We used to have over a half dozen paper mills in the area - one very large, and rail-served. I think we're down to two now, neither with rail service.
We also had a paper machine manufacturer (Bagley & Sewell, later Black Clawson) which is also long gone. It, too, was rail-served.
Even NYAB no longer has rail service...
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
tree68Even NYAB no longer has rail service...
Irony at it's best.
Norm
Quad's cost efficiencies come partly from centralized location as stated above, but also from having multiple high-capacity double-web presses, as stated above. The higher kilowatt/hour rate to run those presses vs. somewhere in the Pacific Northwest is no doubt offest by sheer volume.
Their customer file submission and prepress handling is done via Kodak InSite the same as our plant and just about any other medium to large size web press outfit. And I'm quite certain Quad manages their color using GraCOL/SWOP standards the same as our plant and everyone else at this level in the industry.
But what separates one printer's quality from another are things like line screen, paper, dot gain or slur, GCR (gray component replacement) levels, shadow detail and accuracy of colors within those shadows, and proper application of color management.
It's perfectly feasible for smaller web-fed plants elsewhere in the country to match or exceed Quad's quality, and for even smaller sheet-fed plants to match or exceed our quality. Nobody owns a patent on color. In fact, we've worked in tandem with other plants elsewhere in the country, and through application of common color management were able to produce identical work at both plants when it was logistically advantageous. Same way that some large daily and weekly publications are printed at multiple plants across the country for prompt and cost-effective distribution, while maintaining common quality.
The question comes down to whether or not page count, run length (number of copies), proximity to mailing and bulk-ship lanes, and other factors would allow smaller plants to meet or beat Quad's price. The answer if often...not.
Wisconsin also has or had (haven't lived there in a while) a large paper producing region in the upper Winnebago Lake area in and around Appleton, WI. One of the largest firms is Texas based Kimberly-Clark maker of I believe the disposal diapers "Huggies" brand. Some of the older posters here might be familiar with the brand......OK, just kidding there....lol. Anyways, I think they also produce newsprint up there but not sure where they ship it. WC and now CN has the lions share of the traffic as it's rails go right through the paper producing area as well as some of the Northern Wisconsin forests where they get the trees for pulp.
Lots of folks that get Engineering Degrees at UW Madison or UW Milwaukee end up in the paper plants up there. Not sure why they need engineering degrees but I am not an expert in paper production either.
Congressman Sensenbrenner (R-WI) has or had a huge stock ownership in Kimberly-Clark and I am also not sure how he got that or if he is one of the heirs of the founding family. Kimberly-Clark was the firm behind the launching of Midwest Express Airlines before that firm was merged away. They had so many of their private jets logging miles between Wisconsin and Texas they decided to start their own airline using their employees as base traffic.
Modeling the "Fargo Area Rapid Transit" in O scale 3 rail.
As an aside, while the demand for paper for newsprint, magazines, or even catalogs is down, the demand for paper products for packaging is up, way way up.
Think on-line ordering outfits like Wayfair and others for example.
ChessieCat123 What am I going to cover up with when my Nieces and Nephews come bursting into the bathroom while I am on the throne?
What am I going to cover up with when my Nieces and Nephews come bursting into the bathroom while I am on the throne?
Make sure you get one of those really big tablets...
Try locking the door.
It may be wishful thinking, but I think print will survive, at least for essential publications. Reading on the tube simply ain't restful, starting with the eyestrain. Then there are the ads popping up, flashing or asking us to wait -- moles that constantly have to be whacked.
It's more like watching TV than reading.
Of course, the issue will be resolved by the preferences of the reading public -- and by money, the fire to which the feet of every executive in the media biz is held. So that, the resolution for good or ill will depend on the seriousness, or lack thereof, of the public, as is proper in our free-market economy.
Whether the preferences of the public serve the future of the country remains to be seen. It may well turn out fine in any case. A country whose people have the habit of freedom can get away with a lot of unseriousness, as we have seen over the years.
Firelock76 As an aside, while the demand for paper for newsprint, magazines, or even catalogs is down, the demand for paper products for packaging is up, way way up. Think on-line ordering outfits like Wayfair and others for example.
Possibly, the increased need for paper products to packaged retail products is due to shoplifting thefts in retail stores? Plastic 'bubbles' and large paper packages are thought to prevent/or possibly slow down the thieves in stores(?) Just my thought.
Coal's (EPA's ) next victim
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_29129198/union-pacific-close-burnham-repair-yard-denver
"The well-documented decline in the coal carloadings in Colorado — a result of natural gas prices and regulatory pressure — has diminished the need for locomotive repairs and overhauls in the Denver area," Calli B. Hite, a Union Pacific spokeswoman, said in an e-mail to The Denver Post.
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