Displaying items by tag: Sappi Fine Paper

Sappi Fine Paper North America announces the launch of the Flo Channel: Off Register^TM-- its online comedy video series developed with VSA Partners, aimed at the influential print community. The new video series features stories told by Second City Improv that demonstrate the trials and tribulations of what printers encounter daily, as they aim to please their demanding, edgy-black-glasses-wearing clients.

The first video of the Off Register series is "Luscious:"
http://www.youtube.com/user/OffRegister

"Luscious" is the kick-off to the video series and tells the story of designer, Kat, trying to get Sully, the printer, to understand and produce for her a color that is not just pink but "luscious." Each video ends with an invitation: "Share your own outrageous printing story for a future episode of Off Register." The series can be seen on Sappi Fine Paper North America's Web Site, YouTube, Vimeo, and FunnyorDie.com.

"Through our new Off Register video series, we are striving to illustrate to audiences how print can be integrated with digital to make a communications campaign have a more powerful impact," said Patti Groh, marketing director, Sappi Fine Paper North America. "True, the campaign lives online, but its heart and soul reside on the pressroom floor," said Jonathan Turitz, VSA Creative Director.

The videos are pushed out to the primary audience of printers and press operators as part of an ongoing dialogue with Sappi and the promotion of its top-selling economy paper, Flo. Most paper company promo efforts utilize only print collateral but Sappi believed it was necessary to break through the clutter with marketing that is multi-media based and engaging on many levels.

To demonstrate the potent digital/print relationship, Sappi Fine Paper North America's Off Register campaign also utilizes e-blasts to printers to link them to the videos and QR codes that appear on printed collateral for Flo paper, which take smartphone users directly to the videos--providing new ways for the target audience to interact with the series, as well as demonstrating how print is still a vital and dynamic medium when combined with digital media today.

The next video in the Off Register series, "Designer Disaster," will tell the story of a designer whose precious original art gets inadvertently destroyed. Both stories for the videos are based on submissions of actual events from printers and press operators.

Another campaign element of the Off Register marketing campaign is a commemorative Series "Press Kit" (to be released late March). The Press Kit will further showcase the qualities of Sappi Flo paper and invites printers to continue the conversation, by submitting stories of their own for future episodes of the Off Register series to be released throughout the year.

Appleton Coated LLC, NewPage Corporation, and Sappi Fine Paper North America – together with the United Steelworkers (USW) -- welcomed the U.S. International Trade Commission's (ITC) finding today that imports of coated paper from China and Indonesia are causing material injury to U.S. producers and workers.  That finding was based on a 6-0 vote by the bipartisan commission.

The ITC decision clears the way for the U.S. Department of Commerce to impose antidumping and countervailing duties on imports of coated free sheet paper from these countries.  On Sept. 21, 2010, the agency issued its final determination citing imports from China and Indonesia as being both dumped and subsidized by significant margins.

The Commerce Dept. found that producers or exporters dumped coated paper in the United States at margins of 7.6-135.83 percent for China, and 20.13 percent for Indonesia. The agency also determined that these producers or exporters received countervailable subsidies ranging from 17.64-178.03 percent for China, and 17.94 percent for Indonesia.

Coated paper covered by the cases is used in many high-end commercial printing applications, including annual reports, coffee table books, magazines and brochures.

"NewPage is very pleased with the International Trade Commission's finding on injury," said George Martin, president and chief executive officer of NewPage.  "Today's determination underscores the effects of unfair competition on the U.S. industry, where government subsidies and dumping have suppressed prices and forced mill closures," said Martin.  "The decision will allow the Commerce Department to impose duties to offset the significant levels of dumping and government subsidies that were found to exist last month."  Martin added, "We will remain committed to this effort and it's important to remember that we are willing to compete with anyone in the world as long as we have a level playing field."

"We've waited a long time for this decision, which will help restore a competitive market," added Mark Gardner, president and chief executive officer of Sappi Fine Paper North America.  "For far too long, some of our competitors have been able to get away with unfair and illegal dumping and subsidies to sell their products.  The ITC's decision puts us one step closer to being able to compete fairly based on the quality of our products, the investments we make in our mills, equipment and people, and the sustainable manufacturing and procurement practices we implement and pursue," said Gardner.

Sandra Van Ert, president and chief executive officer of Appleton Coated LLC said, "The ITC finding of injury is testimony to what we, our workers and the communities in which we operate have been experiencing for far too long.  In this instance, our trade laws have worked and will help restore not only legal competition in the marketplace, but the faith of our employees that work hard, play by the rules and only want a fair chance to compete."

Jon Geenen, USW international vice president, declared, "Today's decision shows that these predatory trade practices by the Chinese and Indonesian exporters are unfair, illegal and injurious to our employers and their workers. We will not ignore the efforts of our foreign competitors who want to violate international trade standards to succeed at the expense of our union members' jobs -- that's a fight we'll never back away from."
 
Once the final antidumping and countervailing duty orders are published in the Federal Register, the U.S. Customs agency will begin applying duties on Chinese and Indonesian coated paper imports.
 
The companies and the USW filed unfair trade cases Sept. 23, 2009 with the Commerce Dept. and the ITC, alleging that certain coated paper from China and Indonesia had been dumped and subsidized, resulting in injury to the domestic industry and its employees.
 
The domestic industry has experienced capacity reductions and under-utilization resulting in the loss of jobs in communities all across the country.  The petitions show that unfairly traded imports from China and Indonesia are a significant contributor to that underutilization of capacity, mill closures and resultant job loss.  

The three companies employ about 6,000 production workers represented by the USW at 20 paper mills operating in seven states.

About Appleton Coated

Appleton Coated, headquartered in Combined Locks, Wisconsin, provides focused market leadership in premium coated and specialty paper products. The Appleton Coated product portfolio includes a range of commercial printing and book publishing papers marketed under the Utopia® brand as well as specialty and private label products. Known for their performance, aesthetics, and environmental attributes, Appleton Coated manufactures their products in a state-of-the-art facility in Combined Locks, Wisconsin, hosting the newest papermaking machine of its type in North America.  For more information please visit our website at www.appletoncoated.com/.

About NewPage Corporation

Headquartered in Miamisburg, Ohio, NewPage Corporation is the largest coated paper manufacturer in North America, based on production capacity, with $3.1 billion in net sales for the year ended December 31, 2009. The company's product portfolio is the broadest in North America and includes coated freesheet, coated groundwood, supercalendered, newsprint and specialty papers. These papers are used for corporate collateral, commercial printing, magazines, catalogs, books, coupons, inserts, newspapers, packaging applications and direct mail advertising.
 
NewPage owns paper mills in Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Nova Scotia, Canada. These mills have a total annual production capacity of approximately 4.4 million tons of paper, including approximately 3.2 million tons of coated paper, approximately 1.0 million tons of uncoated paper and approximately 200,000 tons of specialty paper.  For more information, visit www.NewPageCorp.com.
 
About Sappi Fine Paper North America

Sappi Fine Paper North America (SFPNA) is a leading North American producer of coated fine paper used in premium magazines, catalogues, books and high-end print advertising. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Sappi Fine Paper North America is known for innovation and quality. Its brand names, including McCoy, Opus, Somerset and Flo, are some of the industry's most widely recognized and specified. SFPNA is a division of Sappi Limited (NYSE, JSE), a global company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with manufacturing operations on four continents in 10 countries, sales offices in 50 countries, and customers in over 100 countries around the world. Learn more about Sappi Fine Paper North America at: www.sappi.com/na/.

About the United Steelworkers

The United Steelworkers (USW) is a North American union headquartered in Pittsburgh. The union negotiates labor agreements representing 850,000 active workers employed in a variety of major industries that include metals, mining, pulp, paper, timber, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto parts, oil, and energy renewables. The USW also represents service and professional sector workers to include healthcare, municipalities and pharmaceuticals. For more information: www.usw.org/.

SOURCE NewPage Corporation

Peter Sarstedt, the famous musician and supporter of conservation and the planet will be visiting South Africa during the month of September as a guest of Sappi Limited to help raise funds and awareness for various environmental conservation organisations. He has previously visited South Africa to provide support, along with Sappi Limited, for the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre at De Wildt. His upcoming visit will again benefit Ann van Dyk’s Cheetah Centre, along with Birdlife South Africa; the Freeme Rehabilitation Centre; the Pilansberg Wildlife Trust; the Two Oceans Aquarium Cape Town Harbour Seal Project; the Bergvlam Wetland Rehabilitation project in Nelspruit, in conjunction with the Innibos Arts Festival; the Water Sisulu National Botanical Gardens in Roodepoort; the Anatolian Sheppard Project with Cheetah Outreach at the Bienne Donne Outdoor and Travel Show in Franschoek and the Sappi Green Ambassador Recycling programme. He will also hold a number of ‘singer songwriter’ workshops for aspiring musicians, in keeping with both Sappi and his support and encouragement of music in South Africa.

Peter Sarstedt first came to prominence in February 1969 with the Number 1 hit single ‘Where do you go to, my lovely’. He held this position for six weeks on the British charts, as well as reached the No 1 position in 14 other countries. He was awarded the highly coveted Ivor Novello Award for Best Song 1969/70 for this composition. Today, this song is still an icon and recently the theme song for the big screen movie by Wes Anderson…… 'The Darjeeling Limited'. Sarstedt has also written hits for the likes of Eden Kane, Right Said Fred and Herb Alpert.

“We invited Peter back to South Africa to add a new dimension to our long-standing support for the arts, community development and conservation” said André Oberholzer, Group Head Corporate Affairs at Sappi Limited. He continued “Peter’s wonderful music and his passion for conservation will help generate much needed funds and awareness for a number of very worthy causes across the country”. Peter Sarstedt will also help Sappi celebrate 10 years of Sunday Picnic Concerts in support of the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens when he appears as a guest artist on the Mathys Roets programme at the Sappi Sunday Picnic Concert of 12 September 2010.
 
Sarstedt’s commitment to environmental conservation is highlighted in his ‘Green Alphabet’ song as it explores environmental issues that require urgent action from A to Z. ‘Hemmingway’ is a song of passion for Africa which depicts the ease in which we can lose the beauty of the natural world. Sarstedt’s signature songs were a product of a time when folk singing created an awareness of and protested many an injustice and captivated the world in passive protest that formed the basis of change in many communities and countries.

Today, Sarstedt continues to write and perform music and songs throughout the world. While his ’green music’ entertains, it importantly also speaks of the hope for sustainable improvement of our planet…….’Save the Rhino’ will be performed in South Africa to raise awareness of the plight of these magnificent creatures.

Further information regarding tickets for the fundraising events can be obtained through the beneficiary organisations or by contacting Tim Neary at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The 2010 Sappi African Printers of the Year gala event held in Sun City on 12 August 2010 was a celebration of print excellence where printers and their winning entries shared the spotlight.

At the glittering event hosted by Master of ceremonies Jo-Anne Strauss and entertained by the group NUBIA, this year’s theme of Future Imprint was emphasized by Executive Director Marketing: Sappi Paper and Paper Packaging South Africa, Dinga Mncube:  “This year, Sappi not only wants to honour the craft of printing and the legacy of the industry, but also the resilience that businessmen and women in your position have exhibited during the tough economic environment of the last two years.”

A total of 345 entries, in 11 categories, were received from the Africa and Indian Ocean Islands region. After a rigorous two days of judging, nine Gold Awards, 19 Silver Awards and 33 Bronze Award winners were selected.

The panel of judging experts consisted of Johan Swanepoel (Seriti Printing), Richard Nichols (Multiprint Litho), Natalie Rogers (Investec), Erich Kühl (PIFSA), Barry Roberts (Pro-Print) and Ian Shepherd (Ian Shepherd Consulting).

The judges commented on the good finishing and in particular the die-cutting and varnishing applied in the winning entries which were of a very high standard, with good attention to detail and striking use of colour. Entries were also praised for print innovation displayed and the overall visual appeal and choice of substrates.

Dinga Mncube further commented: “Print is a total experience. It is our excellence and craft that can influence minds and help speed a recovery back to the heights of previous times.” Dinga also explained how Sappi was refreshing its commitment to profitability by merging two of its southern African divisions, Sappi Fine Paper South Africa and Sappi Kraft, into a new division called Sappi Paper and Paper Packaging South Africa (SA). “By consolidating our businesses we are ensuring that we remain well positioned to respond effectively to our customer needs, and to drive the key message that paper and paper packaging have a strong future and remain the best choice for many applications,” Dinga said.

2010 Award winners
Nine gold awards were presented to the following recipients:

Annual Reports – INCE

Books – Trident Press

Brochures – Pro-Print

Calendars – Trident Press

Catalogues - Seriti Printing

Digital – 24 Hour Photobooks

General Print - Colors

Magazine Sheetfed – Paarl Media Paarl

Packaging and Labels - Masterpack

A list of all the winners – Gold, Silver and Bronze - will be available on www.sappi.com

About Sappi
Sappi is a leading global, producer of coated fine paper, as well as of speciality packaging, label and release papers. Its South African paper brands include locally produced Triple Green Print, Web and Label, Typek as well as text and cover grades, Enigma, Sovereign Select, China Embossed and Reviva Plus,  which are specified by customers worldwide for high quality publishing, promotional and packaging applications.

Contact details

Madelaine Fourie
Brand Manager
Sappi Fine Paper South Africa

Tel
+27 (0)11 407 8190
Fax
+27 (0)11 339 8022
e-Mail
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

A public auction will be held September 29, 2010, by LiquiTec Industries, in association with Can-Am Machinery, to sell the assets from Sappi's permanently closed coated paper mill in Muskegon, Michigan.

Equipment from the Muskegon pulp mill, paper mill, and converting facility will be for sale.

Primary assets up for bid include a 174 in. wire width paper machine wet end, 2004 Bielomatik folio ream wrapper, Jagenberg Synchro 86 in. folio sheeter, Jagenberg converting complex sheeter and ream carton packaging line, Voith pulper, and a MSK/Covertech automatic shrink wrap skid carton line.

For a list of the Muskegon mill assets up for bid, visit: www.liquitec.net