Superior Runs New Hibbing Plant 24/6

By: Jim Rosenberg Superior Publishing Co. commissioned the press at its new plant in Hibbing, Minn., this winter, and by late February had moved all its production there. By early March, customers were noticing.

In typical new-plant/press fashion, the expected benefits of increased page and color capacity were accompanied by start-up problems that shrunk deadlines and stretched out delivery times.

Bill Hanna, editor at the Mesabi Daily News, Virginia, Minn., devoted considerable space to explaining the delays' reasons to his readers and to deflecting criticism from blameless circulation personnel.

Almost two years ago, MCG Capital Corp., sold some regional newspapers and shoppers to Knight Ridder and planned to consolidate production of the balance of its Superior Publishing unit's Minnesota and northern Wisconsin titles (E&P Online, May 27, 2004).

Superior CEO Charles R. Johnson said it would erect a multimillion-dollar plant in Hibbing that could be operated more efficiently than three separate plants "all within 45 minutes of each other." Knight Ridder's Duluth News Tribune recently put the price tag at $4 million to $5 million.

"We turned a chopstick factory into a printing plant," Johnson said last week, adding that the original plan for the building "didn't quite pan out."

As for his own company's use of the structure, he told E&P that "they just started up," and are still in "the dip" in efficiency and productivity that so often affect the early part of a transition to a new press or other equipment or system. Pressroom difficulties translated into delivery problems only on a few days, he said last week, adding, "We're coming out of it."

Though no publication dates were missed, Johnson acknowledged that some deliveries ran four to six hours late, but only to the most distant subscribers, and the Mesabi Daily News has some three- to four-hour delivery routes. Johnson also said he was pleased to see how seriously the paper, now printed in Hibbing, "took the concerns and complaints of customers."

But beyond working out any start-up kinks, the press installed in the new plant was used equipment, purchased as is. It is being gradually rebuilt as malfunctions are repaired and parts replaced. "Every time we fix something, we get a little better," said Johnson.

The press consists of 14 singlewide units built by Dauphin Graphic Machines, one four-high Goss C-150 and two folders. Dating from the Goss Commercial Products business of Rockwell International's Graphic Systems Div., the 30,000-cph C-150 was designed for printing inserts, supplements, flyers, comics, shoppers and booklet signatures.

With the plant now operated 24 hours a day, six days a week by crews that each serves a three 12-hour shift, Johnson continued, "we're really breaking in, or breaking, this press."

The new plant consolidates work formerly handled at three Minnesota sites. The press at the Grand Rapids Herald-Review was shut down about a year ago, when printing of the 8,000-circulation twice-weekly was moved to the Goss Urbanite in Virginia that was then still printing the 9,611-circulation (11,181 Sunday) Mesabi Daily News. Hibbing's 4,891-circulation evening paper, The Daily Tribune, already had been printed in Virginia for some time, although Superior still printed shopper on its old Harris press in Hibbing until the new plant there was ready to run.

The shoppers were the first to be moved onto the new press, during its initial shakedown. The company's other work moved to the new Hibbing plant about four weeks ago. By March, everything was coming out of the one plant.

"We had the Urbanite available as a back-up," Johnson recalled. "We used it a couple of times." A crew began removing that press a few days ago.

Having found mailroom functions "underappreciated" in the transition to a new plant, Johnson said he "should have spent a little more time" studying mailroom issues. "That's one area we're looking at very hard now."

One aim of the new plant was increased capacity for contract work. But "right now," said Johnson, "we're not in a position to add more commercial printing to what we already have." He said he expects to be able to take on more outside jobs as increasing efficiency in the new plant frees up more press time.

In the meantime, he added, ensuring service to subscribers will take priority.

The next stop for Superior Publishing is at Nexpo, said Johnson, where "we're going to be buying our computer-to-plate for the plant" after attending PAGE co-op's CTP Symposium, Friday, March 31.