RICHMOND, BC, Feb. 25, 2013 /CNW/ - Catalyst Paper (TSX:CYT) is taking a
major step forward in its Latin American market development strategy
with the launch of Marathon Lite - a high-performing newsprint grade
with an industry-leading basis weight of only 40 grams per square metre
(gsm).
Catalyst has long-standing expertise in lower-basis weight production
across a wide range of paper grades. And it is the only company to date
to have mastered the delicate balance required to offer newsprint of
this lightness while still meeting pressroom performance and aesthetic
requirements.
Growing Catalyst's long-standing presence in Latin America is a focus of
its emerging markets strategy and leverages freight-logical proximity
to serve this market from its Pacific coast manufacturing facilities.
"Latin America is a market of 500 million people which makes it very
attractive. We have long-standing relationships with major publishers
in the region and the demand for reliable supply of high quality papers
is trending up," said Catalyst president and CEO Kevin J. Clarke who
will be meeting with several key customers in the region in April,
including publishers in Peru and Colombia.
With a growing middle class and less high-speed Internet penetration
than Canada and the U.S., Central and South American newspapers are
still the most popular vehicle for information. Growth in middle-class
disposable income also means advertisers want space in those popular
papers.
"This reinforces our focus on innovation in every part of our business
including in newsprint, a product that we've been manufacturing for 100
years," said Clarke, "while we continue to march up the value curve
offering the broadest range of specialty paper products available from
a single supplier in Western North America."
In launching Marathon Lite, Catalyst will benefit from established
market acceptance of its products in the region. Besides Peru, readers
in El Salvador, Panamá, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Venezuela
already hold British Columbia-made paper in their hands every day.
Says Hugo Holmann, owner of the Nicaraguan publisher La Prensa: "We are
pleased that our readers and advertisers have noticed a tremendous
improvement in the printing quality of our newspaper since we changed
to Catalyst. We also see a great opportunity of improvement with the
40-gsm sheet. This brings more efficiency to our distribution chain all
the way to the very end, allowing our street vendors to carry less
weight, without affecting our production efficiency."
Lighter basis weight papers use less fibre to make the same printable
area. Not only is Marathon Lite more thrifty in its fibre use, it's
made with more than 85 per cent renewable energy and certified to
Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) standards.
Catalyst Paper manufactures diverse specialty mechanical printing
papers, newsprint and pulp. Its customers include retailers, publishers
and commercial printers in North America, Latin America, the Pacific
Rim and Europe. With three mills, located in British Columbia, Catalyst
has a combined annual production capacity of 1.5 million tonnes. The
company is headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada and is
ranked by Corporate Knights magazine as one of the 50 Best Corporate
Citizens in Canada.
SOURCE: Catalyst Paper Corporation
