Thursday, September 20, 2012

Obstacles Grow for Port Hawk. Restart

As ForestTalk.com suspected, Nova Scotia Power is no longer offering a special discount power rate to Pacific West Commercial Corp.  now that the advanced tax ruling is off the table.
The advanced tax ruling would have allowed Nova Scotia Power to become a 30% equity partner in the mill and receive a combination of preferred and common shares of the newly created Port Hawkesbury Paper.
At this time, it seems unlikely that the sale of the mill to Pacific West Commercial Corp. will proceed.

No Word on Catalyst Mill Sale

http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/170248906.html 
With just hours to go before the scheduled closure of the $8.6 million sale of the Catalyst Paper Elk Falls site, a cone of silence smothers efforts to confirm the status of the deal.
The sale was announced Aug. 16 and was first scheduled to complete by Sept. 5, however, the date came and went with Catalyst scrambling to clear the property of valuable leftovers. At that time, Brown told the Mirror the closing date for the sale had been extended to Sept. 19.

IP to Acquire Packaging Plants, Turkey

http://www.internationalpaper.com/US/EN/Company/Media/IPNews.html
International Paper, today, announced it entered into a binding agreement with Sabanci Holdings to purchase their stake in the companies' Olmuksa joint venture in Turkey.
The joint venture, headquartered in Istanbul, was formed in 1998 and has grown to become a market leader in corrugated packaging in Turkey. The company operates two recycled containerboard mills and six box plants.

European NBSK Price Increase


Starting in October, prices for softwood pulp on the European market are set to rise again for the first time in five months. The first producers have announced plans for hikes for NBSK pulp.
The targeted price adjustment for October depends on the European paper industry's response after the summer holidays. At the moment, industry experts are predicting a normal rise in demand after the summer. After a very weak August, the order volumes are starting to pick up again a bit in mid-September, EUWID was told.

AF&AP: Boxboard Production Falls 0.8% in August

AF&AP Release August 2012 Paperboard Report: Total boxboard production decreased by 0.8 percent compared to August 2011 but increased 2.2 percent from last month.  Unbleached Kraft Boxboard production decreased over the same month last year and decreased compared to last month.  Total Solid Bleached Boxboard & Liner production increased compared to August 2011 and increased compared to last month.  The production of Recycled Boxboard increased compared to August 2011 and increased when compared to last month.

Households Making $100K: 82% Read Print

Households Making $100K+ Remain Heavy Print Users: A survey shows that households making 100K+ continue to "reaffirm the power of the hard copy print publications in their lives, even as tablet and smartphone penetration grows disproportionately in this demographic."
The survey finds that 82% of Affluents regularly read at least one of the 150 measured and reported print publications (143 magazines and 7 national newspapers). The total duplicated average-issue audience (AIA) is more than 221 million, reflecting that America’s 59 million Affluents read an average of 18.7 issues across an average of 8.2 titles. Comparing publications measured in both 2011 and 2012, Affluent average-issue audience was relatively stable at -1.3%.

Atlantic Media Names SVP-Group Publisher

Atlantic Media promotes Lauf to senior VP-group publisher: Atlantic Media Co. has promoted Jay Lauf, VP-publisher of The Atlantic, to senior VP-group publisher of Atlantic Media Co. and publisher of Quartz, the company's business news brand that launches next Monday.

Hearst Prepares for Leadership Change

Frank Bennack, chief executive of Hearst, is preparing to hand over the reins to Steven Swartz, his chief operating officer ushering in a new era for one of the world’s largest private media companies.
“We have a very bright and able chief operating officer. Specific dates and movements to succession haven’t been set or announced, but it’s clear that they’re not far into the future and that I’m working very hard with him,” Mr Bennack told the Financial Times.

Newspaper Employment Down 40.6% Since '01

While plenty of industries have shrunk over the last couple of years, few have been hit as badly as newspaper publishing, which was already contracting before the economic downturn began. Since then, economic woes have simply reinforced the long-term trend.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, total employment in the newspaper publishing industry has plunged from 414,000 in 2001 to 246,020 in 2011, equaling a 40.6% drop in 10 years.

Quad/Graphics Actable & Milwaukee Magazie Interactive Issue

Quad/Graphics Actable Brings Milwaukee Magazine to Life: Every page is interactive, offering amazing and engaging reader experiences for editorial and advertising content. Quad/Graphics, Inc., announced today that its Actable interactive print solutions helped Milwaukee Magazine create its first entirely interactive issue. The October "Best of 2012" issue, on newsstands this week, features 146 image recognition and augmented reality experiences that readers can launch on their Actable-enabled smartphones and other mobile tablet devices.

Vertis Sells Its Prepress Packaging Assets

Vertis Sells Its Prepress Packaging Assets to SGS: Vertis Holdings and SGS International announced an agreement under which SGS will further augment its complete, design-to-print packaging solutions with the purchase of additional prepress packaging equipment, data files and certain related assets from Vertis.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

BD White Birch Investment Completes Acquisition

BD White Birch Investment LLC completes acquisition of White Birch Paper Company:
BD White Birch Investment LLC today announced the successful completion of the acquisition of the assets of White Birch Paper Company. The completion of the acquisition represents the successful culmination of a nearly three year restructuring process, resulting in the formation of a newly revitalized and competitive enterprise.

Still No Union Agreement at Kruger Mill


It's been almost three months since the other unions inside the mill agreed to new collective agreements, but the two trades unions at Corner Brook Pulp and Paper are still without new contracts of their own.

Harbor Paper Restarts UFS Mill

Harbor Paper in Hoquiam, WA, started up a 75,000 tons/yr uncoated freesheet (UFS) paper machine No. 2 on Sept. 12, in line with what it had announced five weeks ago, and was working to restart the 80,000 tons/yr UFS PM 1 by mid-October, company pres/CEO John Begley told PPI Pulp & Paper Week today.

Oji Stops Coated Machine Production


Oji Paper has halted production on the sole paper machine at its Nantong mill in China for three days due to the anti-Japan unrest in the country.
A spokesman for Jiangsu Oji Paper, Oji's subsidiary that operates the plant in Nantong city, Jiangsu province, said that whether the 400,000 tonne/yr coated fine paper machine at the facility resumes production on September 19 as planned initially will depend on the situation.

China Files Dispute Against US Duties

On 17 September 2012, China notified the WTO Secretariat of a request for consultations with the United States on countervailing and anti-dumping measures applied to a wide range of products exported by China to the US. Among the products cited by China, affected by the measures, are paper, steel, tyres, magnets, chemicals, kitchen appliances, wood flooring, and wind towers.

Paperlinx Chairman Resigns

Paperlinx chairman resigns along with two board members:
He and non-executive directors Lyndsey Cattermole and Anthony Clarke announced their resignations today (19 September), with plans to leave in less than two weeks.

RH Continues with Unique Approach, "First of Kind" Catalogue

http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Restoration-Hardware-catalog-a-huge-feat-3866807.php
RH (Restoration Hardware) is bucking a trend with its book-size mailing, advertising experts say. In recent years, retailers have scaled back on the size of their catalogs, used thinner paper and in some cases are sending out fewer per year. Restoration Hardware may be publishing its "source book" just twice a year, but the product - three companion pieces totaling 992 glossy, artfully styled pages of merchandise - shows no signs of skimping. The hope, say industry insiders, is that the breadth of the catalog will keep consumers from chucking it into the trash after a quick flip through, and it will instead become a lifestyle guide kept on hand for months.
Restoration Hardware executives have gone as far as to call the books "a first-of-its-kind hybrid of catalog, magazine and inspiration file."

Printed Inserts Market Grows

Printed inserts market grows despite impact of NOTW closure:
Saturday supplements carried the largest amount of inserts in Q4 2011 (359m), just over a third of the total 1bn across daily papers and weekend newspapers and supplements for the period, according to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) Inserts Council report, published on 11 September.
Sunday newspapers showed the biggest growth in the second half of 2011 when they grew by 108% in Q3 compared to same period in the previous year (18.2m to 37.8m).

Quad/Graphics Rebrands Polish Subsidiary


Quad/Graphics Inc. announced Monday it is rebranding its Poland-based commercial printing subsidiary, QuadWinkowski, as Quad/Graphics.
Winkowski Logistics will change its name to Quad Logistics Europe, Quad/Graphics said.