Domtar paper machine to halt again
By Diana Graettinger
Wednesday, June 20, 2007 - Bangor Daily News
BAILEYVILLE — For the third time this year, the Domtar Inc. pulp and paper mill, Washington County’s largest employer, announced Tuesday that it is shutting down its paper machine.
The move will idle about 90 employees indefinitely. The mill, which dates to 1906, has about 500 workers.
The company blamed the latest shutdown on poor market conditions.
"We will run through the 24th [of June], and we will conclude on the 25th," Domtar spokesman Scott Beal said Tuesday.
The cut-size operation, which cuts large rolls of paper into 8½-by-11-inch sheets, went down around June 4.
So far there is no announced restart date for the paper machine, but Beal cautioned that the company wasn’t saying there would be no return to production.
In previous shutdowns, some workers have been kept on board to do maintenance. But not this time.
"We will be working hard to minimize our expenses during this period when we have one of our production machines down," Beal said.
The company will be asking employees to take vacation time if possible.
In May, the same 90 employees returned to work after being out of work for about a month. The cut-size machine was switched back on the day after Memorial Day after having been turned off April 5.
The first time the paper machine was shut down was in March. And just last November the company announced it was cutting back on production for two months because of the same market-related conditions. Production resumed in January.
The shutdown is not restricted to Domtar.
"I have read some headlines that some of our competitors are taking downtime," Beal said. "We also are seeing some of our own sister mills within Domtar. It isn’t just a localized problem in Down East Maine. I know that doesn’t do a lot to put food on the table — we understand that — but this issue is bigger than just Domtar."
Town Manager Scott Harriman said Tuesday he was sorry to hear about the latest shutdown.
"We’re disappointed to hear the news that Domtar is going down for an indefinite period, and we hope that they will be able to get back up and running in a very short time frame," he said.
Harriman said shutdowns were difficult. "The up-and-down nature of these shutdowns [is] very tough on local people," he added.
Although the paper machine is down, the production of pulp — the raw material that Domtar ships worldwide and that is used in the papermaking process — will continue.
George "Bud" Finch, chairman of the Eastport Port Authority, said Tuesday it has been a good year for shipping pulp out of the port at Estes Head. As of the end of May, the port had shipped out more than 145,000 metric tons of pulp. The port expects to ship upward of 360,000 metric tons by the end of the year — a record amount, he said.
"While we recognize that the downturn in the paper industry is certainly a significant blow to the economy of Washington County, we have great hope that the global market for Domtar pulp will remain strong," Finch said.
Domtar, based in Montreal, is the third-largest producer of uncoated, free-sheet paper in North America. It is also a leading manufacturer of business papers, commercial printing and publication papers, and technical and specialty papers.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Publisher of Men’s Magazines Is Sold to Private Equity Fund
Publisher of Men’s Magazines Is Sold to Private Equity Fund
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
Published: June 16, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/16/business/media/16mag.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Dennis Publishing, the magazine company behind three of the most successful publications aimed at young men in the United States — Maxim, Stuff and Blender — was acquired for an undisclosed price by the private equity fund, Quadrangle Capital Partners II, Quadrangle said yesterday.
Kent Brownridge, an industry veteran, is a junior partner in the purchase and will be chief executive of the magazine group. Mr. Brownridge, 66, spent 31 years at Wenner Media — publisher of Rolling Stone, US Weekly and Men’s Journal — most recently as senior vice president and general manager, before leaving Wenner in 2005.
Dennis Publishing is the American arm of Dennis Publishing Ltd., a British company owned by Felix Dennis. It will retain one of its American magazines, The Week.
A spokesman for Quadrangle said the group would be renamed when the sale is completed, which is expected to be in the third quarter. Quadrangle was represented in the deal by Davis Polk & Wardwell. Dennis was advised by Allen & Company and Jones Day.
Maxim was a pioneer among the “lad magazines,” the upscale-but-raunchy publications, including Stuff and FHM, for young men. Blender, a music magazine, also appeals mostly to men under 35, a favorite target of advertisers.
Blender, Stuff and Maxim, all monthlies, have a combined paid circulation of 4.5 million in the United States, and together they average more than 400 ad pages each issue.
The deal includes the magazines’ Web sites, which attracted more than four million unique visitors during April, and other related ventures including the Maxim satellite radio channel on Sirius and Maxim-themed resorts and restaurants.
Quadrangle is a major investor in a number of media companies, including Cablevision Systems and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. The company is led by Steven Rattner, the former deputy chairman of Lazard.
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
Published: June 16, 2007\
Dennis Publishing, the magazine company behind three of the most successful publications aimed at young men in the United States — Maxim, Stuff and Blender — was acquired for an undisclosed price by the private equity fund, Quadrangle Capital Partners II, Quadrangle said yesterday.
Kent Brownridge, an industry veteran, is a junior partner in the purchase and will be chief executive of the magazine group. Mr. Brownridge, 66, spent 31 years at Wenner Media — publisher of Rolling Stone, US Weekly and Men’s Journal — most recently as senior vice president and general manager, before leaving Wenner in 2005.
Dennis Publishing is the American arm of Dennis Publishing Ltd., a British company owned by Felix Dennis. It will retain one of its American magazines, The Week.
A spokesman for Quadrangle said the group would be renamed when the sale is completed, which is expected to be in the third quarter. Quadrangle was represented in the deal by Davis Polk & Wardwell. Dennis was advised by Allen & Company and Jones Day.
Maxim was a pioneer among the “lad magazines,” the upscale-but-raunchy publications, including Stuff and FHM, for young men. Blender, a music magazine, also appeals mostly to men under 35, a favorite target of advertisers.
Blender, Stuff and Maxim, all monthlies, have a combined paid circulation of 4.5 million in the United States, and together they average more than 400 ad pages each issue.
The deal includes the magazines’ Web sites, which attracted more than four million unique visitors during April, and other related ventures including the Maxim satellite radio channel on Sirius and Maxim-themed resorts and restaurants.
Quadrangle is a major investor in a number of media companies, including Cablevision Systems and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. The company is led by Steven Rattner, the former deputy chairman of Lazard.
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
Published: June 16, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/16/business/media/16mag.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Dennis Publishing, the magazine company behind three of the most successful publications aimed at young men in the United States — Maxim, Stuff and Blender — was acquired for an undisclosed price by the private equity fund, Quadrangle Capital Partners II, Quadrangle said yesterday.
Kent Brownridge, an industry veteran, is a junior partner in the purchase and will be chief executive of the magazine group. Mr. Brownridge, 66, spent 31 years at Wenner Media — publisher of Rolling Stone, US Weekly and Men’s Journal — most recently as senior vice president and general manager, before leaving Wenner in 2005.
Dennis Publishing is the American arm of Dennis Publishing Ltd., a British company owned by Felix Dennis. It will retain one of its American magazines, The Week.
A spokesman for Quadrangle said the group would be renamed when the sale is completed, which is expected to be in the third quarter. Quadrangle was represented in the deal by Davis Polk & Wardwell. Dennis was advised by Allen & Company and Jones Day.
Maxim was a pioneer among the “lad magazines,” the upscale-but-raunchy publications, including Stuff and FHM, for young men. Blender, a music magazine, also appeals mostly to men under 35, a favorite target of advertisers.
Blender, Stuff and Maxim, all monthlies, have a combined paid circulation of 4.5 million in the United States, and together they average more than 400 ad pages each issue.
The deal includes the magazines’ Web sites, which attracted more than four million unique visitors during April, and other related ventures including the Maxim satellite radio channel on Sirius and Maxim-themed resorts and restaurants.
Quadrangle is a major investor in a number of media companies, including Cablevision Systems and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. The company is led by Steven Rattner, the former deputy chairman of Lazard.
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
Published: June 16, 2007\
Dennis Publishing, the magazine company behind three of the most successful publications aimed at young men in the United States — Maxim, Stuff and Blender — was acquired for an undisclosed price by the private equity fund, Quadrangle Capital Partners II, Quadrangle said yesterday.
Kent Brownridge, an industry veteran, is a junior partner in the purchase and will be chief executive of the magazine group. Mr. Brownridge, 66, spent 31 years at Wenner Media — publisher of Rolling Stone, US Weekly and Men’s Journal — most recently as senior vice president and general manager, before leaving Wenner in 2005.
Dennis Publishing is the American arm of Dennis Publishing Ltd., a British company owned by Felix Dennis. It will retain one of its American magazines, The Week.
A spokesman for Quadrangle said the group would be renamed when the sale is completed, which is expected to be in the third quarter. Quadrangle was represented in the deal by Davis Polk & Wardwell. Dennis was advised by Allen & Company and Jones Day.
Maxim was a pioneer among the “lad magazines,” the upscale-but-raunchy publications, including Stuff and FHM, for young men. Blender, a music magazine, also appeals mostly to men under 35, a favorite target of advertisers.
Blender, Stuff and Maxim, all monthlies, have a combined paid circulation of 4.5 million in the United States, and together they average more than 400 ad pages each issue.
The deal includes the magazines’ Web sites, which attracted more than four million unique visitors during April, and other related ventures including the Maxim satellite radio channel on Sirius and Maxim-themed resorts and restaurants.
Quadrangle is a major investor in a number of media companies, including Cablevision Systems and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. The company is led by Steven Rattner, the former deputy chairman of Lazard.
Friday, June 15, 2007
N.Skog in talks to restructure magazine paper
N.Skog in talks to restructure magazine paper
By Aasa Christine Stoltz
REUTERS
7:07 a.m. June 15, 2007
OSLO – Norwegian papermaker Norske Skog is in talks with competitors that may lead to a merger in the European magazine paper industry, the company's chief executive told Reuters in an interview on Friday.
Norske Skog, the world's biggest producer of newsprint, may see its smaller magazine paper operations grow or shrink as a result, Chief Executive Christian Rynning-Toennesen said.
“Yes, we are in talks with some companies,” he said, though declining to reveal which firms or any further details.
Rynning-Toennesen said prices of magazine paper in Europe would stay low in the second quarter but that some signs of improvement were in view.
“Some capacity is being closed down, leading to a slightly tighter market in the second half of this year than the first.”
Also the currently weak Chinese market for newsprint may get a demand boost from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Rynning-Toennesen said. The company has two paper mills in China.
“I think it will improve in a couple of years – minimum one year, maximum two years,” he said. He added that the Chinese market looked marginally better now than it did six months ago.
The Asian market is where Norske Skog sees the strongest growth in demand, but overcapacity has kept prices low. New Chinese capacity will enter the market this year and next, but there have been no new mills scheduled to open after that.
Rynning-Toennesen said efforts to overcome the excess of capacity were helping improve China's market balance. “The government is pushing for shutdowns of old plants that are highly polluting.”
CHOPPING COSTS
Norske Skog's aim to knock 3 billion Norwegian crowns ($492.8 million) off its cost base in 2006-2008 is going as planned, and the effort may be expanded further, Rynning-Toennesen said.
“We're working to see if there are other projects and measures we could launch on top of what we've already decided on,” he said.
The Norske Skog CEO added that current savings efforts are more than offsetting the general rise in raw material costs. “We think all our cost increases will be more than counteracted by our improvement programme.”
But he was uncertain how the market would develop and declined to make any specific results forecasts.
Rynning-Toennesen repeated earlier statements that Norske Skog aimed to achieve about half of its remaining cost-cutting plans of 2.6 billion crowns in 2007 after reaching 400 million in annual improvements in 2006.
But he acknowledged that cost improvements could possibly be swallowed by a demanding market.
“If prices should continue to decline in the United States, our improvement could possibly be eaten up by falling prices. If on the other hand, the American market stabilises and increases, that will not happen,” he said.
“This is going in the right direction, though I would prefer it were moving faster,” Rynning-Toennesen said.
By Aasa Christine Stoltz
REUTERS
7:07 a.m. June 15, 2007
OSLO – Norwegian papermaker Norske Skog is in talks with competitors that may lead to a merger in the European magazine paper industry, the company's chief executive told Reuters in an interview on Friday.
Norske Skog, the world's biggest producer of newsprint, may see its smaller magazine paper operations grow or shrink as a result, Chief Executive Christian Rynning-Toennesen said.
“Yes, we are in talks with some companies,” he said, though declining to reveal which firms or any further details.
Rynning-Toennesen said prices of magazine paper in Europe would stay low in the second quarter but that some signs of improvement were in view.
“Some capacity is being closed down, leading to a slightly tighter market in the second half of this year than the first.”
Also the currently weak Chinese market for newsprint may get a demand boost from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Rynning-Toennesen said. The company has two paper mills in China.
“I think it will improve in a couple of years – minimum one year, maximum two years,” he said. He added that the Chinese market looked marginally better now than it did six months ago.
The Asian market is where Norske Skog sees the strongest growth in demand, but overcapacity has kept prices low. New Chinese capacity will enter the market this year and next, but there have been no new mills scheduled to open after that.
Rynning-Toennesen said efforts to overcome the excess of capacity were helping improve China's market balance. “The government is pushing for shutdowns of old plants that are highly polluting.”
CHOPPING COSTS
Norske Skog's aim to knock 3 billion Norwegian crowns ($492.8 million) off its cost base in 2006-2008 is going as planned, and the effort may be expanded further, Rynning-Toennesen said.
“We're working to see if there are other projects and measures we could launch on top of what we've already decided on,” he said.
The Norske Skog CEO added that current savings efforts are more than offsetting the general rise in raw material costs. “We think all our cost increases will be more than counteracted by our improvement programme.”
But he was uncertain how the market would develop and declined to make any specific results forecasts.
Rynning-Toennesen repeated earlier statements that Norske Skog aimed to achieve about half of its remaining cost-cutting plans of 2.6 billion crowns in 2007 after reaching 400 million in annual improvements in 2006.
But he acknowledged that cost improvements could possibly be swallowed by a demanding market.
“If prices should continue to decline in the United States, our improvement could possibly be eaten up by falling prices. If on the other hand, the American market stabilises and increases, that will not happen,” he said.
“This is going in the right direction, though I would prefer it were moving faster,” Rynning-Toennesen said.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
UPM's CFO says no plans to close any more paper mills
UPM's CFO says no plans to close any more paper mills
Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:54PM EDT
NEW YORK, June 13 (Reuters) - UPM-Kymmene Oyj (UPM1V.HE: Quote, Profile, Research) (UPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's largest maker of magazine paper, has no plans to close or reduce production at any of its remaining paper mills, Jyrki Salo, the company's chief financial officer, said Wednesday.
Earlier this month, the Helsinki, Finland-based paper manufacturer decided to shut its paper mill at Miramichi, Canada, for up to 12 months, due to a global overcapacity in magazine paper and weak prices.
"If you look at the assets that we have, we have very modern, very high capacity assets ... so now we will be able to generate margins that are well above the industry average," Salo said in an interview.
In March of last year, UPM-Kymmene announced that it planned to close and restructure operations at a number of its facilities in a move aimed at cutting costs, reducing supply and improving profitability.
The company's European and North American rivals like Stora Enso Oyj (STERV.HE: Quote, Profile, Research), M-Real (MRLBV.HE: Quote, Profile, Research) and Neenah Paper Inc. (NP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) have all been undergoing similar restructurings due to market oversupply and weak selling prices.
((Reporting by Euan Rocha; euan.rocha@reuters.com@reuters.net; 1 646 223 6026, editing by J.S. Benkoe)) Keywords: UPMKYMMENE CLOSURES/
Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:54PM EDT
NEW YORK, June 13 (Reuters) - UPM-Kymmene Oyj (UPM1V.HE: Quote, Profile, Research) (UPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's largest maker of magazine paper, has no plans to close or reduce production at any of its remaining paper mills, Jyrki Salo, the company's chief financial officer, said Wednesday.
Earlier this month, the Helsinki, Finland-based paper manufacturer decided to shut its paper mill at Miramichi, Canada, for up to 12 months, due to a global overcapacity in magazine paper and weak prices.
"If you look at the assets that we have, we have very modern, very high capacity assets ... so now we will be able to generate margins that are well above the industry average," Salo said in an interview.
In March of last year, UPM-Kymmene announced that it planned to close and restructure operations at a number of its facilities in a move aimed at cutting costs, reducing supply and improving profitability.
The company's European and North American rivals like Stora Enso Oyj (STERV.HE: Quote, Profile, Research), M-Real (MRLBV.HE: Quote, Profile, Research) and Neenah Paper Inc. (NP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) have all been undergoing similar restructurings due to market oversupply and weak selling prices.
((Reporting by Euan Rocha; euan.rocha@reuters.com@reuters.net; 1 646 223 6026, editing by J.S. Benkoe)) Keywords: UPMKYMMENE CLOSURES/
Loggers, sawmill workers on strike alert
Loggers, sawmill workers on strike alert
Coast's $2-billion industry could be behind picket lines by next week
Gordon Hamilton, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Eight thousand coastal loggers and sawmill workers were told Tuesday to get ready for a strike, after talks broke down Monday between the coast's largest employer group and the United Steelworkers.
"Crews in the coastal forest industry should prepare for potential strike action," the United Steelworkers said in a bargaining bulletin sent out Tuesday morning after Forest Industrial Relations, which represents 31 companies, walked away from the negotiating table.
The union is also negotiating with three major companies -- Interfor, Island Timberlands and Timberwest Forest -- separately. Those results are mixed.
The coast master agreement, which affects 8,000 workers, expires at midnight Thursday. If all sets of talks break down, 72-hour strike notice could be delivered Friday starting the count-down to a strike next week, putting the $2-billion sawmilling and logging industry behind picket lines.
A strike would also begin a 30-day countdown for the coast's pulp and paper industry, which has built up a one-month supply of wood chips in anticipation of logging and sawmilling operations going down.
"I would characterize the probability of a strike as being very high," Rick Jeffery, president of the Coast Forest Products Association, said Tuesday. "There are significant portions of the Steelworkers demands that will take us back to the 1980s."
Kevin Mason, analyst with Equity Research Associates, said the logging and sawmilling sector has been preparing for a strike but that the coast's seven pulp and paper producers are vulnerable, even though theirs is a totally separate industry whose workers are represented by a different union.
"For the the pulp and paper industry, which is relying on wood chips, this is a huge thing," Mason said.
Mason said if the union calls a strike, it could be a long, bitter one.
"Both sides seem quite entrenched and quite far apart."
The industry and labour have gone through significant transformations since 2003, when a three-week-long strike was only resolved after both sides agreed to an arbitrated settlement. That settlement, imposed in 2004 by mediator Don Monroe, sowed the seeds for further conflict as it was viewed by workers as being pro-industry.
Since then, industry has used the 2004 agreement to contract-out logging operations and make changes in worker shifts that have not sat well with employees. Further, in 2005, the old IWA was merged into the United Steelworkers, a larger, more powerful union that observers say is ready to flex its muscles on the coast.
Steve Hunt, western regional director for the Steelworkers, said the union is not looking for a strike but that employers are seeking even further concessions than contained in the Monroe agreement.
"The last thing we want to do is strike. That's the easiest thing to do," Hunt said. "We are trying to do some repair work from the last collective agreement that was imposed and that's a tough thing for workers to see their way through.
"Many benefits that these guys have enjoyed for a long time were taken away. The issue here is: How do we restore some of those benefits. We know we can't get them all back, but that's where we are trying to land."
Hunt said FIR walked out of negotiations Monday night. One other set of negotiations -- Island Timberlands -- is going well, he said.
The union is still negotiating with Interfor as well but no talks are taking place at TimberWest, where the union and company are involved in a labour relations board dispute over the number of workers actually employed by TimberWest.
Hunt said a significant change since the 2004 arbitrated contract is that the Steelworkers is a stronger union than the old IWA, with deeper pockets to sustain workers through a long strike.
Forest Industrial Relations spokesman Ron Shewchuk characterized the break-down in talks as a time-out, saying the employer bargaining arm is prepared to return to the table if the union is prepared to move on company demands.
"I don't think by any means that all hope is lost," he said.
The main issues separating the two sides are:
- Changes in shifting that give employers the right to set 10-hour, four-day work weeks, run operations on weekends and change shifts with little notice.
- Contracting out, always a contentious issue, which has yet to even be tabled at the FIR talks.
- A two-year agreement sought by the Steelworkers to align the expiry of the coastal contract with the contracts covering Interior workers, which expire in 2009. The industry opposes that.
Shewchuk said companies are prepared to make some changes in the shifting provisions but not give up what was gained in the Monroe agreement as it makes companies more cost-effective.
"The Monroe arbitrated settlement was directly responding to the realities of an industry that needs to improve its competitiveness. We were not in good shape. And those conditions have only worsened since then. The Canadian dollar has risen further and the housing market in the U.S. has declined. Now we have a surcharge on lumber going out of the country.
"We have made some proposals but we really don't see any movement on the union's part. We'd be willing to talk further if there was an opportunity for the union to move."
Hunt responded: "FIR should go and dream somewhere else. They are the ones who walked away from the table."
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
Coast's $2-billion industry could be behind picket lines by next week
Gordon Hamilton, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Eight thousand coastal loggers and sawmill workers were told Tuesday to get ready for a strike, after talks broke down Monday between the coast's largest employer group and the United Steelworkers.
"Crews in the coastal forest industry should prepare for potential strike action," the United Steelworkers said in a bargaining bulletin sent out Tuesday morning after Forest Industrial Relations, which represents 31 companies, walked away from the negotiating table.
The union is also negotiating with three major companies -- Interfor, Island Timberlands and Timberwest Forest -- separately. Those results are mixed.
The coast master agreement, which affects 8,000 workers, expires at midnight Thursday. If all sets of talks break down, 72-hour strike notice could be delivered Friday starting the count-down to a strike next week, putting the $2-billion sawmilling and logging industry behind picket lines.
A strike would also begin a 30-day countdown for the coast's pulp and paper industry, which has built up a one-month supply of wood chips in anticipation of logging and sawmilling operations going down.
"I would characterize the probability of a strike as being very high," Rick Jeffery, president of the Coast Forest Products Association, said Tuesday. "There are significant portions of the Steelworkers demands that will take us back to the 1980s."
Kevin Mason, analyst with Equity Research Associates, said the logging and sawmilling sector has been preparing for a strike but that the coast's seven pulp and paper producers are vulnerable, even though theirs is a totally separate industry whose workers are represented by a different union.
"For the the pulp and paper industry, which is relying on wood chips, this is a huge thing," Mason said.
Mason said if the union calls a strike, it could be a long, bitter one.
"Both sides seem quite entrenched and quite far apart."
The industry and labour have gone through significant transformations since 2003, when a three-week-long strike was only resolved after both sides agreed to an arbitrated settlement. That settlement, imposed in 2004 by mediator Don Monroe, sowed the seeds for further conflict as it was viewed by workers as being pro-industry.
Since then, industry has used the 2004 agreement to contract-out logging operations and make changes in worker shifts that have not sat well with employees. Further, in 2005, the old IWA was merged into the United Steelworkers, a larger, more powerful union that observers say is ready to flex its muscles on the coast.
Steve Hunt, western regional director for the Steelworkers, said the union is not looking for a strike but that employers are seeking even further concessions than contained in the Monroe agreement.
"The last thing we want to do is strike. That's the easiest thing to do," Hunt said. "We are trying to do some repair work from the last collective agreement that was imposed and that's a tough thing for workers to see their way through.
"Many benefits that these guys have enjoyed for a long time were taken away. The issue here is: How do we restore some of those benefits. We know we can't get them all back, but that's where we are trying to land."
Hunt said FIR walked out of negotiations Monday night. One other set of negotiations -- Island Timberlands -- is going well, he said.
The union is still negotiating with Interfor as well but no talks are taking place at TimberWest, where the union and company are involved in a labour relations board dispute over the number of workers actually employed by TimberWest.
Hunt said a significant change since the 2004 arbitrated contract is that the Steelworkers is a stronger union than the old IWA, with deeper pockets to sustain workers through a long strike.
Forest Industrial Relations spokesman Ron Shewchuk characterized the break-down in talks as a time-out, saying the employer bargaining arm is prepared to return to the table if the union is prepared to move on company demands.
"I don't think by any means that all hope is lost," he said.
The main issues separating the two sides are:
- Changes in shifting that give employers the right to set 10-hour, four-day work weeks, run operations on weekends and change shifts with little notice.
- Contracting out, always a contentious issue, which has yet to even be tabled at the FIR talks.
- A two-year agreement sought by the Steelworkers to align the expiry of the coastal contract with the contracts covering Interior workers, which expire in 2009. The industry opposes that.
Shewchuk said companies are prepared to make some changes in the shifting provisions but not give up what was gained in the Monroe agreement as it makes companies more cost-effective.
"The Monroe arbitrated settlement was directly responding to the realities of an industry that needs to improve its competitiveness. We were not in good shape. And those conditions have only worsened since then. The Canadian dollar has risen further and the housing market in the U.S. has declined. Now we have a surcharge on lumber going out of the country.
"We have made some proposals but we really don't see any movement on the union's part. We'd be willing to talk further if there was an opportunity for the union to move."
Hunt responded: "FIR should go and dream somewhere else. They are the ones who walked away from the table."
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
Thursday, June 07, 2007
BoSacks Speaks Out: The Price of Paper is on the Rise
BoSacks Speaks Out: With all the talk and emphasis on the digital future of information distribution, it's a sobering thought to remember that most of our information distribution business models still revolve around dead trees. I say sobering because the price is on the rise yet again. Did you put these increases in your budget?
I have received the following information from several sources and felt it prudent to send it out to my entire list rather then just my Paper and Pulp list. I believe that editors, marketers, publishers and all my other readers should be equally aware of the dynamics of our industry. Paper is just one of the many factors that constitute the entire puzzle of publishing, but ask your production people how much of the manufacturing budget paper takes up? I believe that you will find that it takes up more of your budget than you thought possible.
"The real price of everything, what everything really costs to the man who wants to acquire it, is the toil and trouble of acquiring it."
Adam Smith (Scottish philosopher and economist, 1723-1790)
SAN FRANCISCO, June 7, 2007 (RISI) - At least three more North American coated paper suppliers have told customers to expect price increases on coated freesheet (CFS) shipments next month, contacts said. Sources said Sappi, Stora Enso and West Linn were among companies hiking prices to remain competitive with NewPage, which told customers earlier this week that it would increase prices $60/ton ($3/cwt) on CFS sheets and rolls effective June 7. Additionally, sources said Stora Enso told customers the price increase would apply to orders of coated mechanical paper as well as to CFS shipments.
From Sappi:
Effective for new orders with a confirmed delivery date on or after June 7, 2007,
Sappi Fine Paper North America is increasing prices US $4.00 (CAN $4.25) per
cwt on the following sheet products:
1. HannoArt sheets (all basis weights and finishes)
2. Magno sheets (all basis weights and finishes)
3. Private label sheet and sheeter roll programs
Effective for new orders entered on or after June 7, 2007, with a confirmed
delivery date of July 8, 2007, or later, Sappi Fine Paper North America is
increasing prices US$3.00 (CAN $3.25) per cwt on the following web products:
1. Aero web (all basis weights and finishes)
2. Opus web (all basis weights and finishes)
3. Somerset web (all basis weights and finishes)
4. Flo web (all basis weights and finishes)
From NewPage
SAN FRANCISCO, June 6, 2007 (RISI) - US coated paper supplier NewPage told its customers today that it would hike the price of various grades of coated freesheet sheets and rolls by $60/ton next month.
The increase is effective June 7 on orders with a confirmed delivery date of July 2, or July 16 depending on the product. In a letter to customers Newpage cited rapidly increasing chemical, energy and transportation costs and the need to achieve sustainable earnings levels.
From StoraEnso:
Please be advised that Stora Enso will increase transaction price 7% on the following
coated and uncoated web products.Effective with orders placed June 15 and all shipments July 1, this increase applies to:
PolarisPress (all versions)
SolarisPress
StellaPress
TerraPress
CapriPress (all versions)
ConsoPress (all versions)
MagniPress (all versions)
SuperiorPress
ExoPress
Lux Cream
Lux
Classic
Effective with orders placed June 15 and all shipments July 13, this increase applies to:
Arbor Web Plus
Arbor Web
Productolith
LumiArt
Orion
Excellence
MediaSet
NovaPress
All Private Label products
The 7% increase applies to all gloss finish products. For all other finishes, recycle fiber
content and covers, apply the appropriate differentials from the new gloss price.
From West Linn:
This letter is to advise you that West Linn Paper Company will be increasing prices on all Sonoma®, Capistrano®, Nature Web®, Nature Plus® and any other related private label products by $3.00 per cwt (US). The price increase will be effective on orders placed as of June 7, 2007, and on any existing orders shipping on or after July 2, 2007, regardless of order date.
I have received the following information from several sources and felt it prudent to send it out to my entire list rather then just my Paper and Pulp list. I believe that editors, marketers, publishers and all my other readers should be equally aware of the dynamics of our industry. Paper is just one of the many factors that constitute the entire puzzle of publishing, but ask your production people how much of the manufacturing budget paper takes up? I believe that you will find that it takes up more of your budget than you thought possible.
"The real price of everything, what everything really costs to the man who wants to acquire it, is the toil and trouble of acquiring it."
Adam Smith (Scottish philosopher and economist, 1723-1790)
SAN FRANCISCO, June 7, 2007 (RISI) - At least three more North American coated paper suppliers have told customers to expect price increases on coated freesheet (CFS) shipments next month, contacts said. Sources said Sappi, Stora Enso and West Linn were among companies hiking prices to remain competitive with NewPage, which told customers earlier this week that it would increase prices $60/ton ($3/cwt) on CFS sheets and rolls effective June 7. Additionally, sources said Stora Enso told customers the price increase would apply to orders of coated mechanical paper as well as to CFS shipments.
From Sappi:
Effective for new orders with a confirmed delivery date on or after June 7, 2007,
Sappi Fine Paper North America is increasing prices US $4.00 (CAN $4.25) per
cwt on the following sheet products:
1. HannoArt sheets (all basis weights and finishes)
2. Magno sheets (all basis weights and finishes)
3. Private label sheet and sheeter roll programs
Effective for new orders entered on or after June 7, 2007, with a confirmed
delivery date of July 8, 2007, or later, Sappi Fine Paper North America is
increasing prices US$3.00 (CAN $3.25) per cwt on the following web products:
1. Aero web (all basis weights and finishes)
2. Opus web (all basis weights and finishes)
3. Somerset web (all basis weights and finishes)
4. Flo web (all basis weights and finishes)
From NewPage
SAN FRANCISCO, June 6, 2007 (RISI) - US coated paper supplier NewPage told its customers today that it would hike the price of various grades of coated freesheet sheets and rolls by $60/ton next month.
The increase is effective June 7 on orders with a confirmed delivery date of July 2, or July 16 depending on the product. In a letter to customers Newpage cited rapidly increasing chemical, energy and transportation costs and the need to achieve sustainable earnings levels.
From StoraEnso:
Please be advised that Stora Enso will increase transaction price 7% on the following
coated and uncoated web products.Effective with orders placed June 15 and all shipments July 1, this increase applies to:
PolarisPress (all versions)
SolarisPress
StellaPress
TerraPress
CapriPress (all versions)
ConsoPress (all versions)
MagniPress (all versions)
SuperiorPress
ExoPress
Lux Cream
Lux
Classic
Effective with orders placed June 15 and all shipments July 13, this increase applies to:
Arbor Web Plus
Arbor Web
Productolith
LumiArt
Orion
Excellence
MediaSet
NovaPress
All Private Label products
The 7% increase applies to all gloss finish products. For all other finishes, recycle fiber
content and covers, apply the appropriate differentials from the new gloss price.
From West Linn:
This letter is to advise you that West Linn Paper Company will be increasing prices on all Sonoma®, Capistrano®, Nature Web®, Nature Plus® and any other related private label products by $3.00 per cwt (US). The price increase will be effective on orders placed as of June 7, 2007, and on any existing orders shipping on or after July 2, 2007, regardless of order date.
Metso Reveals Order For Coated Paper Machine Worth EUR 100
Metso Reveals Order For Coated Paper Machine Worth EUR 100 Mln From Henan Puyang Longfeng Paper In China [MX]
6/6/2007 5:49:31 AM Helsinki, Finland - based diversified machinery company Metso Corp. (MX) announced on Wednesday that the company received an order valued EUR 100 million for supply of lightweight-coated papermaking line to Henan Puyang Longfeng Paper Co. Ltd. in Puyang in China.
The company said that the paper machine would have a capacity close to 1,000 tons of printing and writing paper grades daily. The machine will have a wire width of 7.9 meter and a design speed of 1,800 m/min. Metso expects to deliver from headbox to reel with related stock preparation and air systems. In addition, it would provide wet end chemicals and coating color preparation systems.
Puyang expects to produce 300,000 tons of poplar based chemi-mechanical pulp and 500,000 tons of high quality printing paper.
In a separate announcement, Metso said it would supply an extensive production line rebuild for JSC Segezha Pulp and Paper mill in Russia and a wet-end rebuild in Gruvon mill in Sweden. The total value of the order for JSC Segezha is around EUR 11 million. The company expects to start rebuilt production line in early summer in 2008. The supply for Billeurd will start in spring 2008. The value of the order is not disclosed on request from the client.
MX finished Tuesday's regular trading session at $56.77,down $0.64 on a volume of 19K shares.
6/6/2007 5:49:31 AM Helsinki, Finland - based diversified machinery company Metso Corp. (MX) announced on Wednesday that the company received an order valued EUR 100 million for supply of lightweight-coated papermaking line to Henan Puyang Longfeng Paper Co. Ltd. in Puyang in China.
The company said that the paper machine would have a capacity close to 1,000 tons of printing and writing paper grades daily. The machine will have a wire width of 7.9 meter and a design speed of 1,800 m/min. Metso expects to deliver from headbox to reel with related stock preparation and air systems. In addition, it would provide wet end chemicals and coating color preparation systems.
Puyang expects to produce 300,000 tons of poplar based chemi-mechanical pulp and 500,000 tons of high quality printing paper.
In a separate announcement, Metso said it would supply an extensive production line rebuild for JSC Segezha Pulp and Paper mill in Russia and a wet-end rebuild in Gruvon mill in Sweden. The total value of the order for JSC Segezha is around EUR 11 million. The company expects to start rebuilt production line in early summer in 2008. The supply for Billeurd will start in spring 2008. The value of the order is not disclosed on request from the client.
MX finished Tuesday's regular trading session at $56.77,down $0.64 on a volume of 19K shares.
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