Thursday, February 25, 2010

Shaw Suburban Media to Outsource Printing, Affecting 31 People

Shaw Suburban Media, a division of Shaw Newspapers, and Paddock Publications announced today that Paddock will begin printing Shaw newspapers at its production facility in Schaumburg, Ill., reports NewsandTech.com.

Thirty-one employees are affected. Some will be interviewed for new positions, others will be laid off.

Paddock, which publishes the Daily Herald of Arlington Heights, will begin printing the Northwest Herald, currently published in Crystal Lake, the Daily Chronicle of DeKalb, the Kane County Chronicle, the Lake County Journal, the MidWeek and several other publications at its 160,000-square-foot Paddock Printing Center, beginning in late March. The transition is expected to be complete by mid-April, the publishers said.

"Outsourcing our production to Paddock will enable us to utilize state-of-the-art-printing technology to better serve our readers and advertisers," said John Rung, Suburban Media's chief operating officer. "We will have more color capacity and better reproduction. The move will also allow us to focus future capital investment on digital technology."

Paddock said it's agreed to interview the 25 full-time and six part-time Shaw production employees affected by the outsourcing for possible employment. Some may be reassigned to new roles within Shaw, while displaced employees will be offered a severance package and out-placement services.

Paddock's Schaumburg facility, anchored by two manroland presses, opened in late 2002. Shaw's Crystal Lake production center was built in 1985, and expanded in 1989 and 2003.

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