Quebecor scores yellow pages contract
MONTREAL—Quebecor World has inked a $270 million long-term contract to print yellow and white page directories for Yellow Pages Group, formerly Bell Actimedia. The contract calls for Quebecor to print 18 billion directory pages per year for more than 100 directories, or about 40% of the directory business in Canada. Printing will be done at the facilities in Bromont, Que., and Richmond Hill, Ont.

Metropolitan Fine Printers introduces Canstruction
VANCOUVER—Metropolitan Fine Printers is bringing Canstruction, an international community service project of the design and construction industries, to Vancouver. The project calls for teams from architectural, construction and design companies to buy several thousand dollars worth of canned food and construct sculptures out of the cans in early March. The sculptures will go on public display at the Vancouver harbour from March 2 to 8, then they will be dismantled and the food donated to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society. George Kallas, president, said he first saw the project done in New York city several years ago. This year, instead of the usual printed Christmas gift for his clients, he has decided to launch the Canstruction chapter in Vancouver. He already has 10 teams lined up, but hopes to increase that to 25 or 30 following the official project launch on January 16.

December 17, 2002
Scotia Securities to stop mailing annual reports
TORONTO—Scotia Securities is the first mutual fund manager in Canada to obtain permission from most securities commissions to send annual reports only to unitholders who request to receive them. The decision was handed down early in December and affects 2002 financial statements. Brian Murphy, deputy director of capital markets, told PrintCAN that if the ruling applies to Scotia Securities it will likely eventually apply to the other financial institutions that manage mutal funds, adding that he expects this to have "quite an impact on the printing industry." The company expects to save about $1 million a year by eliminating printing and mailing costs. Early in the new year, unitholders will receive their year-end account statement with a notice and a form advising them of the changes. Unitholders can request a copy of the annual report anytime, and statements can be accessed on Scotiabank's Web site.

Revenues rise 3% at Transcontinental
MONTREAL—Transcontinental printing revenues increased 3% to $348 million in the fourth quarter ended October 31. Acquisitions contributed $29 million and made up for the losses in revenues in the commercial group and Mexican activities. Printing revenues for the fiscal year also ended on October 31, fell slightly to $1.257 billion from $1.284 billion in 2001, but operating income rose to $145.6 million from $142.3 in 2001. Consolidated revenues remained stable at $1.8 billion, with a 5% increase in the fourth quarter from $472 million in 2001 to $496 million in 2002. Transcontinental added several printing companies to its roster during the past year, including O'Keefe Printing, Editorial Offset in Mexico, Coronet/Falke Printers, Imprimerie Canada and the printing assets of CanWest Global in the Atlantic provinces.

December 13, 2002
Communicorp CEO departs the company
TORONTO—Joining the growing list of departing CEO's is Communicorp executive and president Harvey Wortsman. The announcement was made effective on Monday. Chairman of the board Eugene Karadjian has agreed to fill in as president of the company, while Wortsman will continue to serve on its board of directors. It is uncertain whether Wortsman left on his own accord or if a replacement is being sought. Howard Hannick, chief financial officer, declined comment and calls placed to Karadjian were not returned. Wortsman joined the $15 million company in 1999 and became the corporation's first chairman and legal counsel. Prior to Communicorp, he was a senior partner in a Toronto corporate-law firm with 25-years in practicing. In other company news, two directors have resigned from the board—Jay Sonshine and Nitin Kaushal.

St. Joseph lines up to finance launch of new TV channel
CONCORD, Ont.—PrintCan has learned that St. Joseph is one of the potential suitors in line to finance the broadcast launch of a new local Toronto televion channel. According to an article that appeared in The Globe and Mail, St. Joseph has an option to buy a 10% interest in Calgary-based Craig Broadcast's Toronto One, a new $35 million over-the-air station that is accessible without cable. St. Joseph has branched into diversified media over the last two years, gaining controlling interest of the religious-themed digital television channel, Inner Peace, and purchasing publishing companies MultiVision and Key Media, which produces Toronto Life. The consumer magazine plans to co-produce a weekly show on Toronto One. Tony Gagliano, chairman and chief executive officer of St. Joseph, could not be reached by deadline.

December 10, 2002
Moore CEO steps down from post
MISSISSAUGA, Ont., & STAMFORD, Conn.—Moore has shuffled its senior management team after Robert Burton, chairman, president and CEO, announced his departure from the company at year-end. Burton was hired about two years ago to rebuild the company at a time when share price was down to about $4. Shares rose considerably over the two years and closed yesterday at $14. About a fifth of Moore's 15,000 staff members were let go under his management and expenses and costs were cut drastically. Burton will continue on as a senior advisor to the company, hanging on to his two million shares. Burton's titles will be divided up among three men: Alfred Eckert, CEO of GSC Partners, becomes chairman; Mark Angelson, Moore's non-executive chairman and director, fills the position of CEO; and Thomas Oliva, president of Moore's forms and labels and outsourcing divisions, moves to president and COO.

Quebecor wins two multi-million dollar contracts
MONTREAL—Quebecor World has been awarded two print contracts that, combined, are worth about $380 million. In a three-year, $150 million contract, the company has extended its previous partnership with Albertsons, a food and drug retailer worth about $38 billion. Printing has been expanded from 20% to include the majority of Albertsons weekly advertising inserts consisting of 40 million per week. Production will take place at Quebecor's facilities in California, Arizona, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Massachusetts and British Columbia. Quebecor has also inked a deal with publisher Simon & Schuster for the exclusive production of its book product formats. The multi-year contract is worth about $230 million.

December 06, 2002
OPIA Safety Group earns $700,000 rebate
MISSISSAUGA, Ont.—The OPIA-sponsored Printing Industry Safety Group is receiving a rebate of $700,000 from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) for its workplace health and safety performance in 2001. The ceremony will be held on December 17 at the Mississauga Convention Centre. In its first year of the program, the Safety Group consisted of 41 member firms that will each receive a portion of the rebate total. The OPIA says the group has been expanded to 50 members for 2002, which should produce a larger rebate next year. The Safety Group Program promotes health and safety in the workplace through mentoring and sharing of resources and best practices between member companies, the OPIA and the WSIB. Total rebates are distributed based on the success of the combined group in implementing safety initiatives in the workplace. The OPIA was ranked fifth out of 13 Safety Group recipients.

Up, up, and away
WASHINGTON—SMART Papers has launched a kite design contest where winners will see their work exhibited at the Smithsonian Art and Science Institution in the spring. It is open to all graphics professionals in Canada and the U.S., as well as graphic arts students. Forty finalists will be chosen to have their work displayed and the top 10 of those finalists, each with one guest, will receive free airfare to Washington and accommodations for the four-day Smithsonian Kite Festival and Cherry Blossom Festival, courtesy of SMART Papers, the lead sponsor of the event. All entries must be postmarked by February 3 and there is a nonrefundable entry fee of $20 for professionals, $10 for students. For complete details and contest rules, visit www.smartpapers.com/kite.

December 03, 2002
Unicom Graphics grows with two recent acquisitions
CALGARY—Commercial printer Unicom Graphics has added two print shops to its operation. The company purchased Windmill Printing in Calgary and The Printing Company in Banff, Alta. Both were small operations with less than 10 employees. The facilities were both shut down and sold with each company's accounts moving over to Unicom. Although he did not release exact figures of the purchase, President Gerry Parcells says each company will be paid out on the sales. Both company's were looking to sell and The Printing Company, in particular, he says, gives Unicom a stronger market share in the Banff area. John Van der Poel, founder of Windmill and now a senior sales executive under Unicom, says "I'm very happy about it. I've brought about $1 million worth of business with me and the way things are here, I should be able to add another half million to the existing sales." All of the employees at Windmill are now working for Unicom and two from The Printing Company continue to sell in Banff. Unicom reported sales of around $12 million last year.

Lyman Henderson awarded for educational contributions
PARAMUS, N.J.—Lyman Henderson was the recipient of NAPL's first Education Leadership award at the association's annual meeting. The award was created to honour industry leaders for their contributions to education initiatives. Henderson is the honourary chairman of Davis + Henderson and is a past president of the Canadian Litho Club and the CPIA. For more than 50 years, he has been involved in the industry as a writer, publishing several books including The Pricing Game and How to Make a Business Plan That Works; a speaker, lecturing the Graphic Communications Management course at Ryerson; and a seminar leader at several events and trade shows. Further to that, he is an industry consultant who collaborated with Graphic Monthly on its Henderson Index, a new feature, which was named after him, that tracks printing stock performance.