Courtesy of BoSacks & The Precision Media Group
America's Oldest e-newsletter est.1993
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Printer's ink is the great apostle of progress, whose pulpit is the press.
Horace Greeley
Dateline: Charlottesville Va
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In This Issue
- Shutdown of printing plant throws local magazines a curveball
- Magazine printer Quad/Graphics wants to invest $45 million, add 74 jobs in Saratoga Springs
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Shutdown of printing plant throws local magazines a curveball
https://richmondbizsense.com/
The Cadmus printing facility responsible for printing publications such as Virginia Living Magazine and Richmond Family Magazine will shut down due to the pandemic.
(Photos courtesy Google Maps, Virginia Living Magazine and Richmond Family Magazine)
Some local magazines are on the hunt for a new printing press after a Lakeside print shop announced this week it would close.
Cadmus Specialty Publications, located at 2901 Byrdhill Road, is one of the latest casualties of the coronavirus pandemic. The facility will permanently close this month, and 184 employees will be laid off, according to a WARN notice filed Monday by Cenveo Worldwide Ltd., the facility’s owner.
The plant shutdown was first reported by Virginia Business Magazine, one of the magazines that’s printed at the facility. Among other customers are Virginia Living Magazine and Richmond Family Magazine, all of which need to find new facilities to produce their publications.
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Like other industries, publishing has been hit hard by the economic disruptions of the pandemic. Many advertisers have put their ad budgets on the chopping block, which in turn has cut into the revenues of publications. Some local news outlets
have cut back on print publication as a result.
Cenveo said in its WARN notice that the effects of the pandemic had decreased the amount of work done at the facility, and that clients had either stopped publishing, or canceled or delayed jobs.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted our customers’ businesses and, in turn, has diminished the available work at the Facility. One large customer has ceased all work permanently, several publishers have cancelled or delayed their print projects, and nearly all comic production has ceased,” the notice read.
Margaret Thompson, Richmond Family Magazine founder and publisher, said there were once several companies that could step up to fulfill the work done at Cadmus, but these days a local printer might not be an option.
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“Unfortunately, with the ever-shrinking printing industry, finding a local replacement that is a fit for our page count and monthly printing quantity may be impossible,” she said.
Thompson said that any cost or operational changes brought on by the change are yet to be determined. Her magazine is seeking a replacement press, and Cenveo is working with the magazine to find that replacement. Thompson expected it wouldn’t be a Cenveo facility, and that the facility likely would be out of town.
Thompson didn’t anticipate a price increase or change of production schedule for Richmond Family Magazine, which is a free monthly magazine.
Virginia Living publisher John-Lawrence Smith also lamented the end of Cadmus. He said in an email that he hadn’t selected a replacement, though he anticipated the move wouldn’t disrupt the magazine’s current operation.
“I have not selected a new printer yet, and expect to negotiate a deal which includes no increase in costs, nor any other hurdles in doing business,” he said.
Virginia Business could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
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Magazine printer Quad/Graphics wants to invest $45 million, add 74 jobs in Saratoga Springs
Quad/Graphics could invest $45 million to purchases two new presses and create 74 new jobs in Saratoga Springs over the next two years.
By Robin K. Cooper
https://www.bizjournals.com/
Quad
/Graphics Inc. is considering whether to spend $45 million to install two new presses at its Saratoga Springs printing plant, adding 74 jobs over the next two years.
The printer of Time, W magazine and Popular Mechanics is seeking $9 million in incentives to justify making the investment in upstate New York instead of Wisconsin where Quad is headquartered. The incentive package is expected to include $6 million from Empire State Development, New York's economic development arm, plus $2.25 million in assistance from National Grid.
Quad also is working with
Saratoga Economic Development
Corp. to apply for a little more than $1 million in property and sales tax exemptions through the Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency. Details of the project were outlined in documents filed in Saratoga County.
"Retention was the big issue here," said SEDC president
Dennis Brobston
. "This will open up new markets and ensure the company remains here."
Quad (NYSE: QUAD) employs 19,600, who operate 56 manufacturing plants and distribution centers in 14 countries, including a 1 million-square-foot printing complex in the W.J. Grande Industrial Park in Saratoga Springs.
The Saratoga Springs plant employs 668 and the investment is expected to add 74 jobs by 2022. The average salary of the new positions would be $52,500, plus $13,500 in benefits.
"What we are always worried about with large corporations that are headquartered elsewhere is that you run the risk of becoming antiquated unless you continue to buy new equipment," Brobston said.
Quad officials, who were not immediately available for comment, are proposing to spend $38.9 million to purchase two Manroland 8 unit auto transfer presses. The machines are capable of handling multiple products, giving Quad an opportunity to take on more magazine and retail jobs. The presses also would position the Saratoga Springs plant to start printing books, Brobston said.
"Moving forward without this project, will prove detrimental to the well being of the Saratoga plant," plant manager
Chad McKissick
wrote in a letter to National Grid last fall.
McKissick explained in the letter that Quad is facing headwinds with the number of printed pages decreasing from 55 billion in 2018 to 52 billion last year and 47 billion in 2020.
The new presses would increase capacity, reduce waste and allow Quad to remain competitive in a rapidly changing market, McKissick wrote.
Representatives from Empire State Development and National Grid were not immediately available for comment.
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Quad and SEDC are asking the industrial development agency to freeze the company's property assessment for 10 years, a move that would save the printing company about $105,000 a year. The company also is asking the agency for $211,000 in sales tax breaks on equipment. After factoring in about $208,000 in fees, Quad could save $1,054,000 if its request is approved by the industrial development agency.
The agency is scheduled to review Quad's application at its April 21 board meeting. The meeting is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. and will be held through a teleconference.
The project would require a portion of Quad's roof to be heightened and other interior construction. Contractors on the project would include Munter Enterprises general contracting firm of Middle Grove, W.J. Morris Excavating of Wilton and Cleveland Bros. Landscaping of Corinth.
Besides the incentive package, Quad would need a building permit before it is allowed to start work.
Construction tentatively was scheduled to begin on June 1. The start date could be delayed because of lingering concerns about the coronavirus, Brobston said.
Many manufacturers around the country remain shut down or are operating at partial capacity as the United States battles to get the coronavirus under control. Many Quad plants remain in operation, however,
the company recently announced it is taking several steps to reduce spending
. Those steps included temporarily furloughing employees and suspending operations at several locations. Quad also announced temporary salary reductions for 300 company leaders, including a 50% cut for chief executive
Joel Quadracci
, a graduate of Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs.
"They wanted to get approvals in place so they could just hit go when the situation with the coronavirus improves," Brobston said.
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"The Industry that Vents Together Stays Together"
Responses to all Articles and Bo-Rants are greatly encouraged
and may be included in " BoSacks Readers Speak Out"
All news items and the various opinions expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily the opinion of, nor in agreement with the opinions of BoSacks. They are just interesting thoughts and other opinions that BoSacks thinks you should know about.
After all, as the Japanese proverb goes:
"If you believe everything you read, perhaps you better not read."
"Heard on the Web" Media Intelligence:
Courtesy of The Precision Media Group.
Print, Publishing and Media Consultants
193 Brookwood Drive, Charlottesville VA 22902
Contact - Robert M. Sacks 917-566-7437
BoSacks@aol.com
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