Sun Journal Distribution Facility 2002

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Distribution Facility

Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, January 15, 2003

Advertising Supplement

CONGRATULATIONS CONGRATULATIONS of the on thenew new SUN JOURNAL JOURNAL SUN DISTRIBUTION FACILITY FACILITY DISTRIBUTION

Our sincere thanks for the opportunity to help the Sun Journal make its new Distribution Facility a reality....

410 Summer Street Auburn, Maine 04210 p: (207) 784-5471 f: (207) 777-5742

...and its future a certainty Marcel Chasse, Dick Albert and Ron Guerin

PARENT INSURANCE AGENCY 87 Essex Street (off Lisbon Street) Lewiston

SITE DESIGN AND PERMITTING

784-5181 • 782-0900

4 Walpole Park South • Walpole, MA 02081 1-508-850-7945 508-850-7951

NEWSTEC offers products and services for the newspaper industry, focusing on remanufactured inserters and state-of-the-art inserter PC control software.

Our mission at NEWSTEC is simple: to provide our newspaper customers with innovative products and services that meet or exceed the most demanding production requirements.

Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2003

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Distribution Facility

Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, January 15, 2003

Years of planning precede groundbreaking

By DENISE SCAMMON / Staff Writer

S

ignificant and exciting changes have taken place at the Sun Journal since the public announcement in October 2000 that plans were in place for a multi-million dollar expansion at the Lewiston facility.

The $5.3 million expansion project of the Sun Journal building included the construction of a 14,600 square-foot packaging and distribution center.

Four years of planning took place before that public announcement. “After selecting Dario Designs Inc. of Framingham, Mass., as the architect, engineer and consultant for our project, the Sun Journal management sat down with Dario DiMare to formally start the project around ’97,” began Jim Costello, Jr., vice president of operations.

Dario Designs is the only architectural firm in the world that specializes strictly in newspaper facilities.

With a list of clients encircling the globe, including a recent $300 million color conversion project for The Wall Street Journal, DiMare said he found the Sun Journal’s history quite fascinating.

“There’s really a much more interesting story to be told about the Costello family than there is about a brick building. They operate their business as a cohesive, cooperative group. Some families operate their businesses in a cut-throat sort of way, with everyone stepping on each other in their reach for the top spot,”

he explained. “Not so with the Costellos. I told Jim Costello Sr. several times that he should be very proud of his family. It was a real delight to work with a family with such high integrity, and one that cooperates so well internally.”

This planning phase measured the degree of importance of each operational need and amount of space needed. The need for a larger distribution facility was given top priority. “What became the driving force behind the project were the needs of our advertisers,” noted Costello. “Meeting their needs meant purchasing new inserting equipment with specialized control software that could target zone inserts right down to specific carrier routes.”

The purchase of new equipment could not take place until that new equipment could be housed within the facility. “There just wasn’t any more space in the “post press” areas to adequately accommodate the new equipment and the skids of inserts required for advertising products,” he continued.

“We needed new equipment to target specific geographic areas for our advertisers and we did not have the space,” agreed Ed Snook, Sun Journal treasurer.

“Through the years the old distribution center had become cramped. It was very difficult to fit everything in there.”

Also needed were loading docks for unloading paper and inserts from delivery trucks. “We were loading and unloading the trucks directly on Middle Street in

H. E. CALLAHAN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY would like to congratulate the Sun Journal on the completion of your Distribution Facility.

We wish you much success and best wishes in all of your future endeavors.

P.O. Box 677, Auburn, Maine 04212-0677

Distribution Facility

Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, January 15, 2003

7

“We decided it was worth it to spend the extra money on masonry so our new facility would have the look and feel of a downtown building.” — Ed Snook Continued from page 2

The early stages of work at the new facility. every type of weather. We did not have a covered area for this part of the operation,” explained Costello.

The company did not have enough storage space to store all the newsprint on site, which meant the Sun Journal had to use a second location. “This was terribly inefficient,” Costello added. “Even more troublesome than the inefficiency was the expense associated with handling the product three times. Handling a product that many times lends itself to damage, which adds up to significant dollar amounts.”

Once Dario Designs was hired, research was conducted into whether or not the Sun Journal could meet these needs by expanding at its present downtown Lewiston location or would it be more feasible to move to a site outside the downtown area.

“There were pros and cons to each scenario,” said Snook. “ A greenfield site was considered out of the downtown area that would allow for a more economical building, both in construction costs and in uninterrupted daily operations.” On the other hand, if the Sun Journal were to stay at its downtown location, it would

continued on page 7

need to make an investment in real estate in order to expand.

If the Sun Journal were to move to a new location, hundreds of employees would be going too, employees who contribute to the vitality of the downtown area.

Ultimately, the Sun Journal chose to stay in its present Park Street location.

“The city of Lewiston stepped up to the plate with some creative incentives. They offered financial help in the demolition of the newly purchased buildings, the relocation of tenants, TIF or tax increment financing, and discontinuing Middle Street,” said Snook.

“Temporary parking during the construction phase was extremely important, too.”

Although the Sun Journal wanted to remain in its downtown location, feasibility studies proved a greenfield site was the less expensive choice.

“Then, Lewiston offered to discontinue Middle Street, which allowed us to build on the roadbed,” said DiMare. “It was just one of the incentives from the city that reinforced their dedication to Lewiston’s revitalization efforts. I personally think it was very noble and admirable of the Costello family to consider the future of the downtown and not just cost.”

It was important to the Sun Journal to continue its support of downtown Lewiston’s revitalization efforts.

“We went around and around on whether or not to stay downtown. It is less expensive to build at a greenfield site. Costs would have simply consisted of earthwork and putting up a building, and land is very reasonable on the outskirts of town when compared to downtown real estate,” said Costello. “But, because of the city’s help, and our commitment to the revitalization of the downtown area, we chose to stay downtown.”

The next phase began in June 2001 with the purchase and demolition of several vacant buildings and tenements within the block bordered by Middle, Ash, Bates and Pine streets. Displaced residents in the affected tenements were offered financial assistance with their relocation.

“For a busy downtown location, the demolition went well. A big factor during any demolition is the ‘unknown’ factor . . . you never know An inside look at the Elks building. what you’re going to find once you start digging,” Costello noted. “For example, we dug up some bones which halted the digging until it was determined they were old horse bones. We also encountered foundation walls that were two feet thick and needed to be removed. These amounted to unanticipated costs.”

Dario Designs used masonry in the project to match the look of other buildings in the downtown area. “Our goal was to blend what is basically a commercial warehouse into a nice downtown environment —mostly masonry and stone. Dario Designs was very creative,” said Costello. “I think our new facility fits in very well with its surroundings.”

“We decided it was worth it to spend the extra money on masonry so our new facility would have the look and feel of a downtown building,” added Snook. “We were very sensitive to the fact that this is a commercial building in a downtown location.”

“They cared enough to choose a more expensive facade. They did not want the new facility to look like a

The former Elks building had to be razed in order for the project to work.

phases of the project include a new pressroom, a multifloor office building, more paper storage and a commercial printing facility as the need arises.

“The next phase we are committed to is office space.

Our office building at 104 Park Street is an old, inefficient building which doesn’t lend itself well to proper material flow. The space is broken up over three floors,” commented Costello. “We’ve looked at our space requirements and have factored that information into the new office building design.”

The exact location of the new office building within the Sun Journal property is still being discussed.

Whatever the location, one thing is for sure, “We have a better idea of what happens during construction and will more closely scrutinize our future construction plans. We will look to keep operations functioning smoothly, with as little disruption as possible,” said Costello.

The new facility has been designed so that the paper can remain in the downtown area even as they experience future growth. “All future construction phases have been planned for as little disruption to the paper’s operations as possible,” DiMare said. “They’ll be able to work off the old press while bringing in the new one.

They have planned for growth.”

‘Put your money where your mouth is’ is a sentiment often expressed when a proponent of a project takes a stand. “We have been advocating the downtown revitalization efforts of Lewiston / Auburn and felt the extra money spent on the expansion project was worth it,” Costello concluded.

metal warehouse.” DiMare added, “The final outcome, a manufacturing facility to be proud of, shows the Costellos dedication to quality and to the town.”

The building plan called for an ‘open view’ in the new structure built on the former Middle Street.

“Two windows at opposite ends of the building allow passersby to look from one end of the building to the Photos by Sun Journal staff photographers other side, directly down what was once Middle Street.

The windows are aligned with a major corridor in the building so there will always be a view down the corridor, much as there had been a view down Middle Street. This is just another example of the Costellos’ conscientiousness towards the effect of the new facility on its downtown surroundings,” noted DiMare.

As for the new equipment, “There were a few minor ‘hiccups’ during equipment installation in the new facility,” Costello said, “but Quipp Systems, Inc. designs, nothing insurmountable. manufactures and installs material ‘News’ is basically a new handling equipment for the newspaper product every day, which industry. Quipp's equipment is used in the must be manufactured in post press operations of a newspaper Founded in 1906, we are an a time-sensitive manner. publisher's plant. The company's independently owned company who During construction there equipment facilitates the automated were lots of possibilities for services newspapers throughout movement of newspapers from their disruption to our product. the United States that today has printing press to delivery trucks. Quipp's All the departments worked a general management team computerized control systems provide the together and coordinated monitoring capabilities required by second to none. operations while the equippublishers to achieve efficient and ment was being moved and accurate distribution of their product. installed,” said Costello.

We have responded to many Quipp markets its product both “Our goal was for the transitechnological changes of the past, domestically and internationally. tion to be as seamless as posand will continue to strengthen our sible and not apparent to our commitment and dedication to the customers.” newspaper industry of the future.

The Master Plan has been broken down into five phas9 Railroad Ave. es that may take place over Millbury, MA 01527-4199 the next 15 to 20 years. The 1 (800) 347-7377 new distribution facility 4800 NW 157th Street • Miami, FL 33014-3464 was merely phase one.

PO Box 348, Millbury, MA 01527-0348 Other foreseeable needs FAX 1 (508) 865-0811 Fax: (305) 623-0980 to be constructed in future

QUIPP SYSTEMS, INC. (305) 623-8700

6

Distribution Facility

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“We now have the proper space to do the job without getting in each other’s way.” — Bob McCarthy Continued from previous page personalize and customize printed materials for our advertising clients.” Baillargeon said, “This adds value to the commercial printing services we offer.”

You can imagine the great changes that took place simply by moving from a 4,000 square foot area to a 14,600 square foot area. Improvements for employees include better lighting, air conditioning and a new lunchroom. A portion of the old building was even nicknamed “the dungeon’ by employees. Dating back several decades, it was a poorly lit, hot, small area, cramped with bindery equipment.

“We now have the proper space to do the job without getting in each other’s way,” McCarthy said. “On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being excellent, I’d say we’ve reached a 6 or 7 in terms of satisfaction with the point we are at in the project. The equipment is not 100 per cent integrated; the process needs some fine-tuning.

Prior to completion, spools of electrical wire are stacked at one end of the facility; in back, the inserter machine.

Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, January 15, 2003

Installation of the new sign facing Ash Street.

My estimate is that we will reach 9 or 10 by the first of the year.”

Climbing the satisfaction scale has reached the mailroom. In the old mailroom, only one vehicle could be loaded for each inserter line.

That resulted in the inserter being shut down for each change of vehicle. “We now have two truck loading positions for each insert line,” Baillargeon added.

“Another improvement for the employees is that the garage doors are no longer continuously opened and closed. In the old building, we loaded the trucks inside the building and they were always coming and going. In the winter, that meant we froze when the doors opened.”

Comparing the old equipment to the new equipment revealed several key facts. “The new inserter is ‘straight line’ and will reject missed or doubled inserts. The old system used a round, or carousel type, inserter, and papers had to be repaired manually,” Baillargeon continued. “We now have pallet rack storage for 150+ skids. Before, the skids had to be stacked one on top of the other. This is much safer and more efficient.”

Safety is a big issue in the workplace, maybe more

Distribution Facility

Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, January 15, 2003

Practicing what is preached

Sun Journal promotes downtown revitalization and does just that with expansion.

By DENISE SCAMMON / Staff writer

so when machinery is involved. “We have improved the safety of our operations. For example, we now use ‘Pallet Pals’ that the skids sit on. As the skid is emptied, it rises which eliminates a lot of bending. Soon to be installed are the hopper loaders which will feed inserts into the machine instead of being hand-fed.”

McCarthy said, “This will reduce the possibility of repetitive injuries.”

McCarthy had one final note on the subject of improvements. “In the early stages, some workers expressed concern that the lighting in the new facility would be too bright. After a few weeks of working under the new lights, those workers come out of our old locations and wondered ‘How did we ever work in that dim light before?’”

Congratulations!

“It is very important to the city of Lewiston to attract and retain businesses, such as the Sun Journal, which bring wealth to the community,” began Greg Mitchell, Lewiston Development Director. “The Sun Journal strengthens our economic base. The more businesses we have in our community like this, the better.”

That first statement by Mitchell was key to the importance of keeping the Sun Journal in the downtown area.

“The Sun Journal has been invaluable to our community through the employment it offers, the taxes it pays, its own identity, and the identity it gives our downtown.” Mitchell then went on to explain some of the discussions the city of Lewiston had with the Sun Journal during the planning phase and what incentives it offered the paper to stay downtown.

Early discussions centered on whether the Sun Journal could accomplish its goals in its present downtown location or whether those goals would be more easily reached in a greenfield site (construction of an entirely new facility) outside of Lewiston. “The Sun Journal operates its business from the southeast corner of its distribution area of Androscoggin, Franklin, and Oxford counties.

We understood their need to consolidate operations in a modern facility.” Mitch-

The Sun Journal chose to construct an addition to its Lewiston location rather than build an entirely new facility at a “greenfield” site. ell noted, “The city of Lewiston did not want to see the Sun Journal go for many reasons, one of them being employment opportunities for this community.”

As an incentive, the city of Lewiston offered to return one fifth of the Sun Journal’s annual property taxes for ten years. “It is important to note that this return was on real estate taxes for the facility and land and did not cover taxes on equipment which are taxed separately and worth upwards of one million dollars,” Mitchell said. “We hoped the

US Glass & Aluminum, Inc. 

tax incentive would make a difference in the Sun Journal’s decision to stay or leave. With an estimated $6 million in Lewiston property, the Sun Journal pays about $173,000 in taxes to the city each year.”

Lewiston offered to be as creative as possible to help offset the higher cost of the Sun Journal staying downtown.

“The Sun Journal needed land before any expansion could take place at its downtown facility, which meant they would have to spend $1 million on

We are proud to have been a part of this project!

Congratulations On The Completion of Your

Distribution Center

Electrical Contractors • Design Build • Industrial • Commercial • Residential 1033 Sabattus Street, Lewiston, ME 04240 • 783-6512 • www.debloiselectric.com

Best Wishes!

Glad to have been a part of it.

Jenkins completed the textured finishes above the exterior brick.

16 Makarlyn St., P.O. Box 1305 Auburn, Maine 04210

Jenkins, Inc.

(207) 783-2777

FAX (207) 783-4173

GLASS & ALUMINUM CONTRACTORS

neighboring property. They wanted the land, not the development on the land with the added cost of demolition,” said Mitchell. “We paid an agreed upon amount of $125,700 towards the demolition, which was 80 per cent of the demolition cost.”

The city of Lewiston discontinued Middle Street allowing abutting landowners to acquire the former street for land use. “It’s a fairly routine procedure for a city to discontinue a street. After the Sun Journal purchased neighboring property, they had acquired a lot of frontage on Middle Street. The other abutters included the post office and attorney Paul Cote,” stated Mitchell.

It has been satisfying and gratifying for Mitchell as early decisions come to fruition. As businesses have invested millions of dollars in the Lewiston downtown area, the city has used public investments for new parking structures, lighting, landscaping, benches, and other amenities. “Lewiston has the makings of an attractive downtown with a stable business base,” said Mitchell. “The Sun Journal expansion visually fits quite well in the downtown and is a great example for other business which are considering downtown investment.”

Looking at a financial analysis, weighing pros and cons, expenses versus revenue, Lewiston saw that the Sun Journal creates a tremendous amount of wealth for the community.

Congratulations on your new Distribution Facility.

On your new distribution facility

Here’s to your continued success!

3

P.O. Box 2323 • Lewiston, ME

(207) 784-8484

• 14 years residential & commercial masonry services • Experienced 20 man crew on average • Timely completion of quality work • Continuously meets or exceeds expectation of clients and general contractors Phone: 207-933-2171 Fax: 207-933-9399 Email: hodsdon@ctel.net

53 Turner Drive North Monmouth, Maine 04265

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Distribution Facility

Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, January 15, 2003

Distribution Facility

An inside look at the Sun Journal distribution facility Key people had opportunity for input

By DENISE SCAMMON / Staff Writer

Above, two employees shuffle bundles of inserts and stack them on pallets prior to insertion of the “Sunday package.”

Photos by Sun Journal staff photographers.

When the Sun Journal decided to embark on a major renovation, there were two people who had to be involved in the planning and installation — Bob McCarthy, the post press facilities manager, and Dick Baillargeon, the packaging and distribution manager.

“We were given the opportunity to offer input in the layout of the building, equipment and software Bob McCarthy, post-press selections,” said Baillargeon. With more than 60 facilities manager combined years of experience between them, they were essential to the equipment selection process, traveling to Germany, Denmark, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Colorado to look at postpress-related equipment, software and software training.

Installation of the inserting equipment and other new equipment is continuing in phases. “The new plan, using a Ferag Gripper Delivery System, allows for papers in the gripper conveyor to go straight from the press folder to the packaging area.

Papers travel through the insert storage area to both the new and old inserters; and to the new stackers,” said McCarthy. Although this route presently requires extra conveyor length to move from point A to point B, future plans for nearby presses will call for the dismantling and restructuring of the conveyor belts to move copies to the mailroom without interfering with the insert path.

The Ferag on-line system, when completed, will streamline jobs that were once accomplished manually by feeding papers directly from the gripper conveyor into the inserter. “These are the types of jobs that, when done manually, carry with them the risk of repetitive injuries. The papers now move through the inserter and drop off the conveyor into a stacker, where they are tied into bundles, without any human

Best Wishes to You and Your Distribution Facility

“30 years of providing plumbing and heating services to the people and businesses of Maine”

Peoples Heritage is proud to have worked with the Sun Journal in strenghtening our community.

HIGH TECH FIRE PROTECTION P. O. Box 1511 • Auburn, ME 04211-1511

We Install and Maintain Automatic Fire Sprinklers

Ranor Inc. would like to congratulate everyone at the Sun Journal on the addition of their new facility.

24 Hour Service

MAINE’S LEADER IN PROVIDING STATEWIDE SERVICE FOR COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL & INSTITUTIONAL BUILDINGS

1-800-448-ROOF

784-4551 • Fax: 784-7165

intervention,” McCarthy noted.

“Staff who once performed these tasks were reassigned. So far, all job changes have been handled through attrition,” added Baillargeon. The old inserter, a Heidelberg 1372, was moved to the new facility and is still in use; it was upgraded with NEWSCOM software. “NEWSCOM is inserter management controller software with controls for other post press components, including stackers, ink jet labelers, bottom wraps, and selective inserting,” said Baillargeon. “It tracks misses, rejects doubles, and allows us to get as close as possible to what the advertiser wants.”

Other software used in the new facility is from BURT Technologies for packaging and distribution. “This planning software is used to process inserts according to distribution zones and carrier Dick Baillargeon, packaging and routes. We can track work in progdistribution manager ress, finished products, and know what’s in the racks. This software works with our new Newstec SLS1000 12:2 machine, which is a remanufactured inserter,” explained McCarthy. “The SLS-1000 uses a new gripper conveyor system to deliver papers to the stacker, while the old system used a regular conveyor belt.”

Supervisor John Arsenault, left, inspects the inserting the machine during one of the first Future plans include the installation of a recently purchased Domdays it went on line to make sure it was working properly. ino ink jet system. “Domino is an industrial ink jet printer used in packaging and labeling systems. This system will allow us to greatly Continued on next page

Wishing you continued success in your new Distribution Facility.

Tel. 998-2551 (Poland, ME)

htfp@prodigy.net Gary R. Smith, Daniel N. Smith (Owners)

Thanks for letting us be a part of your new location.

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5

Black Magenta Yellow Cyan

4

Distribution Facility

Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, January 15, 2003

Distribution Facility

An inside look at the Sun Journal distribution facility Key people had opportunity for input

By DENISE SCAMMON / Staff Writer

Above, two employees shuffle bundles of inserts and stack them on pallets prior to insertion of the “Sunday package.”

Photos by Sun Journal staff photographers.

When the Sun Journal decided to embark on a major renovation, there were two people who had to be involved in the planning and installation — Bob McCarthy, the post press facilities manager, and Dick Baillargeon, the packaging and distribution manager.

“We were given the opportunity to offer input in the layout of the building, equipment and software Bob McCarthy, post-press selections,” said Baillargeon. With more than 60 facilities manager combined years of experience between them, they were essential to the equipment selection process, traveling to Germany, Denmark, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Colorado to look at postpress-related equipment, software and software training.

Installation of the inserting equipment and other new equipment is continuing in phases. “The new plan, using a Ferag Gripper Delivery System, allows for papers in the gripper conveyor to go straight from the press folder to the packaging area.

Papers travel through the insert storage area to both the new and old inserters; and to the new stackers,” said McCarthy. Although this route presently requires extra conveyor length to move from point A to point B, future plans for nearby presses will call for the dismantling and restructuring of the conveyor belts to move copies to the mailroom without interfering with the insert path.

The Ferag on-line system, when completed, will streamline jobs that were once accomplished manually by feeding papers directly from the gripper conveyor into the inserter. “These are the types of jobs that, when done manually, carry with them the risk of repetitive injuries. The papers now move through the inserter and drop off the conveyor into a stacker, where they are tied into bundles, without any human

Best Wishes to You and Your Distribution Facility

“30 years of providing plumbing and heating services to the people and businesses of Maine”

Peoples Heritage is proud to have worked with the Sun Journal in strenghtening our community.

HIGH TECH FIRE PROTECTION P. O. Box 1511 • Auburn, ME 04211-1511

We Install and Maintain Automatic Fire Sprinklers

Ranor Inc. would like to congratulate everyone at the Sun Journal on the addition of their new facility.

24 Hour Service

MAINE’S LEADER IN PROVIDING STATEWIDE SERVICE FOR COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL & INSTITUTIONAL BUILDINGS

1-800-448-ROOF

784-4551 • Fax: 784-7165

intervention,” McCarthy noted.

“Staff who once performed these tasks were reassigned. So far, all job changes have been handled through attrition,” added Baillargeon. The old inserter, a Heidelberg 1372, was moved to the new facility and is still in use; it was upgraded with NEWSCOM software. “NEWSCOM is inserter management controller software with controls for other post press components, including stackers, ink jet labelers, bottom wraps, and selective inserting,” said Baillargeon. “It tracks misses, rejects doubles, and allows us to get as close as possible to what the advertiser wants.”

Other software used in the new facility is from BURT Technologies for packaging and distribution. “This planning software is used to process inserts according to distribution zones and carrier Dick Baillargeon, packaging and routes. We can track work in progdistribution manager ress, finished products, and know what’s in the racks. This software works with our new Newstec SLS1000 12:2 machine, which is a remanufactured inserter,” explained McCarthy. “The SLS-1000 uses a new gripper conveyor system to deliver papers to the stacker, while the old system used a regular conveyor belt.”

Supervisor John Arsenault, left, inspects the inserting the machine during one of the first Future plans include the installation of a recently purchased Domdays it went on line to make sure it was working properly. ino ink jet system. “Domino is an industrial ink jet printer used in packaging and labeling systems. This system will allow us to greatly Continued on next page

Wishing you continued success in your new Distribution Facility.

Tel. 998-2551 (Poland, ME)

htfp@prodigy.net Gary R. Smith, Daniel N. Smith (Owners)

Thanks for letting us be a part of your new location.

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�����������������������

5

6

Distribution Facility

Black Magenta Yellow Cyan

“We now have the proper space to do the job without getting in each other’s way.” — Bob McCarthy Continued from previous page personalize and customize printed materials for our advertising clients.” Baillargeon said, “This adds value to the commercial printing services we offer.”

You can imagine the great changes that took place simply by moving from a 4,000 square foot area to a 14,600 square foot area. Improvements for employees include better lighting, air conditioning and a new lunchroom. A portion of the old building was even nicknamed “the dungeon’ by employees. Dating back several decades, it was a poorly lit, hot, small area, cramped with bindery equipment.

“We now have the proper space to do the job without getting in each other’s way,” McCarthy said. “On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being excellent, I’d say we’ve reached a 6 or 7 in terms of satisfaction with the point we are at in the project. The equipment is not 100 per cent integrated; the process needs some fine-tuning.

Prior to completion, spools of electrical wire are stacked at one end of the facility; in back, the inserter machine.

Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, January 15, 2003

Installation of the new sign facing Ash Street.

My estimate is that we will reach 9 or 10 by the first of the year.”

Climbing the satisfaction scale has reached the mailroom. In the old mailroom, only one vehicle could be loaded for each inserter line.

That resulted in the inserter being shut down for each change of vehicle. “We now have two truck loading positions for each insert line,” Baillargeon added.

“Another improvement for the employees is that the garage doors are no longer continuously opened and closed. In the old building, we loaded the trucks inside the building and they were always coming and going. In the winter, that meant we froze when the doors opened.”

Comparing the old equipment to the new equipment revealed several key facts. “The new inserter is ‘straight line’ and will reject missed or doubled inserts. The old system used a round, or carousel type, inserter, and papers had to be repaired manually,” Baillargeon continued. “We now have pallet rack storage for 150+ skids. Before, the skids had to be stacked one on top of the other. This is much safer and more efficient.”

Safety is a big issue in the workplace, maybe more

Distribution Facility

Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, January 15, 2003

Practicing what is preached

Sun Journal promotes downtown revitalization and does just that with expansion.

By DENISE SCAMMON / Staff writer

so when machinery is involved. “We have improved the safety of our operations. For example, we now use ‘Pallet Pals’ that the skids sit on. As the skid is emptied, it rises which eliminates a lot of bending. Soon to be installed are the hopper loaders which will feed inserts into the machine instead of being hand-fed.”

McCarthy said, “This will reduce the possibility of repetitive injuries.”

McCarthy had one final note on the subject of improvements. “In the early stages, some workers expressed concern that the lighting in the new facility would be too bright. After a few weeks of working under the new lights, those workers come out of our old locations and wondered ‘How did we ever work in that dim light before?’”

Congratulations!

“It is very important to the city of Lewiston to attract and retain businesses, such as the Sun Journal, which bring wealth to the community,” began Greg Mitchell, Lewiston Development Director. “The Sun Journal strengthens our economic base. The more businesses we have in our community like this, the better.”

That first statement by Mitchell was key to the importance of keeping the Sun Journal in the downtown area.

“The Sun Journal has been invaluable to our community through the employment it offers, the taxes it pays, its own identity, and the identity it gives our downtown.” Mitchell then went on to explain some of the discussions the city of Lewiston had with the Sun Journal during the planning phase and what incentives it offered the paper to stay downtown.

Early discussions centered on whether the Sun Journal could accomplish its goals in its present downtown location or whether those goals would be more easily reached in a greenfield site (construction of an entirely new facility) outside of Lewiston. “The Sun Journal operates its business from the southeast corner of its distribution area of Androscoggin, Franklin, and Oxford counties.

We understood their need to consolidate operations in a modern facility.” Mitch-

The Sun Journal chose to construct an addition to its Lewiston location rather than build an entirely new facility at a “greenfield” site. ell noted, “The city of Lewiston did not want to see the Sun Journal go for many reasons, one of them being employment opportunities for this community.”

As an incentive, the city of Lewiston offered to return one fifth of the Sun Journal’s annual property taxes for ten years. “It is important to note that this return was on real estate taxes for the facility and land and did not cover taxes on equipment which are taxed separately and worth upwards of one million dollars,” Mitchell said. “We hoped the

US Glass & Aluminum, Inc. 

tax incentive would make a difference in the Sun Journal’s decision to stay or leave. With an estimated $6 million in Lewiston property, the Sun Journal pays about $173,000 in taxes to the city each year.”

Lewiston offered to be as creative as possible to help offset the higher cost of the Sun Journal staying downtown.

“The Sun Journal needed land before any expansion could take place at its downtown facility, which meant they would have to spend $1 million on

We are proud to have been a part of this project!

Congratulations On The Completion of Your

Distribution Center

Electrical Contractors • Design Build • Industrial • Commercial • Residential 1033 Sabattus Street, Lewiston, ME 04240 • 783-6512 • www.debloiselectric.com

Best Wishes!

Glad to have been a part of it.

Jenkins completed the textured finishes above the exterior brick.

16 Makarlyn St., P.O. Box 1305 Auburn, Maine 04210

Jenkins, Inc.

(207) 783-2777

FAX (207) 783-4173

GLASS & ALUMINUM CONTRACTORS

neighboring property. They wanted the land, not the development on the land with the added cost of demolition,” said Mitchell. “We paid an agreed upon amount of $125,700 towards the demolition, which was 80 per cent of the demolition cost.”

The city of Lewiston discontinued Middle Street allowing abutting landowners to acquire the former street for land use. “It’s a fairly routine procedure for a city to discontinue a street. After the Sun Journal purchased neighboring property, they had acquired a lot of frontage on Middle Street. The other abutters included the post office and attorney Paul Cote,” stated Mitchell.

It has been satisfying and gratifying for Mitchell as early decisions come to fruition. As businesses have invested millions of dollars in the Lewiston downtown area, the city has used public investments for new parking structures, lighting, landscaping, benches, and other amenities. “Lewiston has the makings of an attractive downtown with a stable business base,” said Mitchell. “The Sun Journal expansion visually fits quite well in the downtown and is a great example for other business which are considering downtown investment.”

Looking at a financial analysis, weighing pros and cons, expenses versus revenue, Lewiston saw that the Sun Journal creates a tremendous amount of wealth for the community.

Congratulations on your new Distribution Facility.

On your new distribution facility

Here’s to your continued success!

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P.O. Box 2323 • Lewiston, ME

(207) 784-8484

• 14 years residential & commercial masonry services • Experienced 20 man crew on average • Timely completion of quality work • Continuously meets or exceeds expectation of clients and general contractors Phone: 207-933-2171 Fax: 207-933-9399 Email: hodsdon@ctel.net

53 Turner Drive North Monmouth, Maine 04265

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Distribution Facility

Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, January 15, 2003

Years of planning precede groundbreaking

By DENISE SCAMMON / Staff Writer

S

ignificant and exciting changes have taken place at the Sun Journal since the public announcement in October 2000 that plans were in place for a multi-million dollar expansion at the Lewiston facility.

The $5.3 million expansion project of the Sun Journal building included the construction of a 14,600 square-foot packaging and distribution center.

Four years of planning took place before that public announcement. “After selecting Dario Designs Inc. of Framingham, Mass., as the architect, engineer and consultant for our project, the Sun Journal management sat down with Dario DiMare to formally start the project around ’97,” began Jim Costello, Jr., vice president of operations.

Dario Designs is the only architectural firm in the world that specializes strictly in newspaper facilities.

With a list of clients encircling the globe, including a recent $300 million color conversion project for The Wall Street Journal, DiMare said he found the Sun Journal’s history quite fascinating.

“There’s really a much more interesting story to be told about the Costello family than there is about a brick building. They operate their business as a cohesive, cooperative group. Some families operate their businesses in a cut-throat sort of way, with everyone stepping on each other in their reach for the top spot,”

he explained. “Not so with the Costellos. I told Jim Costello Sr. several times that he should be very proud of his family. It was a real delight to work with a family with such high integrity, and one that cooperates so well internally.”

This planning phase measured the degree of importance of each operational need and amount of space needed. The need for a larger distribution facility was given top priority. “What became the driving force behind the project were the needs of our advertisers,” noted Costello. “Meeting their needs meant purchasing new inserting equipment with specialized control software that could target zone inserts right down to specific carrier routes.”

The purchase of new equipment could not take place until that new equipment could be housed within the facility. “There just wasn’t any more space in the “post press” areas to adequately accommodate the new equipment and the skids of inserts required for advertising products,” he continued.

“We needed new equipment to target specific geographic areas for our advertisers and we did not have the space,” agreed Ed Snook, Sun Journal treasurer.

“Through the years the old distribution center had become cramped. It was very difficult to fit everything in there.”

Also needed were loading docks for unloading paper and inserts from delivery trucks. “We were loading and unloading the trucks directly on Middle Street in

H. E. CALLAHAN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY would like to congratulate the Sun Journal on the completion of your Distribution Facility.

We wish you much success and best wishes in all of your future endeavors.

P.O. Box 677, Auburn, Maine 04212-0677

Distribution Facility

Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, January 15, 2003

7

“We decided it was worth it to spend the extra money on masonry so our new facility would have the look and feel of a downtown building.” — Ed Snook Continued from page 2

The early stages of work at the new facility. every type of weather. We did not have a covered area for this part of the operation,” explained Costello.

The company did not have enough storage space to store all the newsprint on site, which meant the Sun Journal had to use a second location. “This was terribly inefficient,” Costello added. “Even more troublesome than the inefficiency was the expense associated with handling the product three times. Handling a product that many times lends itself to damage, which adds up to significant dollar amounts.”

Once Dario Designs was hired, research was conducted into whether or not the Sun Journal could meet these needs by expanding at its present downtown Lewiston location or would it be more feasible to move to a site outside the downtown area.

“There were pros and cons to each scenario,” said Snook. “ A greenfield site was considered out of the downtown area that would allow for a more economical building, both in construction costs and in uninterrupted daily operations.” On the other hand, if the Sun Journal were to stay at its downtown location, it would

continued on page 7

need to make an investment in real estate in order to expand.

If the Sun Journal were to move to a new location, hundreds of employees would be going too, employees who contribute to the vitality of the downtown area.

Ultimately, the Sun Journal chose to stay in its present Park Street location.

“The city of Lewiston stepped up to the plate with some creative incentives. They offered financial help in the demolition of the newly purchased buildings, the relocation of tenants, TIF or tax increment financing, and discontinuing Middle Street,” said Snook.

“Temporary parking during the construction phase was extremely important, too.”

Although the Sun Journal wanted to remain in its downtown location, feasibility studies proved a greenfield site was the less expensive choice.

“Then, Lewiston offered to discontinue Middle Street, which allowed us to build on the roadbed,” said DiMare. “It was just one of the incentives from the city that reinforced their dedication to Lewiston’s revitalization efforts. I personally think it was very noble and admirable of the Costello family to consider the future of the downtown and not just cost.”

It was important to the Sun Journal to continue its support of downtown Lewiston’s revitalization efforts.

“We went around and around on whether or not to stay downtown. It is less expensive to build at a greenfield site. Costs would have simply consisted of earthwork and putting up a building, and land is very reasonable on the outskirts of town when compared to downtown real estate,” said Costello. “But, because of the city’s help, and our commitment to the revitalization of the downtown area, we chose to stay downtown.”

The next phase began in June 2001 with the purchase and demolition of several vacant buildings and tenements within the block bordered by Middle, Ash, Bates and Pine streets. Displaced residents in the affected tenements were offered financial assistance with their relocation.

“For a busy downtown location, the demolition went well. A big factor during any demolition is the ‘unknown’ factor . . . you never know An inside look at the Elks building. what you’re going to find once you start digging,” Costello noted. “For example, we dug up some bones which halted the digging until it was determined they were old horse bones. We also encountered foundation walls that were two feet thick and needed to be removed. These amounted to unanticipated costs.”

Dario Designs used masonry in the project to match the look of other buildings in the downtown area. “Our goal was to blend what is basically a commercial warehouse into a nice downtown environment —mostly masonry and stone. Dario Designs was very creative,” said Costello. “I think our new facility fits in very well with its surroundings.”

“We decided it was worth it to spend the extra money on masonry so our new facility would have the look and feel of a downtown building,” added Snook. “We were very sensitive to the fact that this is a commercial building in a downtown location.”

“They cared enough to choose a more expensive facade. They did not want the new facility to look like a

The former Elks building had to be razed in order for the project to work.

phases of the project include a new pressroom, a multifloor office building, more paper storage and a commercial printing facility as the need arises.

“The next phase we are committed to is office space.

Our office building at 104 Park Street is an old, inefficient building which doesn’t lend itself well to proper material flow. The space is broken up over three floors,” commented Costello. “We’ve looked at our space requirements and have factored that information into the new office building design.”

The exact location of the new office building within the Sun Journal property is still being discussed.

Whatever the location, one thing is for sure, “We have a better idea of what happens during construction and will more closely scrutinize our future construction plans. We will look to keep operations functioning smoothly, with as little disruption as possible,” said Costello.

The new facility has been designed so that the paper can remain in the downtown area even as they experience future growth. “All future construction phases have been planned for as little disruption to the paper’s operations as possible,” DiMare said. “They’ll be able to work off the old press while bringing in the new one.

They have planned for growth.”

‘Put your money where your mouth is’ is a sentiment often expressed when a proponent of a project takes a stand. “We have been advocating the downtown revitalization efforts of Lewiston / Auburn and felt the extra money spent on the expansion project was worth it,” Costello concluded.

metal warehouse.” DiMare added, “The final outcome, a manufacturing facility to be proud of, shows the Costellos dedication to quality and to the town.”

The building plan called for an ‘open view’ in the new structure built on the former Middle Street.

“Two windows at opposite ends of the building allow passersby to look from one end of the building to the Photos by Sun Journal staff photographers other side, directly down what was once Middle Street.

The windows are aligned with a major corridor in the building so there will always be a view down the corridor, much as there had been a view down Middle Street. This is just another example of the Costellos’ conscientiousness towards the effect of the new facility on its downtown surroundings,” noted DiMare.

As for the new equipment, “There were a few minor ‘hiccups’ during equipment installation in the new facility,” Costello said, “but Quipp Systems, Inc. designs, nothing insurmountable. manufactures and installs material ‘News’ is basically a new handling equipment for the newspaper product every day, which industry. Quipp's equipment is used in the must be manufactured in post press operations of a newspaper Founded in 1906, we are an a time-sensitive manner. publisher's plant. The company's independently owned company who During construction there equipment facilitates the automated were lots of possibilities for services newspapers throughout movement of newspapers from their disruption to our product. the United States that today has printing press to delivery trucks. Quipp's All the departments worked a general management team computerized control systems provide the together and coordinated monitoring capabilities required by second to none. operations while the equippublishers to achieve efficient and ment was being moved and accurate distribution of their product. installed,” said Costello.

We have responded to many Quipp markets its product both “Our goal was for the transitechnological changes of the past, domestically and internationally. tion to be as seamless as posand will continue to strengthen our sible and not apparent to our commitment and dedication to the customers.” newspaper industry of the future.

The Master Plan has been broken down into five phas9 Railroad Ave. es that may take place over Millbury, MA 01527-4199 the next 15 to 20 years. The 1 (800) 347-7377 new distribution facility 4800 NW 157th Street • Miami, FL 33014-3464 was merely phase one.

PO Box 348, Millbury, MA 01527-0348 Other foreseeable needs FAX 1 (508) 865-0811 Fax: (305) 623-0980 to be constructed in future

QUIPP SYSTEMS, INC. (305) 623-8700

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Distribution Facility

Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, January 15, 2003

Advertising Supplement

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Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2003