Displaying items by tag: NewPage Corporation

NewPage Wisconsin System Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of NewPage Corporation, and Niagara Development LLC jointly announced today Niagara Development LLC's acquisition of the NewPage Niagara, Wisconsin mill property and assets.

The NewPage Niagara facility permanently closed in July, 2008 due to a significant decrease in demand for coated paper. The paper machines at the Niagara mill produced approximately 250,000 tons of lightweight coated groundwood papers used in magazines and catalogs. In March, 2009, NewPage sold the NewPage hydroelectric facility in Niagara, Wisconsin to Northbrook Wisconsin, LLC.

"Since the closure of the mill in 2008, NewPage has worked with the City of Niagara to locate a viable purchaser for the mill with a positive outcome for the community," said George Bousley, mayor, City of Niagara. "We are pleased that Niagara Development LLC is purchasing the NewPage Niagara property and assets and believe this is the best possible option for the facility, the City of Niagara and its residents."

Niagara Development LLC is exploring options with the City of Niagara and others for possible uses of the property and assets going forward.
"We see this deal as a great opportunity for the towns of Niagara, Iron Mountain, Kingsford, Quinnesec and Norway, as well as the surrounding region," says Eric J. Spirtas, president of Niagara Development LLC.

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

SOURCE NewPage Corporation

NewPage Corporation today announced that it will close its Whiting, Wisconsin mill at the end of February 2011. The Whiting mill currently operates two paper machines, which produce approximately 250,000 tons annually of coated paper used by the publishing and printing industry, with a primary focus on mail-order catalog, magazine and retailer end uses.

"This remains a difficult time for the paper industry, for NewPage and for many of our customers," said George Martin, NewPage president and chief executive officer.  "While we have seen modest recovery in our coated markets, we continue to monitor the supply and demand balance and make the difficult choices needed to avoid oversupplying those markets.  NewPage has the capacity and operational flexibility to produce both coated groundwood and coated freesheet on the same machines at other facilities. Therefore, we do not expect any interruptions in service to our customers while closing the Whiting mill, which is our highest cost-per-ton coated groundwood mill."

Approximately 360 employees will be affected by the shutdown of the Whiting mill.
 
Revised Guidance for Fourth Quarter 2010
NewPage also announced today that it expects Adjusted EBITDA (net income (loss) attributable to the company before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and adjusted to exclude certain items such as non-cash expenses and gains and losses on sales of assets) for the fourth quarter of 2010 to be between $125 million and $135 million and that it expects net income (loss) attributable to the company for the fourth quarter of 2010 to be between $(275) million and $(315) million compared to Adjusted EBITDA and net income (loss) attributable to the company of $88 million and $(55) million, respectively, during the fourth quarter of 2009.  Net income (loss) for the fourth quarter of 2010 includes the estimated one-time effect of asset impairments (principally Whiting) of $215 million to $240 million and other closure costs estimated at $10 million to $15 million.

Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of our performance under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("U.S. GAAP"), is not intended to represent net income (loss) attributable to the company, and should not be used as an alternative to net income (loss) attributable to the company as an indicator of performance. Adjusted EBITDA is shown because it is a basis upon which our management assesses our performance and is a primary component of certain covenants under our revolving credit facility. The use of Adjusted EBITDA instead of net income (loss) attributable to the company has limitations as an analytic tool and should not be consider it in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of the NewPage results under U.S. GAAP. See our periodic filings for a further discussion of the limitations on the use of Adjusted EBITDA as an analytic tool as well as a reconciliation of net income (loss) attributable to the company to Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2009.

NewPage Corporation today announced the release of Getting Personal, the fourteenth issue in its "Ed" series of educational brochures. This new issue points out how the world is connecting audiences at many different communication points, engaging them in very personal ways. Whether print, advertising, mobile or social media, in Ed #14 Getting Personal, readers learn that the most effective messaging utilizes a combination of all these mediums.

Throughout the brochure, Ed shares a number of case studies of leading marketers who reinforce the importance of print in a marketing media mix, achieving maximum customer reach and engagement.

In Ed #14 Getting Personal, readers experience advanced technology now available through the print medium. These include variable printing, QR codes (advanced bar codes, when printed in an advertisement utilizing smartphones direct buyers to specific websites) and augmented reality (an interactive three dimensional online experience that starts on a printed page).

"Despite the continuing talk that print is losing relevance, Ed shows us in Getting Personal that print continues to remain one of the strongest means to deliver a message," says Steve DeVoe, vice president marketing for NewPage. "It's versatile and accessible to all, regardless of age or income, and still preferred among a large segment of consumers for receiving information."

The "Ed" series is a friendly educator of all things paper, printing and design – a source for information and inspiration to help the creative community express their ideas, on-press and on paper. The brochure series is accompanied by the www.EdLivesHere.com Web site.

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

SOURCE NewPage Corporation

NewPage Corporation announced the upload of a new episode in the popular On Paper sustainability podcast series, featuring REI (Recreational Equipment, Inc.), a national outdoor retailer that provides quality outdoor gear and clothing.

In this episode of On Paper, available for download at www.OnPaperSeries.com, Kirk Myers, REI's corporate social responsibility manager, explains how the company is transforming their environmental key performance indicators from backward-looking metrics into forward-looking business tools, in order to further integrate sustainability into standard business operations and strategy.

Entitled "Next Generation Environmental CSR," REI's program to create synergy between profit and planet is the result of a journey the company hopes others may learn from. "We're living in an increasingly resource constrained world and things are changing very, very quickly," Myers shares. "The path forward looks different than the path behind. So where we've had successes, is not necessarily where we'll have success in the future."

Accountability is important to the program's success and Myers explains to On Paper listeners how new ideas and solutions from REI's people helps drive innovation. "We make more work for our employees, we make it more challenging. But I'd argue we make our work lives more engaging also."

To hear REI's journey to and implementation of the "Next Generation Environmental CSR" program, download Myer's On Paper podcast at www.OnPaperSeries.com then visit www.rei.com/stewardship to read the company's stewardship report. The report details the REI's progress to address its operational environmental impact, efforts to introduce people to nature and protect outdoor spaces, and performance in providing an inclusive and rewarding workplace.

About On Paper Podcast Series

Now in its third season, 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 more than thirty 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. For more information, visit www.NewPageCorp.com.

SOURCE NewPage Corporation

Nova Scotia Power and NewPage Port Hawkesbury are proceeding with the 60-megawatt biomass co-generation facility recently approved by the Nova Scotia Utility & Review Board.  The sale of certain mill assets is expected to close in the near term.  Project planning, engineering and procurement work have been ramped up in the past few weeks recognizing the need to have the plant in service in early 2013.  

"This development in cooperation with our largest customer provides benefits for all ratepayers," said Robin McAdam, Executive Vice President, Sustainability for NS Power.  "It creates and protects jobs in Nova Scotia, redirects spending on fuel from foreign suppliers to Nova Scotians, and helps meet our renewable energy goals.  I want to emphasize NS Power's commitment to ensuring that sustainable forestry management practices are used in the fuel supply process."

"The new biomass facility is important for NewPage, for the Port Hawkesbury Mill and for rural Nova Scotia", said Bill Stewart, Director, Woodlands and Strategic Initiatives, NewPage Port Hawkesbury.  "In addition to supporting the local economy, it helps our mill remain a model for sustainable operation."

The $208 million biomass project is expected to create an estimated 150 new jobs in Northern Nova Scotia, primarily in the forestry sector, and approximately 50 person-years of employment will also be created during the construction phase. The co-generation facility will produce about 400 gigawatt hours of energy a year – or about 3% of Nova Scotia's total electricity requirements.

NewPage is responsible for the construction and operation of the co-generation facility as well as the fuel supply. Biomass is one of Nova Scotia's options for renewable energy, as outlined in the Renewable Electricity plan. Only 'stem wood' will be used to make electricity. Tree stumps, tops and branches will not be removed from the forest floor because they're necessary to restore nutrients in the soil.

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains forward looking information. Actual future results may differ materially.

About Nova Scotia Power

Nova Scotia Power Inc. is the largest wholly-owned subsidiary of Emera Inc. (TSX-EMA), a diversified energy and services company. Nova Scotia Power provides more than 95% of the generation, transmission and distribution of electrical power to 486,000 customers in the province. The company is focused on new technologies to enhance customer service and reliability, reduce emissions and add renewable energy. Nova Scotia Power has 1,900 employees and $3.5 billion in assets.

About NewPage

The NewPage Port Hawkesbury Mill islocated in Point Tupper, Richmond County, has operated in Nova Scotia since the early 1960s. Today, the Port Hawkesbury Mill has the capacity to produce 190 000 tonnes of standard and improved newsprint and 360 000 tonnes of supercalendered paper for the catalogue and magazine paper markets. The company's Woodlands Unit currently manages approximately 600,000 hectares of Crown land in the seven eastern counties and an additional 20,020 hectares of company owned land.

NewPage is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of 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.. NewPage owns paper mills in Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Nova Scotia

NewPage Corporation announced today that it will release its third quarter 2010 financial results on Thursday, November 4, 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 third quarter 2010 analyst conference call on Thursday, November 4, 2010, at 11:00 a.m. (ET) with access available through the Internet and telephone.  The teleconference is expected to last one hour.  

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 investors may access the call by dialing (866) 244-4629 (toll-free domestic) or (703) 639-1176 (international), conference ID 1413361.  A replay of the call can be accessed via telephone (888) 266-2081 (toll-free domestic) or (703) 925-2533 (international), access code 1413361.  The replay will be available starting at 2 p.m. (ET) on November 4, 2010, and will remain available until midnight (ET) on December 9, 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.

SOURCE NewPage Corporation

NewPage Corporation has announced the upload of a new "On Paper" sustainability series podcast featuring Anders Hildeman of IKEA.

As global forestry manager for IKEA, Hildeman discusses the importance of responsible forestry management and the role IKEA plays through numerous associations to preserve forestlands worldwide. To download this podcast and access more than 30 previous episodes on topics such as supply chain management, zero waste and green business strategies, visit www.OnPaperSeries.com.

IKEA, the world's leading home furnishings company with more than 300 stores in 37 countries, sources wood from close to 50 different countries to supply materials for their range of home furnishings products. "Wood is the soul of IKEA products," Hildeman states.

In 1993, IKEA became a member of the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC). Explaining the importance of FSC to IKEA, Hildeman shares, "The reason we've promoted and worked closely with the Forest Stewardship Council is that it allows stakeholder input to deciding the criteria for {forest} management. It's really not up to IKEA to decide how people should be managing their forests, but we would like to see major stakeholders agree on how they should be managed."

Today, IKEA, along with NewPage Corporation and ten other business and world leaders, is a founding member of the Forest Legality Alliance, an international initiative designed to reduce trade in illegally harvested forest products, increase transparency in forest product supply chains and support global supply chain efforts to deliver legal wood and paper. The Alliance is currently developing a risk assessment tool that will help companies evaluate the risk of purchasing illegally harvested forest products including paper and wood.

To learn more about responsible forestry management and how IKEA is fostering relationships to ensure the wood necessary for their products is responsibly managed, download this podcast from www.OnPaperSeries.com. For updates on the Forest Legality Alliance's activities, visit www.forestlegality.org.

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

Despite growing market share and rising prices for its products, NewPage is having to fend off a leading analyst’s assessment that it is destined for bankruptcy court.

“Bankruptcy/restructuring is inevitable for the company, as it will never generate enough cash to meet its obligations,” Kevin Mason of Equity Research Associates wrote recently. “Many of NewPage’s existing debt holders have no hope of ever being repaid” because of the big paper maker’s “impossible debt load.”

North America’s top producer of coated paper responded by issuing earnings projections that forecast about $250 million in EBITDA (operating cash flow) for the second half of the year, versus only $25 million in the first half. NewPage’s EBITDA excludes nearly $175 million in quarterly expenses, mostly interest payments, so even the company’s projection calls for no profitable quarters this year.

“We currently expect that our levels of sales volume and pricing for the fourth quarter of 2010 will be indicative of the quarterly sales volume and pricing levels in 2011 after consideration of seasonal factors,” NewPage said in the SEC filing. After all, its machines are full, if not overbooked, and prices are still rising for its main products, coated and supercalendered papers.

By contrast, Mason projects 2010 EBITDA of less than $70 million and then about $260 million in 2011. He doesn’t foresee EBITDA surpassing $400 million in any year through 2014, which would mean actual earnings remain well under water for years to come.

He questions whether holders of NewPage’s senior secured debt, with a face value of $1.7 billion, will ever get all of their money back. Owners of other NewPage debt have even bleaker prospects.

And what about the owners? NewPage’s equity “is the financial equivalent of a dead man walking,” Mason wrote.

Mason, managing director of ERA, is not just any stock analyst. ERA specializes in the North American forest products industry, and Mason's company-by-company projections early last year about the value of black liquor credits turned out to be quite accurate. ERA’s research reports are generally available only to customers (See equityresearchassociates.com.)

A few years ago, Mason noted, Wall Street was eagerly pushing the benefits of consolidation in pulp and paper markets. As a result, the Cerberus hedge fund had no trouble obtaining backing for a mountain of debt when it decided in 2007 to “double-down” on the coated paper business by having NewPage buy StoraEnso’s North American assets.

But the move occurred just after coated paper demand started experiencing “ongoing secular decline.”

“With NewPage being the largest producer, it took it upon itself to 'control' the market. However, the cost to NewPage of closures and market-related downtime has been substantial, and price control escaped NewPage anyway.”

NewPage also exacerbated the usual buyers’ wariness of price leaders by creating “a lot of negative customer sentiment over the years,” Mason said. “It will take years to heal this damaged reputation.” (Indeed, one paper buyer tells me he was congratulated by a colleague in the magazine industry for being “NewPage-free.”)

Noting that AbitibiBowater, which is in bankruptcy reorganization, is also the product of consolidation frenzy, Mason said, “The jury is still out on the benefits of consolidation for the industry, but there is no doubt it is a great win for the bankers and other advisors.”

There has been at least one other winner in the NewPage saga: Since 2005, NewPage has paid more than $3.7 million to a company owned by the son of recently departed chairman Mark Suwyn for “a training program and a process to improve communication skills, consensus building and problem solving abilities,” according to NewPage’s annual reports.

If Mason is on target, NewPage will get plenty of practice for those multimillion-dollar problem-solving skills.

NewPage Corporation, North America's leading supplier of publishing papers, announced the "Paper Sells More Product" campaign which will award one active catalog, magazine or retail company with $100,000 in print services to support the winner's efforts to sell more products.

Paper, especially in the form of catalogs, magazines and retail inserts, has been proven to sell more products and enhance profitability. According to the Direct Marketing Association, printed catalogs are the largest revenue generator among all media channels accounting for, on average, 50 percent of all sales for multichannel marketers. BIGResearch shares that magazines and the advertising they contain drive web search more than any other medium, more than double internet advertising and social media. Nielsen reports that newspaper inserts and circulars are responsible for 89 percent of coupon distribution, driving customers to visit the store.

Paper has an emotional appeal that customers respond to; it encourages the impulse buy. "Printed catalogs, magazines and retail inserts are the next best thing to actually putting products in the customers' hands," said Barry Nelson, senior vice president, sales for NewPage. "I personally encourage all companies that publish printed magazines, catalogs or retail inserts that sell product to enter the sweepstakes."

NewPage understands that direct marketers, magazine and catalog publishers and retailers have been under huge cost pressures in this recession.  The "Paper Sells More Product" contest was developed to enable a cross-section of paper users to renew their prospecting efforts.  

The "Paper Sells More Product" campaign runs through December 31, 2010, with the winner receiving notification in mid-January 2011. To enter and read a complete listing of sweepstakes rules and eligibility, please visit www.NewPageGiveaway.com. Entries to the sweepstakes will only be taken online through this Web site.

To learn more about NewPage Corporation, visit www.NewPageCorp.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. To learn more, visit www.NewPageCorp.com

NewPage Corporation (NewPage) has just announced the election of Chan W. Galbato to the Board of Directors of NewPage and its affiliates as chairman of the Board, effective August 25, 2010.  Mr. Galbato takes over the chairman role from Robert L. Nardelli, who was elected chairman of the Board of NewPage and its affiliates on June 11, 2010 and who will remain on the Board as a director.  Mr. Nardelli, who also serves as chief executive officer of Cerberus Operations and Advisory Company, LLC (COAC), an affiliate of the majority owner of NewPage, said that, "Chan's appointment as chairman marks the end of a three-month transition during which the Board changed several top executives, including the CEO, implemented aggressive cost-reduction actions, and initiated efforts to improve customer service and profit margins.  With the recent appointment of George Martin as president and chief executive officer, and now the addition of Chan as chairman, we are confident that we have the right team in place to execute our business plan."  

Mr. Galbato is a senior operating executive of COAC and a director of the Brady Corporation.  Prior to COAC, Mr. Galbato owned and managed CWG Hillside Investments LLC, a consulting business providing operational and strategic turnaround expertise to CEOs of portfolio-based companies.  Before that, Mr. Galbato was president and chief executive officer of the Controls Group of businesses for Invensys plc.  He was president of Home Services as well as president of the commercial distribution arm of companies for The Home Depot.  In addition, Mr. Galbato served as president and chief executive officer of Armstrong Floor products and chief executive officer of Choice Parts LLC, a joint-venture auto parts locator and catalog business.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Galbato spent 14 years with General Electric Company, holding several leadership and finance positions within their various industrial divisions (including Transportation Systems, Aircraft Engines, Medical Systems and A ppliances), as well as serving as president and chief executive officer, Coregis Insurance Company, a G.E. Capital Company.  

Mr. Galbato holds a master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the State University of New York.

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.

SOURCE NewPage Corporation