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Appleton Coated LLC, NewPage Corporation, and Sappi Fine Paper North America – together with the United Steelworkers (USW) -- commended the U.S. Department of Commerce for its preliminary dumping duty determinations against certain coated paper imports from China and Indonesia.

If these preliminary determinations are upheld at the end of the process tariffs will be imposed on imports of certain coated paper to offset the impact of the unfair advantage caused by the dumped products. The determination placed dumping margins on Chinese coated paper ranging from 30.82% to 89.71% with an all China rate of 135.80%. The Department found that a single rate of 10.62% should apply to all Indonesian coated paper producers.

The result of the Department's actions will be the immediate requirement for importers of covered paper from the subject countries to post a bond or deposit cash in an amount equal to the announced margins pending final resolution of the cases later this year.

The companies and the USW filed unfair trade cases on September 23, 2009 with the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and the U.S. International Trade Commission 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 paper products covered by the petitions include coated paper in sheet form used in high-quality writing, printing and other graphic applications, with a GE brightness rating of 80 or higher and weighing up to 340 grams per square meter.

The decision by the DOC supports the allegations in the petitions that imports from these two countries are being dumped. Dumping occurs when a foreign producer sells into the U.S. market for less than the price that a producer charges in its home market or when its U.S. prices are below the cost to produce the product.

Today's decision follows the Commerce Department's determination on March 1, 2010 that Chinese and Indonesian coated paper producers benefitted from a variety of subsidies and the International Trade Commission's earlier preliminary decision finding that the domestic industry had been injured by Chinese and Indonesian paper imports.

In addition, the DOC noted that it is reviewing the Petitioners' allegation that undervaluation of China's currency provides a subsidy, as well as other new subsidy allegations in the China subsidy investigation, which could make a difference in the rates assessed in the final determination.

Leo W. Gerard, USW international president, said, “Commerce's announced dumping margins will begin to address Chinese and Indonesian unfair and predatory trade practices in this sector.  It's high time that paper sector dumping is addressed. The loss of jobs and resulting community impact has been devastating.  China's and Indonesia's practices are unacceptable and the tariff margins come as welcome news.”

“Commerce's recognition of the impact that dumped coated paper products have had sends a message that our government is interested in restoring a competitive market in coated paper. From day one, our goal has been to restore a level playing field and that's what our case is all about. Dumping has had a dramatic adverse impact on our industry and our economy as a whole and Commerce's decision opens the door to addressing this unfair practice,” said Mark Gardner , president and chief executive officer of Sappi Fine Paper North America.

Tom Curley, president and chief executive officer of NewPage Corporation, said, “The determination announced today by the Department of Commerce will help restore fair competition to our marketplace.  Dumping and subsidies have distorted our markets, placing domestic manufacturers at a distinct disadvantage.  We're proud of our product offerings and we're not afraid to compete fairly with anyone, domestic or foreign.”

John Cappy, president and chief executive officer of Appleton Coated LLC, said, “Dumping has benefitted Chinese and Indonesian producers at the expense of producers here in the U.S. Our companies have worked hard to build sustainable businesses by investing in our people and equipment to remain competitive and by supporting sustainable forestry to preserve our resources. Our employees deserve a chance to compete without fighting unfair subsidies and dumping by foreign competitors.”

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 Kimberly , 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/ . For the media kit and past press releases, visit the “About Us” section of the website.

About the United Steelworkers

The United Steelworkers (USW) is a North American union headquartered in Pittsburgh that negotiates labor agreements representing 850,000 active workers employed in metals, mining, pulp, paper, timber, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply, energy producing industries, plus the service and professional sectors to include healthcare, municipalities and pharmaceuticals. For more information: www.usw.org/ .

Media Contacts:
Ann Whalen, Appleton Coated LLC, 920-968-3809, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Shawn Hall, NewPage Corporation, 937-242-9373, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Amy Olson , Sappi Fine Paper North America, 617-423-5409, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Gary Hubbard, United Steelworkers (USW), 202-256-8125, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

NewPage Corporation announced today a new On Paper podcast series episode featuring Howard Skip Elliott, vice president of public safety and environment at CSX Transportation.

In this episode, available for download at OnPaperSeries.com, Elliott shares how railroads are an energy efficient way to move goods on land, and offers listeners insight into how CSX has helped lead the industry in becoming the most environmentally-friendly transport option. In fact, according to CSX, trains can move a ton of freight more than 436 miles on a single gallon of fuel.

“CSX is an important part of the sustainable supply chain,” Elliott states. “And as our customers and consumers in general are increasingly focused on the footprint of a product, the environmental advantage of shipping goods by rail is becoming even more apparent.”

As a Charter Member of the EPA Smart Way Program and the first railroad to join the EPA's Climate Leaders Program, CSX is committed to developing long-term, comprehensive climate change strategies. In addition to inventorying its own greenhouse gas footprint, in 2008 CSX launched an online carbon calculator that calculates the carbon dioxide emissions savings of transporting freight by rail, thereby providing shippers and other interested parties the ability to select an environmentally sound shipping option among the many options available.

Additionally, since 2000, CSX has invested more than $1 billion to upgrade its locomotive fleet with technology that reduces both fuel consumption and air pollutant emissions. Through these efforts, the company has improved its fuel efficiency by approximately 90 percent since 1980.

Further demonstrating CSX's commitment to the environment, Elliott shares with On Paper listeners, “As part of the Climate Leaders Program, CSX announced a plan to reduce the company's CO2 emission intensity by 8 percent by 2011. That's the equivalent of taking 441,000 cars off the road each year or burning almost six million fewer barrels of oil.”

In addition to OnPaperSeries.com, this new episode is available at iTunes.com and Zune.net by searching for “NewPage Corporation”. To access previous podcasts and receive notification of new episode releases, subscribe free of charge at OnPaperSeries.com. Sponsored by NewPage Corporation, On Paper is now in its third season.

About On Paper Podcast Series

The On Paper Podcast Series, presented by NewPage Corporation, is an ongoing solutions-based dialogue that provides a platform for professionals to share how their organizations implement sustainable practices. With dozens of episodes featuring representatives from the most innovative of corporate America, across a variety of industries, On Paper has garnered more than one million downloads. Visit www.onpaperseries.com to listen to individual episodes and subscribe to receive notices of new episode releases.

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. To learn more, visit www.NewPageCorp.com.

Media Contact:
Shannon Semmerling
NewPage
001-715-422-4023

NewPage Corporation announced today that it will release its first quarter 2010 financial results on Thursday, May 6, 2010, before the market opens. The news release will be available on the NewPage Web site at www.NewPageCorp.com .

The company will broadcast its first quarter 2010 analyst conference call on Thursday, May 6, 2010, at 11:00 a.m. (ET) with access available through the Internet and telephone. The teleconference is expected to last one hour. Tom Curley, president and chief executive officer, will review operating performance. David J. Prystash, senior vice president and chief financial officer, will review the financial results.

The live conference call and presentation slides may be accessed on the NewPage Web site at www.NewPageCorp.com . Click on the link to the Conference Call and Webcast and follow the instructions to access the Webcast in listen and view mode. Please go to the Web site at least one hour prior to the call to register, download and install any necessary audio software. The call will be available live and stored on the Web site for five weeks.

Analysts and i nvestors may access the call by dialing (866) 244-4629 (toll-free domestic ) or (703) 639-1176 (international), conference ID 1413359. A replay of the call can be accessed via telephone (888) 266-2081 (toll-f ree domestic) or (703) 925-2533 (international), access code 1413359. The replay will be available starting at 2 p.m. (ET) on May 6, 2010, and will remain available until midnight (ET) on June 10, 2010.

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 additional information, please visit the company's Web site at www.NewPageCorp.com .

Media Contact:
Amber Garwood
937-242-9093

NewPage Wisconsin System Inc. and Kaukauna Utilities announced today the completion of the sale of the NewPage hydroelectric facility in Kimberly , Wisconsin to Kaukauna Utilities. The facility has 2.7 megawatts of installed capacity; Kaukauna Utilities paid $6.1 million for the assets.

Kaukauna Utilities, a community-owned utility founded in 1912, owns and operates seven additional hydroelectric facilities on the Fox River with a total installed capacity of 23.0 megawatts.

The sale of the hydroelectric facility has no material impact on the remainder of the NewPage Kimberly facility, as it only supplied approximately two percent of the mill's required electric during periods of mill operation. NewPage continues to work with Sanabe & Associates to help identify a qualified buyer for the Kimberly mill.

Sanabe & Associates, LLC, acted as exclusive financial advisor to NewPage in the transaction.

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. To learn more, visit www.NewPageCorp.com.

About Kaukauna Utilities

Kaukauna Utilities, www.ku-wi.org is a community-owned and operated utility that provides electric service to 15,000 customers in the City of Kaukauna , Villages of Little Chute and Combined Locks and portions of the Towns of Vandenbroek, Buchanan, Wrightstown, Freedom, Kaukauna, Oneida and Holland . Kaukauna Utilities also provides water service to more than 6,000 customers in the City of Kaukauna .

Media Contacts:
Shawn Hall
NewPage
937-242-9373

Jeff Feldt
Kaukauna Utilities
920-462-0218

NewPage Corporation, North America's largest coated paper manufacturer, announced today the release of a new On Paper podcast featuring Jill Dumain, director of environmental strategy for Patagonia. This is the second episode in season three of the popular series designed to bring about positive change in the area of sustainability across industries.

In this episode of On Paper, Dumain explains how Patagonia , a leading producer of quality outdoor clothing, uses business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis. Through participation in numerous organizations and industry efforts, Patagonia has collaborated with suppliers and competitors alike, to minimize the potential impact their worldwide supply chain and production practices could have on the earth.

“We realize our company is much smaller than the people we have the potential to influence,” explains Dumain. “We have to influence companies larger than us if we are going to reach that ultimate goal.”

As a founding member of the Organic Exchange, a business-to-business effort to stabilize the organic fiber market, Patagonia helped balance fiber supply with demand and as a result the Exchange is now examining the broader topic of sustainable textiles. And through participation in the Outdoor Industry Association's Eco-Working Group, Patagonia is helping to develop an eco-index for consumer products which will help outdoor companies, both large and small, measure where they are on the environmental impact scale, in turn offering guidance to make informed decisions regarding the production of their goods.

It is experiences like these, Dumain shares with On Paper, that have shown other companies the benefit of sharing environmental research, even with competitors.

“We can work behind the scenes and share this information, that really is pre-competitive, and still compete on the merits of our design, durability, color, style,” Dumain explains. “It's very powerful because it takes a lot of time to do environmental research and work. If you can share that with colleagues in other companies, everybody moves ahead so much faster.”

To download this podcast free of charge, visit www.OnPaperSeries.com, www.iTunes.com search “NewPage Corporation” or www.Zune.net.

About On Paper Podcast Series

The On Paper Podcast Series, presented by NewPage Corporation, is an ongoing solutions-based dialogue that provides a platform for professionals to share how their organizations implement sustainable practices. With dozens of episodes featuring representatives from the most innovative of corporate America, across a variety of industries, On Paper has garnered more than one million downloads. Visit www.onpaperseries.com to listen to individual episodes and subscribe to receive notices of new episode releases.

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. To learn more, visit www.NewPageCorp.com.

Media Contact:
Shawn Hall
NewPage
937-242-9373

NewPage Corporation (NewPage) today announced that it has reached an agreement with Domtar Corporation to purchase Domtar's coated groundwood paper product lines and book of business. The purchase follows Domtar's decision to exit this business and close its Columbus , Mississippi , paper mill.

The purchase will include the coated groundwood paper book of business, the Choctaw ® , Saturn ® and Jupiter ™ brands, and the coated groundwood product inventory remaining after the Columbus mill closes. The transaction is expected to be completed in April.

"With Domtar's decision to permanently close its Columbus mill and exit the coated groundwood product sector, we will be working closely with Domtar to ensure that the immediate needs of their customers are met without any disruption of service," stated Tom Curley, president and chief executive officer for NewPage. "Going forward, we look forward to the opportunity to transition these customers to NewPage product and service offerings that meet their future business needs. We recognize that customers have a choice in paper suppliers, and we want to earn their business by ensuring they have a seamless transition to NewPage, should they desire to do so."

To read the offical Release go here....>

Domtar Corporation (NYSE/TSX: UFS) announced today that it will permanently close its coated groundwood paper mill in Columbus, Mississippi. The Domtar coated groundwood paper mill has an annual production capacity of 238,000 tons of coated groundwood and 70,000 metric tons of thermo-mechanical pulp. The mill currently has 219 employees. Operations are expected to cease by the end of April 2010.

"Market conditions for coated groundwood paper are challenging and despite the best efforts of our employees - and these efforts have been commendable - the mill continues to suffer from a weak cost position," said John D. Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer of Domtar. "With this permanent closure, Domtar is exiting the coated groundwood paper business."

Domtar also announced the sale of its Choctaw(R), Saturn(R) and Jupiter(TM) coated groundwood product lines and trademarks to NewPage Corporation. The sale to NewPage also includes the mill's paper inventory and book of business. Domtar intends to dismantle and dispose of remaining assets as deemed appropriate.

Domtar will take measures to assist employees affected by these decisions in accordance with its policies.

Apollo Management, Avenue Capital and Franklin Templeton are consolidating more than 50% of NewPage’s USD 1bn worth of second lien bonds, four persons familiar with the matter told Debtwire. The vulture trio’s bet is that the second liens will prove the fulcrum in a near-term restructuring.

Taking over the struggling coated paper producer would align strategically with Apollo’s and Avenue’s other investments in the industry. Apollo controls Verso Paper, while Avenue is a lender and creditor to bankrupt AbitibiBowater and will hold a large stake in the company upon exit from Chapter 11, the sources said.

Apollo, Avenue and NewPage’s equity sponsor Cerberus Capital Management, declined to comment. Calls to officials at Franklin and NewPage were not returned.

NewPage faces a real threat of running out of cash this year, said three buysiders and two sellside analysts. Stripping out the USD 304m one-time benefit the company received from the IRS’ black liquor tax credit that expired in December, NewPage’s underlying EBITDA in 2009 totalled USD 84m, down 86% from USD 584m generated in 2008. Over the same time period, liquidity fell to USD 223m at YE09, down from USD 344m at YE08.

The company will struggle to generate positive EBITDA in 1H10, and with USD 30m of projected capex and USD 180m of interest costs, Newpage could burn through its available funds quite quickly, said the buysiders and analysts. Management did pad its cash pile last week by issuing a USD 70m first lien incremental add-on.

Cerberus has several balance sheet levers it can pull to buy more time. The sponsor has amassed majority positions at the unsecured bottom of NewPage’s capital structure by buying its USD 150m 12% senior sub notes due 2013, and its USD 196m L+700bps senior unsecured PIK notes due 2013. The fund could tender the notes back to the company, and use its own cash augmented by USD 150m of prospective asset sale proceeds to sweeten a de-leveraging exchange of the second lien notes.

However, given the control positions in the seconds accumulated by aggressive hedge funds, any exchange offer that doesn’t involve giving up the equity keys will prove challenging to execute, the buysiders said.

Financial advisors are reaching out to second lien bond holders to open dialogue with management before a steep USD 160m interest tab falls due in 2Q09. However no formal broad organization of the class has taken hold, said a source familiar and a buysider.

NewPage’s USD 804m 10% second lien notes due 2012 traded at 60.5 last week, from 56 on 23 February, according to MarketAxess. Its USD 225m L+625bps second lien notes due 2012 last traded at 55 on 2 March from 59 on 26 January.

The USD 150m 12% senior sub notes due 2013 have been trading in small lots in the mid-30s for the past month. The USD 196m L+700bps senior unsecured PIK notes due 2013 last traded at 15 on 25 November.

Rolling up the paper

If NewPage’s well runs dry, Apollo is in a prime position to benefit from the spoils.

The firms loan- to-own strategy in NewPage puts into play a potential synergistic payoff with its Verso Paper portfolio company, noted one of the person familiar, several buysiders and sellside analysts. Between the two of them, NewPage and Verso control 55% of coated free sheet and 50% of coated ground wood paper production in North America, according to trade service Resource Information Systems Inc (RISI).

Together, Verso and NewPage reported USD 4.7bn of revenue in 2009. Assuming a conservative 4% of revenue synergy rate, a pairing of the two companies could unlock an additional USD 188m of revenue, said two buysiders and one sellside analyst. More important, the ability to control supply would usher in much needed pricing power to the struggling manufacturers, they added.

As for Avenue, an ownership stake in NewPage could further consolidate the ground wood and supercalendered paper grades AbitibiBowater produces. AbitibiBowater controls 15% of coated ground wood paper production in NorthAmerica and is the leading producer of supercalendered paper with 28% market share. Newpage is number two supercalandered producer with a 21% market share, according to RISI.

Granted, any transaction that involves the potential for such massive consolidation will invite heavy scrutiny from antitrust regulators. But the radical repricing afflicting the paper industry will play in Apollo’s and Avenu’s favor.

The possible consolidation of 50% of one paper grade may seem aggressive, but the Department of Justice typically focuses on the pricing impact of a merger over the consolidation of market share, said an antitrust lawyer. “If there is secular decline and there are other technologies coming online that will keep pricing from going through the roof after the merger, that can justify a merger,” the lawyer said.

The DOJ approved the 2007 merger of Abitibi and Bowater, which consolidated 47% of North America’s newsprint capacity. That deal went through with only one mill divestiture required, dropping the combined company’s market share to 45%.

Source www.ft.com

NewPage Corporation announced today a significant upgrade in the appearance of its No. 4 coated groundwood paper brands, Escanaba ® and Dependoweb ® , effective immediately. In addition, NewPage is reintroducing its Capri ® line of No. 4.5 coated groundwood papers to augment a comprehensive selection of papers designed for magazine, catalog and retail customers.

The Escanaba ® brand has always provided a premium printing surface when compared to other coated groundwood products. Now the brand offers a higher brightness and pleasing blue-white shade to match its unparalleled print performance.

"Escanaba ® is a highly regarded, premium coated paper for the magazine, catalog and commercial printing industries. This improvement further solidifies its reputation," said Lee Bendtsen, general manager, medium weight web products.

In addition to the Escanaba ® product improvements, Dependoweb ® also has been enhanced to maintain its position as a reliable and competitive No. 4 coated groundwood paper. With a brighter, cleaner white shade, Dependoweb ® reproduces images accurately for every type of end use application.

For those customers looking to differentiate their publications while maintaining their budgets, NewPage is pleased announce the return of the Capri ® brand of coated groundwood papers. Capri ® is an ideal choice for catalogers, magazine publishers and retailers because it provides a 76 brightness for great appearance, a choice of gloss or silk finishes and a wide range of basis weights.

"We have listened to our customers and their need for more choices in the coated groundwood category. Whether they are looking for a premium printing surface or a cost saving solution, NewPage has the right paper for their job," added Bendtsen.