Domtar's John Williams Earns Paper Industry Executive Honor: PaperAge announced that John D. Williams, President and CEO of Domtar, is the recipient of its 26th annual "Executive Papermaker of the Year" award. An exclusive interview with Mr. Williams will be published in the March/April 2013 issue of PaperAge.
PaperAge selects its Executive Papermaker of the Year based on corporate vision, strategic objectives and strong leadership both within the individual's company and in the paper industry as a whole. The award has been an industry tradition since 1988.
Under Williams' leadership, Domtar has made strategic adjustments to its uncoated freesheet paper business and in the manufacture of hardwood, softwood and fluff pulp. In the first quarter of 2012, Williams struck a 15-year paper supply deal with Appleton whereby Domtar will supply Appleton with most of the uncoated base paper the company needs to produce its thermal, carbonless, and other specialty paper products.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Holmen Invests in Hallsta Magazine Paper Mill
Holmen Invests in Hallsta Paper Mill:
Holmen Paper is investing SEK 200 million in restructuring the energy supply at Hallsta Paper Mill. This is the single largest investment in the mill since the PM 11 paper machine was built in 2002.
The planned measures strengthen the mill's competitiveness and form part of the transition to a two-machine mill.
FPAC Launches Recruitment Drive, Add 60,000 by 2020
The Forest Products Association
of Canada (FPAC), with support from the Government of Canada, is today
launching TheGreenestWorkforce.ca, a resource tool that provides information on
the dynamic direction of the industry and career opportunities on offer right
across the country.
The industry is also launching a
competition to give eight promising students across Canada a paid Green Dream
Internship that includes a four month paid summer placement at a forest
products company, an iPad Mini and a chance to win $5000.
Under Vision2020, FPAC has a set
the goal of recruiting at least 60,000 or more workers by 2020 to meet the
growing demand for such professions as millwrights, electricians, engineers,
sales staff, truck drivers, foresters, chemists and many more.
Caribou Conservation May Cost Forest Industry
Caribou conservation efforts for
the Abitibi River Forest will cost local forestry companies more than $100
million in reduced annual gross sales.
That is collectively a quarter
in lost profits for the seven mills and six independent operators that have
harvesting rights on the Abitibi River Forest.Local communities are similarly expected to be impacted by immediate reductions of 20 to 25% in harvest areas, according to the 10-year Abitibi River Forest management plan which comes into effect April 1.
By 2030, Biomass Demand Will Triple
Driven
by aggressive biofuel mandates, rapid growth will cause great strain on biomass
by 2030, according to Lux Research. Using today's technologies, an area the
size of Russia would need to be cultivated to replace all of petroleum use for
chemicals and fuels - feedstock innovation will be needed to keep growing
biomass's market share.
USPS Q1 $3.1 Billion Loss, Advertising Mail Revenue Up 3.1%
Holiday shipping and the 2012
election helped the Postal Service stems its losses, but the agency’s
financial woes continued in the first quarter, which ended Dec 31.
The Postal Service posted a $1.3
billion loss in the first quarter, compared with a $3.1 billion loss over the
same period last year. The agency said the first quarter has traditionally been
one of its strongest periods. Total mail volume continued to decline, however. Mail volume was 43.5 billion pieces for the quarter, down from 43.6 billion in earlier year, according to agency officials.
Revenue from first-class mail, which provides the bulk of the revenue for the Postal Service, declined $237 million, or 3.1 percent, from the same period last year, with a decrease in volume of 834 million pieces, or 4.5 percent. Revenue from advertising mail increased $141 million, or 3.1 percent, in the first quarter compared with the same period last year on a volume increase of 783 million pieces, or 3.6 percent.
Cataloguer Soft Surroundings Grows 30%, Adds Stores
After starting as a catalog
company in 1998, Soft Surroundings has grown rapidly, with sales surging about
30 percent last year to about $150 million, according to the company.
Last year, it doubled its number
of stores to 10 nationwide. It also launched Retreat, a French-inspired
furniture line with its own catalog, last month.In August, private equity firm Brentwood Associates took a majority interest — 55 percent — in the company in a $150 million deal. With the help of the new partner’s resources and expertise, Soft Surroundings is looking to grow its retail footprint. Four or five stores are slated to open this year, and many more may be on the horizon.
Bonnier Shutters Garden Design
Dave Freygang hasn't wasted time in taking a hard
look at Bonnier Corp.'s financials since becoming its new CEO last month.
On Thursday, one of his first
appointees, David Ritchie, notified the staff of Garden Design that the
magazine would be folded after the April issue. The announcement was made by
Ritchie, the newly appointed chief content officer at the company.
States Consider Tax on Ads
New taxes on advertising haven't yet been proposed in
Congress, but that hasn't stopped financially strapped states from considering
them. Governors John Kasich (R-Ohio) and Mark Dayton (D-Minn.) have both
proposed new taxes on advertising and other business services as part of their
2014 budgets.
In both cases, the proposals call for reducing the sales tax, but increasing taxes on services.
In both cases, the proposals call for reducing the sales tax, but increasing taxes on services.
Mindful Magazine Hits Newsstands
Mindful magazine is a bimonthly
lifestyle publication that focuses on integrating mindfulness into everyday
concerns like personal health, food and eating, the arts and culture, and even
business and technology. Published by the Foundation for a Mindful Society, a
non-profit organization that runs the Mindful.org website, the magazine is available at
stores like Whole Foods, Barnes & Noble, Giant, and Wegmans.
MPA Head Launches Magazine Campaign
Five months into her tenure as head of the MPA, the Association of Magazine
Media, Mary Berner is trying to get its notoriously competitive members to play
ball together.
Berner has spearheaded the
creation of a 76-word working statement that makes the case for magazines. Next
week, she'll kick off a road show with publishing companies and ad buyers to
present it. First up are Hearst, Meredith and Bonnier.
Interesting Data Points for Digital Publishers
I recently spoke at the CMO
Institute conference hosted by the International Performance Management
Institute in Las Vegas.
In the course of the meetings I
heard some interesting statistics... This got me thinking…what other interesting data points are out there for digital publishers? I found these:
12 percent of
the top 200 grossing apps on the iPad are publications. See more data
points like this here.
Readership of
magazines and newspapers on tablets has doubled in the past year.The second highest app category (to games) on the top grossing iPad chart was publications. Time, Conde Nast and Hearst were the top three.
NYT Revenue Up 5.2% in Q4
The New York Times Co. announced that total
revenues increased 5.2% from $547 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 to
almost $576 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, reflecting increased
circulation revenues from digital subscriptions at its flagship newspaper.
Total circ revenues jumped 16% in the fourth
quarter, from $222 million to $258 million. Advertising revenues fell 3.1% from
$289 million to $280 million.Digital subscriptions, introduced for the first time in March 2011, also helped lift results for 2012.Total revenues for the year increased 1.9% from $1.95 billion in 2011 to $1.99 billion in 2012, powered by a 10.4% increase in circulation revenues, from $863 million to $953 million.
Full-year advertising revenues slumped 5.9% from $954 million to $898 million
USPS Transition to Digital Agency
USPS Vice President of Digital Solutions Paul Vogel told customers at a recent meeting that the federal agency is considering how best to transition from the existing hybrid environment of physical and digital into a more digital role in the future. The Postal Service defines "digital solutions" as "products or services that enhance physical USPS offerings with digital capabilities," such as the USPS' recent Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) offering, or those initiatives that "present fully digital alternatives to physical products and services."
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