Displaying items by tag: NewPage Corporation

NewPage Corporation (NewPage) has announced that it has upgraded its Digital Coated Paper line with a new look and new paper. Sterling^® Premium Digital™ and Sterling® Premium Digital™ for HP Indigo are the new digital premium papers without the premium price tag.

"On July 30, NewPage announced that the company's legendary Sterling brand had been reengineered to provide enhanced optics, an extremely smooth surface and premium shade – all at a No. 2 price," stated Aaron Haas, director, Commercial Product Management at NewPage. "Orders for the new sheetfed product, Sterling Premium, began shipping August 6."

Now, digital coated paper buyers can place orders for Sterling Premium Digital to get the same enhanced optics, surface and budget-friendly pricing. Sterling Premium Digital and Sterling Premium Digital for HP Indigo are available in a full range of finishes, weights and sizes – including a new 120 lb. gloss and dull cover weight.

"Even though we just started shipping paper, Sterling Premium Digital and Sterling Premium Digital for HP Indigo have already proven themselves in the field," said Dennis Essary, director, Digital Papers at NewPage. "During press trials, print service providers gave the products high scores, not only on the amazing surface smoothness and brightness, but also on the product's consistency and performance on press."

In addition, the market leading Futura^® product line now includes a 120 lb. gloss and dull cover while Blazer Digital^® has expanded to include a 110 lb. gloss and satin cover to meet the growing needs of the digital marketplace.

The entire NewPage Digital Coated Paper line has a new look, with redesigned ream wraps and boxes that will start with the new Sterling Premium Digital and Sterling Premium Digital for HP Indigo product lines first and continue with Futura, Produtolith^® Pts. Digital and Blazer Digital through the remainder of the year. A full offering of printed support collateral with customer personalization options to co-brand materials is available at www.NewPageDigital.com.

SOURCE NewPage Corporation

NewPage has announced that it has teamed with L.L.Bean and the Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association (WWOA) in an effort to increase sustainably managed woodlands in six Central Wisconsin counties. The project partners will provide forest management assistance and third-party certification using certification standards of the American Tree Farm System to woodland owners at no cost.

The initial pilot program is targeted at WWOA-member woodland owners in the Central Sands Chapter, which includes: Wood, Portage, Waushara, Adams, Juneau and Marquette counties. To date, 42 landowners owning more than 6,000 acres of forest have committed to the program.

According to Brian Kozlowski, director of Sustainable Development at NewPage, "This groundbreaking project reflects a shared commitment to forest stewardship. At the same time it helps increase the availability of locally certified wood to support the growing demand from our customers, including L.L.Bean, seeking paper sourced from certified timberlands."

In 2011, 48 percent of the fiber purchased by NewPage came from certified sources. NewPage is the largest buyer of pulpwood in the Great Lake States. This program is designed to increase the level of certification and provide forest management resources to WWOA members.

Certification has a number of benefits for woodland owners, according to Gordy Mouw, NewPage Certification and Resource manager. "For owners who intend to sell portions of their timber, certification gives them access to important wood markets. In addition, certification provides a guarantee that their woodlands will be managed sustainably," Mouw said.

Certification is also of value to woodland owners who have dedicated their properties for recreation and hunting. It provides assurance that they are doing everything possible to manage their natural resources and financial investments for future generations.

According to Bill Horvath, member and coordinator of the project for WWOA, "This project helps bring together our members to foster and encourage wise use and management of Wisconsin's woodland for timber production, wildlife habitat and recreation. We hope to use this project as a model to further advance certification of small private landowners in Wisconsin."

"The L.L.Bean catalog has been and continues to be an important marketing tool for L.L.Bean and is a significant means for customers to view our products," said Doug Darby, Marketing manager for L.L.Bean. "Since many of our customers work and recreate in the same forests from which the fiber for our catalogs originates, we want to ensure these forests are being sustainably managed. Certification is one of the tools that provide this assurance. We look forward to increasing the participation in this project," said Darby.

SOURCE NewPage Corporation

NewPage Corporation has announced that it has filed a Joint Chapter 11 Plan (the "Plan") with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.  The Company also requested an extension of time to file the disclosure statement related to the Plan.

"The filing of our plan of reorganization is an important and positive step forward to a successful completion of our financial reorganization," said George F. Martin, president and chief executive officer.  "Discussions with and among our major creditor groups regarding the plan are ongoing. We are hopeful that these discussions will lead to broad support for our plan."

The Plan is available at http://www.newpagerestructuring.com/legal-filings/.

This release is not intended as a solicitation for a vote on the Plan.

NewPage Corporation today announced that it has created a shift in the premium paper value equation with the introduction of Sterling® Premium, Sterling® Premium Digital™ and Sterling® Premium Digital™ for HP Indigo.

 The company's legendary Sterling brand has been reengineered to provide enhanced optics, an extremely smooth surface and premium shade – all at a No. 2 price.

"This is an exciting day as we mark the next chapter for our flagship Sterling brand," said Tanya Pipo, commercial product manager, premium sheet and C1S grades. "We have been listening to our customers and found that they want a premium product at a price that reflects today's reality. Sterling Premium delivers all the features customers look for in a premium grade – premium optics, print performance and an elevated level of service – all at an affordable price."

With the introduction of the new product line, NewPage will be retiring Centura® sheets and web, Productolith® sheets and web and Sterling® Ultra sheets. Sterling Ultra web products will remain.

Seeing is Believing

The new Sterling Premium draws on decades of papermaking experience and technology. The result is a world-class surface with superior on-press performance. "When agencies, marketers or printers are looking to upgrade their printed materials, Sterling Premium delivers a game-changing solution," said Steven DeVoe, vice president, Marketing and Customer Service for NewPage. "Feedback from our customers has been that this product out-performs premium sheets in the market and it delivers all of these qualities without the premium price tag. We are incredibly excited about the potential Sterling Premium offers to our customers."

Beyond budget-friendly pricing, the new Sterling Premium offers strong value propositions for all stakeholders in the supply chain. Designers, marketers and corporate end users get a brand-building premium paper that delivers worry-free consistency. Printers get a superior substrate to showcase their work combined with the runnability they've come to expect from Sterling. A streamlined offering allows NewPage to stock more deeply, ensuring that merchants, printers and end users have what they need, when they need it, including press-ready mini skids and quick turn custom cut sheets. 

NewPage will continue to offer matching digital products – Sterling Premium Digital and Sterling Premium Digital for HP Indigo. The new product lines replace the current Sterling® Ultra Digital™ and Sterling® Ultra Digital™ for HP Indigo offering with improved optics and print surface while maintaining the great runnability and press performance the market has come to know and expect from Sterling. Both product lines will include a new 120 lb. gloss and dull cover offering.

Both the sheetfed and digital line ups are earth friendly; carrying three chain-of-custody certifications and containing 10 percent post-consumer recycled fiber and 100 percent of our products are made in the USA by NewPage, an American-operated manufacturer.

To learn more about Sterling Premium, visit www.NewPageCorp.com.

SOURCE NewPage Corporation

NewPage Corporation (NewPage) has announced that it has been engaged in a series of discussions with its various constituents, including first lien note holders, second lien note holders and the Unsecured Creditors' Committee, in an effort to finalize a consensual Chapter 11 plan. Information relating to these discussions has been posted on the NewPage restructuring website www.NewPageRestructuring.com.

During these discussions, an ad hoc group of second lien note holders presented to an ad hoc group of first lien note holders an unsolicited proposal to combine NewPage and Verso Paper Corp. (Verso). After thoroughly evaluating this proposal, NewPage determined that the combination posed significant downside risks to its stakeholders, employees, and business. NewPage has also been advised that the first lien note holder group did not support the proposal.  Accordingly, NewPage does not anticipate further discussions regarding this proposal.

SOURCE NewPage Corporation

Verso Paper Corp. has announced that it has held discussions with certain holders of the 11.375% first-lien senior secured notes of NewPage Corporation in an effort to achieve a potential business combination involving Verso and NewPage as part of a consensual plan of reorganization in NewPage's Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

The terms of Verso's proposed transaction would provide NewPage's first-lien noteholders with $1.425 billion of value, consisting of $1.075 billion of new Verso first-lien notes, $150 million of Verso common stock, and $200 million of cash. In addition, the proposed transaction would include a 100% recovery in cash to repay NewPage's debtor-in-possession financing, a 100% recovery in cash for the allowed priority and administrative claims in the bankruptcy proceedings, a to-be-determined amount of Verso common stock for the holders of NewPage's second-lien notes, and a to-be-determined recovery for NewPage's unsecured creditors. To facilitate the transaction, a $200 million cash equity investment in Verso was contemplated. The proposed transaction would be subject to customary conditions, including the satisfactory completion of due diligence and the completion of antitrust review.

Verso believes that a combination with NewPage would create a stronger business in the global coated and supercalendered paper industry because of the material cost savings that would be achieved. Verso also believes that a combination with NewPage would provide a compelling option for a restructuring in that it would afford NewPage's first-lien noteholders a very attractive recovery, while at the same time treating fairly the other NewPage constituencies, including its employees, other creditor classes, and customers. Despite these advantages, Verso has been disappointed with the lack of progress in advancing its discussions with the first-lien noteholders. Verso continues to believe that its proposed transaction is the most sensible.

The terms of Verso's proposal to NewPage's first-lien noteholders regarding the proposed transaction are included in the June 18, 2012 discussion materials attached as an exhibit to the current report on Form 8-K that Verso is filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Verso provided advance notice to NewPage of its presentation to the first-lien noteholders and delivered its presentation to the first-lien noteholders for discussion purposes only. Verso also is including a withdrawn May 30, 2012 term sheet previously presented to the first-lien noteholders as an exhibit to the current report on Form 8-K. This May 30 term sheet was superseded in its entirety by the term sheet included in the June 18, 2012 presentation, which was revised to reflect NewPage's updated earnings and cash balance. This press release is not a solicitation to any party to accept or support any Chapter 11 plan of reorganization.

Source: Verso Paper Corp.

NewPage has announced that the company's 7 pt. Sterling® Ultra web cover paper served as a key component of an award-winning Super Bowl XLV collector's edition program cover produced by its customer, Hazen Paper.

Hazen's marketing entry swept the "decorative/display category" in the Association of International Metallizers, Coaters and Laminators (AIMCAL) product competition awards.

Hazen created the custom holographic image and embossed it onto transfer film that was coated in-house. Hazen then metallized the transfer holographic material and transfer metallized the coated two-side NewPage paper stock. The final step involved sheeting and printing the 19x36 inch sheets in register with the holography. Once printed, the cover was bound to the program by Quad/Graphics, Sussex, Wisconsin.

The judges commented that they were impressed by how the elements of the 2011 Packers/Steelers Super Bowl program worked together. "These holographic images go beyond patterns to become an integrated design," they concluded.

John H. Hazen, president of the Holyoke, Massachusetts-based company said, "Hazen Paper is excited to have scored a touchdown with NewPage Sterling Ultra on the Stadium Edition Super Bowl Program Cover."

"With this award, Hazen has further distinguished itself in the customized holographics and transfer metallization industry," said David Diekelman, NewPage executive director of specialty papers Sales and Marketing. "We are delighted to have teamed with Hazen to provide a high-quality, highly engineered paper that would support such a sophisticated, technical and successful printing process."

SOURCE NewPage

NewPage Corporation announced today that it has been awarded U.S. (8,096,479) and Canadian (CA 2678556) patents for PointTrac™ TT, a new paper-based substrate for printed Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) labels. PointTrac TT offers RFID label manufacturers the ability to combine thermal transfer printed variable analog information with advanced RFID chip technology. This technology facilitates low-cost production of printed paper RFID labels when compared with traditional multi-layer plastic film substrates.

RFID uses a wireless non-contact radio system for the transfer of data for automatic identification and tracking. PointTrac TT has special dual functionality built in so that printed barcodes on the label face can be read with a line of sight optical device or by using an out of sight electronic device.

"The NewPage PointTrac TT technology will allow RFID chips to become more widely used in shipping, tracking and transactions by making conversion to this technology more affordable," said Jim Sheibley, director of Specialty Business and Product Development.

PointTrac TT is available with third-party chain-of-custody certifications, providing customers with high performance RFID products, while maintaining a level of both sustainable and renewable attributes.

PointTrac TT joins the broader range of NewPage specialty label papers used in supply chain and variable data end uses. In addition, NewPage manufactures specialty papers used in flexible packaging, technical and pressure-sensitive labeling applications.

SOURCE NewPage Corporation

NewPage is pleased that President Obama signed the legislation passed by the U.S. House and Senate that will allow the Department of Commerce to continue to apply the countervailing duty law to non-market economy countries like China. This legislation will preserve intact the countervailing duty order in place covering coated paper, as well as other countervailing duty orders covering other products from China.

"We applaud the remarkable effort of Congress in passing this important legislation, and would like to especially thank Republican Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Susan Collins (R-ME) for their leadership roles," stated George Martin, president and chief executive officer for NewPage. "Keeping these duties in place helps to level the playing field and allow our world-class operations and workforce to continue to service our customers with high quality, competitive products," added Martin.

In 2009, Appleton Coated LLC, NewPage Corporation, Sappi Fine Paper North America and the United Steelworkers Union filed trade cases seeking to end dumping and subsidy practices, involving certain coated paper produced in China and Indonesia. In 2010, these efforts resulted in antidumping and countervailing duties being imposed on imports from both of these countries. Until the duties were put in place, imports from these countries were having a devastating effect on production and employment in the United States.

SOURCE NewPage

Prospective buyers have been touring the Terrace Bay mill in Northern Ontario, while in Nova Scotia, the bidder on the NewPage pulp and paper mill is ironing out details with the provincial utility and the employees’ union.

The Chronicle Journal reported in early March that eight companies with an interest in purchasing the insolvent Terrace Bay pulp mill had toured the facility.

The mill was closed in October 2011, following an explosion that killed one worker. The mill shut down for repairs, and then extended the shut down due to poor market conditions. In January, the company was put under creditor protection and the mill put up for sale.

Under the sales process approved by the courts, a new owner is to be in place by the end of April.

The Chronicle Journal also reports that the Ministry of Labour has concluded its investigation in the fatal explosion, but hasn’t yet decided whether there were any violations of the labour code.

For the NewPage Port Hawkesbury mill in Nova Scotia, the sales process is more advanced. The court appointed monitor is in negotiations with Pacific West Commercial Corp., an affiliate of Stern Partners Inc. of Vancouver, to finalize a going-concern sale of the mill.

In an update to the court presented in February, Ernst & Young said negotiations are proceeding on several fronts, according to the Chronicle Herald newspaper.

A plan of arrangement is being developed to determine how the company will handle its debt. In addition, Pacific West has contacted the Communications Energy and Paperworkers Union, Local 972, to schedule negotiations on a new labour agreement, the newspaper reports.

Talks between Pacific West and the province on fibre costs, and Nova Scotia Power Inc. on energy costs, are also ongoing.

Source: Pulp and Paper Canada