Incoming Catalyst CEO Visits BC Mill

http://www.avtimes.net/catalyst-incoming-ceo-impressed-by-alberni-1.614418

Although he is not yet officially the CEO of Catalyst Paper, Joe Nemeth was in Port Alberni on Wednesday to see how the local operation works.

Last month, Nemeth was the new president and chief executive officer, but the position does not come into effect until Oct. 1. With a strong interest in the pulp and paper industry from a hands-on perspective, Nemeth said it was important to him to tour the operations and see how they run.
Nemeth is originally from Victoria. Although he has visited the Alberni Valley, he never toured the local mill until this week.He left the tour impressed by both the operation and its employees.

Sappi Intends to Voluntarily Delist from NYSE

http://www.paperage.com/2013news/09_09_2013sappi_delisting_nyse.html

Sappi Limited ("Sappi" or the "Company") (SPP) announces its intention to voluntarily delist its American Depositary Shares ("ADSs"), which are evidenced by American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs"), from the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE"). Sappi will convert its current ADR programme into a Level I ADR programme to give current ADR holders the option to continue to hold ADRs. Level I ADRs are traded in the United States over-the-counter market as opposed to on a U S national securities exchange.

The Company's decision to delist from the NYSE is based on the low trading volume of its ADSs on the NYSE as well as the high costs and administrative complexity associated with maintaining its listing and registration in the U S. As of today, less than 1% of Sappi's shares are held through its ADR programme, and for the twelve months ended 28 August 2013, less than 1% of Sappi's average daily trading volume occurred on the NYSE, where the Company has been listed since 1998.

Natural Gas Conversions to Benefit ME P&P Mills

http://www.mainebiz.biz/article/20130902/CURRENTEDITION/308299998?template=mobileart

When natural gas from a pipeline starts flowing into UPM Madison's heating furnaces late this year, it will be a fuel conversion several decades in the making and a move General Manager Russ Drechsel expects will boost the paper mill's competitiveness.

"We first looked at this 30 years ago, and today it has become a reality," says Drechsel of the switch from oil to compressed to liquefied and now to pipeline natural gas. While he would not reveal the savings the magazine-grade paper mill expects from the changeover, he says even a savings of 10% would have been more than enough to make the investment. But by his estimates, the mill could see a much better return than that. Drechsel says natural gas will cost about one-third less than oil on a per ton basis. Still, he's opted for a dual-burner system, with the memories of oil price fluctuations and natural gas shortages last winter still fresh in his mind.

Nippon Nears Biomass Startup in Washington

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20130901/NEWS/309019985/testing-to-begin-before-nippon-biomass-facility-goes-online-next-month

After more than two years of construction and controversy, Nippon Paper Industries USA's expanded biomass cogeneration plant is stirring to life in preparation for going online in October.

"We're doing checkouts of various pieces of equipment," mill manager Harold Norlund said last week from his Ediz Hook office.
He sat in front of a picture window dominated by the cogeneration plant's conical biomass-fuel silo and related buildings.

Eldorado Seeks Funds for 2 Million MTPY Pulp Line

http://www.eldoradobrasil.com.br/En/index.html

Brazilian pulp producer Eldorado Brasil has applied to the Brazilian middle west dvelopment fund (FDCO) to raise Real 1.4 billion for the expansion of its 1.3 million tonnes/yr bleached eucalyptus kraft (BEK) pulp mill in Três Lagoas, Mato Grosso do Sul. The funds would be used for the construction of a new 2 million tonnes/yr BEK pulp line, estimated at Real 7 billion and scheduled to start operating in 2017. 
Grubisich first announced the company's intentions of building a 2 million tonnes/yr line - instead of the previously planned 1.7 million tonnes/yr line - last August, in the CEO/Executive Panel Discussion at RISI's Latin American Pulp and Paper Outlook Conference, in São Paulo, Brazil.

Demolition Begins on Verso's Sartell Mill

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/09/06/3610363/demolition-of-former-minn-paper.html

Crews have started demolishing the former Verso Paper mill in Sartell.
Jeff McGlin of AIM Development, which now owns the mill, says workers have started removing buildings on the north side of the site.
McGlin tells the St. Cloud Times (http://on.sctimes.com/18zAbcD) that over the next month, demolition will move toward the utility plant.
Part of the paper mill was destroyed in an explosion and fire last year. The plant's former owner decided to shut it down and sold the property.

Direct Mail, Book Publishing Gaining Momentum

http://digitalprinting.blogs.xerox.com/2013/09/direct-mail-book-publishing-and-transpromo-gaining-momentum-as-growth-applications/#.Ui4bxbyYyKw

Direct mail, book publishing and transpromo are gaining momentum as the most promising sources of growth for graphic communications providers, who continue to find digital printing helps them expand their businesses.
These are among the results of the annual survey of  the Xerox Premier Partners Global Network consisting of leading graphic communications providers. The survey was conducted online in six languages during August 2013 by GMC Analytics Software among more than 400 Xerox Premier Partners.

Q2 U.S. Ad Spending +3.5%

http://ipdahome.org/newsstand/?cat=296

After flat Q1 spending, ad spending in measured U.S. media rose 3.5% in Q2 vs. Q2 2012, reports Kantar Media. However, last year’s Q2 spending was depressed by marketers reserving budgets for the Summer Olympics, and Q2 2013 got an extra lift from more NBA playoff games. Without those factors, spending in Q2 2013 would have been down by a full percentage point. Consumer magazines’ Q2 ad dollars rose 1.9% based on their rate card prices, but their number of ad pages fell 2.1%, according to Kantar.  

Ad Age

Bloomberg Businessweek to Release Documentary

http://ipdahome.org/newsstand/?cat=296

The magazine sold the documentary, which focuses on the 2008 financial crisis and the role of former Treasury Secretary Henry “Hank” Paulson Jr. in trying to contain it, to Netflix for exclusive distribution. The film will premiere at an event Thursday that will include a panel featuring Paulson and NYC Mayor/BB owner Michael Bloomberg. “I think that we have done a good job at the magazine of building up credibility, but we wanted to stretch that credibility into other forms of media,” said editor Josh Tyrangiel.

NY Times

Time to End CnnMoney Partnership

http://ipdahome.org/newsstand/?cat=296

Last week, Time’s News Group president Todd Larsen told staff that the CNN Money joint venture between Time Inc. and Turner, the cable parent of CNN, will be dissolved on May 30. The site, which had nearly 12 million unique monthly visitors in July, will be kept alive by Turner, but Fortune and Money magazines will no longer contribute Web content. Instead, they will develop their own Web sites. 
NY Post

FutureMark Paper Launches New Brand

http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20130905006548/en/FutureMark-Paper/Future-Jet/digital-inket-paper

FutureMark^® Paper Group, North America’s leading provider of responsibly made recycled printing papers, today announced the launch of Future Jet^TM, the industry’s first high-recycled, coated digital inkjet paper. Compatible with both dye- and pigment-based printers, Future Jet offers publishers and commercial printers excellent print quality on the greenest paper available.
A pioneer in sustainable paper solutions, FutureMark tapped a group of leading paper and coating scientists to assist in the creation of the industry’s first coated digital inkjet paper made with more than 90% recycled fiber. Following two years of development and testing, the resulting Future Jet product offers a high quality recycled digital inkjet solution for book publishers, direct mail providers and commercial printers. Customer tests indicate Future Jet offers high print quality, even on four-color applications where there are demanding facial tones and heavy coverage forms.
FutureMark has tested Future Jet with various printers and digital inkjet OEMs, including Ricoh’s market-leading InfoPrint 5000 and Screen (USA). Future Jet will be on display at PRINT 2013 (September 8-12, 2013; McCormick Place; Chicago, IL) in Ricoh’s booth #1931.

More Mills Announce Pulp Price Hike for Europe

West Fraser informed European customers that its northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) market pulp prices would increase $20/tonne, effective with September orders, industry contacts said.
West Fraser's $20/tonne increase would bring its price to $880/tonne in Europe. That's the same list price several competitors previously announced.
Metsä Fibre - the first producer to announce a European price increase on Aug. 22 - as well as Canfor Pulp, Mercer International, Sodra, and Stora Enso each separately announced $880/tonne list levels on NBSK.
The European hike from West Fraser came after it previously announced a $20/tonne increase across Asia that was effective Sept. 1. 

Stora Enso on Aug. 29 started to inform customers in Europe of a price adjustment on northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp to be effective in September, RISI has learned.

The new price for NBSK is $880/tonne, according to Stora Enso, and it is motivated by healthy demand seen in the region in the last months. 

Possible Buyer for Wausau's Brainerd Mill

http://www.startribune.com/local/222529911.html

A Wausau Paper plant in the east-central Minnesota city of Brainerd might have a potential buyer.

City officials aren't releasing the name, but a purchase could be good news after the mill's closure in April cost about 130 workers their jobs.

City administrator Theresa Goble told the Brainerd Dispatch (http://bit.ly/17Hfdsa ) Wednesday that local officials will soon meet with the potential buyer "to discuss options or alternatives that might be available to facilitate the return of the mill to productive operations."

"We hope it works out with the potential buyer," City Councilman Gary Scheeler said. "To put a business in this plant would be extremely good news for the area. It's too early to tell exactly what the outcome will be."

Wausau Paper officials did not return the newspaper's phone call for comment.

USPS Board of Governors Discuss Exigent Rate Hike

http://www.dmnews.com/exigent-rate-increase-is-discussed-by-postal-governors/article/310624/

The Postal Board of Governors yesterday discussed the possibility of filing for price adjustments, raising the prospect of an exigent postal rate increase and inciting business mailers to cry more loudly for reform.
“They've been watching Congress do nothing for the past four years and they think they've got to do something to keep things running. Absent any legislative reform, their only recourse is to go with exigency,” said Hamilton Davison, president and executive director of the American Catalog Mailers Association.
Davison and other representatives of volume mailers held a conference with the Board before its meeting, during which they laid out the damaging effects an exigent increase would have on their businesses, as well as the United States Postal Service (USPS). “The idea is so repugnant that the industry has to stop and focus on nothing but knocking exigency back,” Davison declared.
The governors issued a statement following yesterday's meeting saying that have postponed final decisions on pricing until their next scheduled meeting on September 24 to 25. In the interim, they said they would continue to listen to the input of stakeholders in the mailing industry.

National Geographic Consolidates Travel Assets into New Group

http://www.foliomag.com/2013/national-geographic-consolidates-travel-assets-new-group#.UiooiryYyKw

Print, digital, expedition and book products now united under common branding. 
Publishers that have brand platforms with multiple consumer-facing assets have been increasingly pulling those products—and the teams that produce them—closer together, uniting them under a common, branded grouping. National Geographic Society recently did this with its Traveler assets, consolidating its books, expeditions, workshops, magazine and digital properties under a new Travel Group.
"We have this vast array of travel assets," says Lynn Cutter, who heads up the new group as executive vice president. "By bringing them together, we have a lot more power.

MediaPost Mag Bag

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/208474/mag-bag-domino-returns-as-quarterly.html#axzz2e8rrjb7g

Time Inc. Unveils Time Engage
Time Inc. is hoping to woo advertisers back to print with a new ad-targeting service, Time Engage -- which draws on a variety of reader data, including online, to deliver ads more efficiently, according to Ad Age. In some cases the service combines third-party data on print, Web, and mobile readership with advertisers’ own proprietary information to identify likely prospects through demographic and behavioral models. Advertisers must commit to a substantial (but as-yet-unstated) amount of ad spending with Time Inc. before the service becomes available. Conde Nast Invests in Vestiaire
Conde Nast’s appetite for e-commerce holdings is undiminished, judging by yet another investment in another e-commerce platform. Conde is leading a $20 million round of funding in Vestiaire Collective, an online emporium that enables fashionistas to buy and sell pre-owned luxury items. Domino Returns As Quarterly
Domino the modish shelter title targeting young women that was shut down by Conde Nast in January 2009, is returning as a quarterly publication, according to Women’s Wear Daily, which first reported the news.
The revived brand will include an e-commerce site, as well as the print edition of the magazine, WWD reports, possibly produced in collaboration with existing home furnishings e-commerce site Project Décor, which may be rebranded to highlight the Domino connection. AIM Buys 3 Canadian Mags Active Interest Media has acquired three magazines -- Clean Eating, Oxygen, and MuscleMag International -- from Robert Kennedy Publishing, a Canadian publisher which entered bankruptcy in June of this year, following the death of its namesake founder in April of last year. All three titles will become part of AIM’s Healthy Living Group, which also includes titles like Vegetarian Times and Yoga Journal.

Folio: People on the Move

http://www.foliomag.com/2013/people-move-9-5-13#.UiooyLyYyKw

Hearst Magazines promoted Carrie L. Cullen to associate publisher of HGTV Magazine. Cullen had served as advertising director for the home lifestyle title since it launched in 2012.

Hallmark Data Systems, LLC promoted former chief operating officer Steve Crowe to general manager. Crowe joined the company in 2010 after 15 years in the consumer marketing division of Time Inc.
Alan Quarry appointed to BPA Worldwide/CCAB Board of Directors and executive committee. Quarry is also director of the boards of North Waterloo Farmers Mutual Insurance Company and the Golden Triangle Angel Investor Network.
Elizabeth Thorp appointed editor-in-chief of Capitol File magazine, effective immediately.  Thorp, a luxury travel journalist, brings 21 years of experience in public affairs an editorial to the post.

July Commercial Print Ships Fall

http://blogs.whattheythink.com/economics/2013/09/july-commercial-printing-shipments-disappoint-at-2-5-june-shipments-data-revised-sharply-downward/

July 2013 printing shipments were $6.09 billion, down -$156 million compared to 2012 (-2.5%). On an inflation-adjusted basis, shipments were down -$278 million (-4.4%). June shipments were revised significantly downward, -$349 million, as has been the pattern of Commerce Department revisions for the past few years. June shipments are now reported as $5.98 billion, the lowest monthly level since January 1993 (in current dollars), when the current data series began. June is the first month below $6 billion in current dollars since that time.

New Time Inc. Chief on Board

http://ipdahome.org/newsstand/?cat=296 
Joe Ripp started as CEO of Time Inc. on Tuesday. His “first big pronouncements” are expected next Wednesday, during a town hall-type meeting with the company’s top 250 executives and managers, reports NY Post.
NY Post

Two Sides Contests Report UK Report

http://whattheythink.com/news/65211-two-sides-contests-new-report-which-claims-uk-government-could-save-70-billion-going-paperless/

Two Sides response
The promised financial and efficiency benefits claimed in the report will of course find enormous support with cash strapped Government Departments and any increased efficiency cannot be argued against. Yet this initiative appears to have a one-sided view which fails to take into account of the full impact that its implementation will have on UK citizens and the significant economic effect that digitisation is having on the print and paper related industries. Perhaps this is not a consideration for the authors of the report but Government needs to be wary of unforeseen downstream consequences.
In the UK, paper manufacture and printing employs 158,000 people and has a turnover of £21 billion - and this does not account for the enormous economic contribution from, and the thousands more employed in, the publishing, post and mail related industries. Therefore, before pursuing a digital agenda, Government must seriously consider not only the case for print and paper reduction but also arguments for its retention where it remains a vital and preferred means of communication.