Business Management - Operations

Catalyst Paper Restructuring Plan not Approved, Sale Now Pending
May 23, 2012

Catalyst Paper announced that it did not receive the necessary creditor approval for its amended plan of arrangement under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act.The company is now required to commence a sale transaction in accordance with certain court-approved sale and investor solicitation procedures.

Franchise Obligation Is a Two-Way Street
May 10, 2012

Dear Franchisee: We know what we are doing. Our model gets results when you follow it. Instead, you have decided to go it alone. You make excuses for your lack of participation and tell us we don’t understand “your unique set of circumstances.”

Time to Rethink Your 2012 Plans
April 30, 2012

One-third of the year has flown by. Assuming that you crafted a business plan for 2012, it is a good time to rethink your plans for the balance of the year. If the year is not living up to expectations, this is a good time to figure out why and what to do about it.

Five Things I Want Printers to Hear
April 19, 2012

As an Association Professional, I am dealing with business owners and their employees every day. I hear their hopes and fears, triumphs and woes. I am often asked how belonging to the association will bring them more business.

Mohawk Launches Reinvention Plan, Streamlining Paper Lines
April 10, 2012

Mohawk will launch Project Streamline, a strategic consolidation of its core paper lines, taking 22 paper grades (brands) down to six. The company will focus its manufacturing exclusively on high-margin papers and products that will bring distinct value to the new generation of print customers.

Bertelsmann Weighs IPO to Finance Expansion
March 28, 2012

Thomas Rabe, who took over as CEO of Bertelsmann this year, said the company was looking for ways to accelerate its move into digital businesses and developing economies. While Bertelsmann’s portfolio includes the publisher Random House and the developer of international television hits like “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” 80 percent of the company’s revenue comes from slow-growing Europe.

“Clearly if we are going to make more strategic and sizable investments, then more capital will be required,” Rabe said during an interview in Berlin.

Rabe said an initial public offering was only one of several capital-raising options being considered by Bertelsmann.

Doubling Down on Price Is a Losing Strategy
March 27, 2012

Don Johnson won a total of $15 million playing Blackjack at three Atlantic City casinos. In the casinos’ desperation to get him in the door, they essentially gave him 50/50 odds. I know an empty press schedule is scary, but like the casinos, we printers need to keep track of the numbers and verify them for ourselves before we, like the casino managers, walk off the cliff like lemmings.

Catalyst Paper Reaches New Five-Year Labor Agreement with Unions
March 19, 2012

The agreements include a 10-percent reduction in hourly rates along with various adjustments to vacation, health benefits and work rules to provide Catalyst with a competitive labor cost structure. They cover more than 1,000 workers at its Crofton, Port Alberni and Powell River mills.

A Glimmer of Hope for the Port Hawkesbury Mill
February 28, 2012

The potential purchaser of the idled [NewPage] Port Hawkesbury paper mill has almost worked out an electricity deal and has contacted the union to start labor negotiations, the bankruptcy monitor revealed. Extensive negotiations between Pacific West Commercial Corp. (PWCC) and Nova Scotia Power Inc. have been “constructive,” and the companies “are working toward finalizing an agreement on the supply of energy to the company,” Ernst & Young said in a report to a Canadian bankruptcy court.

PWCC has said that obtaining favorable electricity rates was a major condition of it buying the mill and restarting its world-class supercalendered paper machine.