Monday, June 18, 2012
Pacific West on Port Hawkesbury Mill
In a letter to customers, Pacific West Commercial Corp., which is in the process of acquiring the NewPage Nova Scotia mill and also owns West Linn Paper, updated the status of Port Hawkesbury: "The Port Hawkesbury Mill’s PM2 machine is in excellent condition, an asset that will produce the highest quality, low cost SC paper in North America...By August of this
year, it is our intent to begin work on starting up the machine and
fulfilling customer orders. We have concluded, or are in the midst of
finalizing secure, long term agreements with key stakeholders including
the union, the local electric utility, Nova Scotia Power (NSPI), raw
product suppliers and the Province of Nova Scotia (to ensure a long
term, secure, competitive and sustainable fibre supply) – all of which
will allow us to be a low cost producer of SC paper in North America for
the foreseeable future. We would not re-start the mill unless we were
able to achieve this goal.We are in the process of finalizing a lending
agreement and are equally
committed to ensuring the mill is in the best position possible to
compete and succeed in the marketplace..."
Reverberations from Closure of Bowater Mersey
Leaders
of Canada’s largest forestry union are calling on Government of Nova Scotia to
step up to the plate, following today’s announcement of the indefinite closure
of the Resolute Forests Products mill in Brooklyn, N.S. “We
call on the government of Nova Scotia to immediately purchase the private
forest lands owned by the company to ensure the citizens of Nova Scotia have
access to forest-dependent jobs and their community for the long run,” says
Dave Coles, president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of
Canada.
The owner of the troubled paper mill in Brooklyn is
putting off $25 million worth of upgrades, prompting questions about the
future of the operation on Nova Scotia's South Shore.
Resolute
Forest Products, owner of the Bowater Mersey paper plant, was offered that
money in the form of a capital loan last December as part of a $50-million
rescue package to secure 2,000 jobs. The
company was supposed to buy new machinery to make the mill more productive
and energy-efficient. |
Hearst Revives Elle Accessories
Elle Accessories, devoted to fashion accessories like handbags, jewelry and
shoes, was a spinoff of Elle magazine that was introduced by Hachette
Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2005 and closed in 2008. (Some overseas editions have
continued to publish.) Hearst Magazines, which acquired Hachette Filipacchi
Media U.S. last year, has decided to revive the American edition of Elle
Accessories with the same frequency as before, twice a year, in spring and
fall.
J.Crew Expands to China
J.Crew, the iconic American
retailer and Lane Crawford, Asia's leading designer
specialty store, are excited to announce a strategic partnership, providing
customers in Asia with special access to the
J.Crew women's and men's collections through Lane Crawford's retail and online
stores.
Ascena May Sell Figi's, Close FASHION BUG
Ascena also announced that, based on the results
of its strategic review of Charming Shoppes’ operations, it plans to cease
operating and close down Charming Shoppes’ FASHION BUG® business by early 2013. In addition, Ascena announced that it is exploring a potential sale of
Charming Shoppes’ Figi’s® business, which markets food and specialty gift
products. Although the Figi’s business is a growing and profitable business, it
is clearly a different type of business than Ascena’s other apparel brands.
Publishers Using Innovative "Bookazines" to Sell Content
At the Publishing
Business Conference in March, Mark White, vice president of specialty marketing
at U.S. News, spoke about his company’s marketing of bookazines— hybrids of
books and magazines that hold promise for publishers looking for new ways to
reach niche audiences with repurposed content. Bookazines combine all that people find pleasing about magazines with the permanence, niche
appeal and price-point of books. National Geographic has also seen bookazine opportunity in its extensive
content archives geared toward niche interests with National
Geographic Magazine Collector’s Editions.
Postal Vision Conference: Future Opportunities
The second Postal Vision conference drew 150 attendees to Washington DC’s
L’Enfant Plaza Hotel. No one from Congress could
squeeze it in but USPS’ new Digital Solutions President and Strategic Planning
Manager were in attendance...The real benefactors of this conference were the entrepreneurs in the
audience. They recognize (1) Congress will never let the USPS go under, (2)
USPS can only embrace digital technologies via work share contracts with the
private sector, and (3) despite cascading physical mail volumes the USPS is
still a $50 billion dollar business projected to handle half the world’s mail
volume by 2020.
USPS Issues Sustainability Report
Demonstrating
its continued commitment to sustainability excellence, the U.S. Postal Service
recently published its 2011 Annual Sustainability Report, which highlighted achievements,
including a 7.4 percent decrease in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from a
fiscal year (FY) 2008 baseline. The reduction of almost 985,000 metric tons of
CO2 is equal to removing nearly 200,000 passenger vehicles from the road for a
year.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Bowater Mersey Indefinitely Idled
Bowater Mersey to be indefinitely idled:
Resolute Forest Products has just announced that it will indefinitely idle the Mersey newsprint mill located in Brooklyn, Nova Scotia.
The facility, owned by Bowater Mersey Paper Company Limited (BMPCL), is a joint venture between Resolute (51%) and the Washington Post (49%).
The indefinite idling will be effective on Sunday, June 17, 2012.
Future of Kruger's Corner Brook Still in Doubt
The
Newfoundland Premier has come out swinging against a west coast MP who held a public meeting
last night in Corner Brook to release a report on the viability of Corner Brook
Pulp and Paper.
Premier
Kathy Dunderdale told the media today she considers Gerry Bryne's involvement
'irresponsible politics'. Dunderdale says Byrne's suggestion that the Corner
Brook Mill is viable and sustainable has misled the workers in a very serious
way.
An
American paper industry analyst is standing by his company's financial
assessment of the mill in Corner Brook.
Catalyst Paper Seeks Amended Plan Approval
Catalyst
Paper today announced that it is seeking approval of a further amended Plan of
Arrangement (the Amended Plan) under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act
and will file tomorrow for approval from the Court to set meetings of its
secured and unsecured creditors to consider the Amended Plan (the Meetings).
Subject to Court approval, the Meetings are tentatively scheduled for June 25,
2012.
Private Woodlot Owners Competing with Crown Land Supply
The head of the New Brunswick Federation of Woodlot Owners is cautiously
optimistic that the provincial government’s halt order for cutting lumber on
Crown land will be the necessary catalyst to get big forestry companies back at
the table. Andrew Clark says the relationship between private woodlot owners and J.D.
Irving Limited and Twin Rivers Paper Company has been “confrontational” and
“dictatorial". Woodlot owners say they haven’t been able to sell pulpwood for months as a
result of an overabundance of product caused by recent mill closings and
because forestry companies are taking their supplies from Crown land at low
prices. They say their revenues are down $250 million over the last 5 years.
DMA; Direct Mail Response Rates Top Email
DMA finds direct-mail response rates outperform digital: Direct-mail response rates outperform digital programs, according to a report from the Direct Marketing Association. According to the DMA's “2012 Response Rate Report,” response rates for direct mail to existing customers average 3.40%, compared with 0.12% for email.
F+W Sponsors World of Art
The World
of Art Showcase, a multi-faceted "Celebration of the Senses,"
inviting renowned and up and coming painters from across the U.S. to share
their work with serious collectors, is pleased to announce its new partnership
with The Artist's Magazine and Southwest Art Magazine,
two longstanding and influential publications owned by F+W Media.
'ENR' to Launch New Print Section
'ENR' to launch Contractor Business Quarterly section: McGraw-Hill Cos.' Engineering-New Record will begin publishing a new print and digital section, called Contractor Business Quarterly, with its July 16 issue.
Q1 Event Revenue Up, Print Falls
BIN: Event revenue up, print down in Q1: In this year's first quarter, events posted a revenue gain, but b-to-b print ad revenue declined, according to Business Information Network figures compiled by American Business Media.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Sappi; Brazil Key Coated Market
Global
coated paper producer Sappi aims to increase its market share in Latin America,
according to Sappi Trading's CEO, Wayne Rau. The executive stated that coated woodfree paper sales in
Brazil have been increasing at a 4-5% pace in the past few years.
Resolute/Fibrek Deal Moves Forward
Resolute Forest Products and Fibrek announce second step arrangement agreement:
Resolute Forest Products Inc. and Fibrek Inc. have announced that Fibrek has entered into an agreement with RFP Acquisition Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Resolute, for a proposed arrangement to amalgamate and form a new corporation, wholly-owned by Resolute.
Resolute Forest Products Inc. and Fibrek Inc. have announced that Fibrek has entered into an agreement with RFP Acquisition Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Resolute, for a proposed arrangement to amalgamate and form a new corporation, wholly-owned by Resolute.
Washington State Judge Rules for Nippon Project
Seven
environmental groups who oppose a $71 million biomass expansion project under
construction at Nippon Paper Industries Inc.'s Ediz Hook plant are pondering
their next move after an appeal was rejected in Thurston County Superior Court.
Industrial Production Falls in Euro Zone
In
April 2012 compared with March 2012, seasonally adjusted industrial production1
fell by 0.8% in the euro area2 (EA17) and by 0.4% in the EU272.
In March3 production decreased by 0.1% and 0.2% respectively.
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