2.9 billion) in sales last year, he said. The company may build as many as ten more biofuel plants through 2020.

Former Daio Chairman Sentenced to Prison

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news.html

Former Daio Paper Corp. Chairman Mototaka Ikawa was sentenced to four years in prison Wednesday by the Tokyo District Court for causing ¥5.53 billion in losses to seven subsidiaries after spending the firms' money at casinos.

BC Makes Timber Harvest Easier

British Columbia makes it easier to harvest timber from community forests:
The Government of British Columbia is introducing a single cutting permit procedure to make it easier for local governments, First Nations and other non-commercial organizations throughout the province to harvest timber from community forests.

Quad/Graphics to Acquire Vertis

Quad/Graphics to Acquire Vertis; Facilitated by Vertis’ Chapter 11 Filing: Quad/Graphics Inc. and Vertis Holdings announced the execution of an agreement through which Quad/Graphics will acquire substantially all of the assets comprising Vertis’ businesses for $258.5 million, which includes the payment of approximately $88.5 million for current assets that are in excess of normalized working capital requirements.

Print Ads Would Be Missed Most

Consumers: Printed Ads Would Be Missed Most: When consumers were asked, "Which of the following forms of advertising would you miss most if it disappeared tomorrow?," the response was overwhelmingly printed ads.

Mortgage Direct Mail Highest Since May 08

http://www.wafb.com/story/19774952/august-mortgage-mail-volume-highest-since-may-2008-reports-mintel-comperemedia?clienttype=printable

The future of mortgage direct mail is looking more optimistic according to new research from Mintel Comperemedia. In August nearly 62 million acquisition offers for mortgages were mailed to US consumers - the highest monthly mail volume total since May 2008. While this figure is still way below the peak (monthly mortgage mail volumes averaged 238 million in 2005), a number of factors hint at a positive outlook for mortgage direct mail.

81% of Canadian Consumers Still Buy Books in Print

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/financial-reporting/article/54275-e-books-grab-16-share-of-canadian-book-purchases.html

E-books accounted for about 16% of Canadian book purchases in the first half of 2012, a new survey commissioned by BookNet Canada found. According to the report, “The Canadian Book Consumer 2012: Book-Buying Behaviour in Canada January to June 2012,” the most popular format in the period was paperback, which accounted for 57% of sales, while hardcovers represented 24% of unit sales. E-books’ share of sales declined slightly between the first and second quarters, down from 17.5% to 15%, which BNC speculated was due to the high rate of e-readers given as presents over the holidays that resulted in a burst of e-book buying in the first quarter.

More Cuts for Condé Nast

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/conde_budget_cuts_of_on_agenda_AFYlyciUjBlltoq3GPL2NN

Condé Nast, home to The New Yorker, Vogue and Vanity Fair, is poring over preliminary budgets for next year — and it doesn’t look pretty.
While not every mag is finished going over the books with President Bob Sauerberg and Chief Financial Officer John Bellando, so far most titles are being asked to come up with another 5 percent in budget cuts for the new fiscal year that starts Feb. 1.

Time Names Group Publisher, News & Business

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/jed-hartman-gets-bumped-time-inc-144347

Time Inc. has named Jed Hartman to the newly created role of group publisher of news and business, in keeping with what seems to be a newfound emphasis by CEO Laura Lang on trying to jump-start the sagging magazine business through cross-title sales.
Hartman has already been overseeing Fortune and CNNMoney for the past two years; he now adds responsibility for Time and Money. He’ll report to Todd Larsen, who recently started in the newly created role [1] of evp and group president of news and sports.

McKinsey Consulting at Time

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/mckinseys-back-time-inc-144372

They’re baaack. Bain & Co. [1] may have left the building, but the consultants—the mere mention of which causes tremors about layoffs—aren’t done at Time Inc. Seems CEO Laura Lang is working with McKinsey & Company now. McKinsey has a reputation for giving management justification to make cost cuts; the firm was at the publishing giant in 2007, and it left the layoffs of some 800 people in its wake.

HarperCollins Invests in Global Publishing System

HarperCollins Invests in Global Publishing System for Print, Digital Printing:
HarperCollins Publishers announced that it will roll out a new global publishing system, one of the largest undertakings of its kind to be implemented by a trade publisher.

Webinar; Critical Trends in the Printing Industry

The Times They are A-changin': Critical Trends in the Printing Industry: Free WhatTheyThink webinar, sponsored by Océ, highlights industry trends revealed at Graph Expo 2012Lexington, Kentucky USA -- WhatTheyThink today announced the opportunity for industry professionals to attend a free printing industry educational webinar. The Times They are A-changin': Critical Trends in the Printing Industry. The session will be moderated by WhatTheyThink Senior Editor Cary Sherburne and led by industry expert Barb Pellow, Group Director at research firm InfoTrends.