By: Jim Rosenberg The Buffalo News reports that it will begin printing The New York Times national edition in fall for distribution as far as Rochester and Toronto.
The deal follows approximately $950,000 in press upgrades at the News, mostly for additional color capacity. The Times will be printed on one of the plant's 5-year-old KBA Colora presses, the News on the other.
Three years ago, Montreal-based newspaper publisher and commercial printer Transcontinental Inc. signed a 10-year contract to print Times copies at its Interweb Toronto plant for distribution in the same area.
Whether the arrangement with the News will replace or to some extent supplement that with Transcontinental was not immediately disclosed. A Times spokeswoman said only that "at this point we are still analyzing and evaluating the markets that will be served." Calls to Transcontinental and the News were not returned Tuesday.
In 2006, Transcontinental President and CEO Luc Desjardins said the Times contract recognized his company's business model, in which new technology and a self-managed work force allow publishers to concentrate on content and take advantage of Transcontinental's production quality, color capacity, "deadline flexibility," and back-up capability through its network of print sites.
Last month, Transcontinental announced it arranged a five-year loan for $100 million (Canadian) from the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec -- which manages funds for public and private pension and insurance plans -- that would provide flexibility to pursue development projects in Transcontinental's North American print, media and marketing communications sectors.
Caisse Chief Operating Officer Normand Provost called Transcontinental "a company with diversified operations [with] long-term contracts with many customers and modern facilities, which are key attributes to ensure its growth."
The transaction was the most recent over the years between the Caisse and Transcontinental. Since Jan 1, besides the Caisse loan, Transcontinental renewed credit facilities of $C125 million with its bank syndicate, obtained a loan of $C100 million in the form of unsecured debentures underwritten by the Solidarity Fund QFL, and extended a $C300 million securitization program for an additional year.
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