Courier Corp. Closing its Massachusetts Plant
Courier Corporation, one of America's leading book manufacturers and specialty publishers, it will be closing its manufacturing plant in Stoughton, Massachusetts on April 30 due to competitive pressures and technology shifts affecting the one-color paperback books in which the plant specializes.
Courier's Stoughton plant currently employs 110 people. It is the smallest and least versatile of Courier's six manufacturing facilities, and has seen its volume decline in recent years as customers have increasingly turned to four-color production, shorter print runs and more efficient short-run alternatives such as digital printing, in which the company has invested heavily in the last year.
In connection with the closing, Courier estimates pre-tax restructuring costs of approximately $6 million for severance, pension withdrawal liabilities and other expenses. In addition, the facility's lease obligates Courier to pay an aggregate of $2.7 million through 2015, although the company is pursuing options to reduce those costs. Overall, Courier expects the cash impact of the closing to be approximately $3 million over the remainder of fiscal 2011 with the majority of the remaining cash impact spread over 5-20 years.
"As we noted last month, advancing technology, increasing customization, shorter run-lengths and the continuing shift to four-color production have not only reduced demand for one-color work, but intensified competition for the one-color work that remains," said Courier Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James F. Conway III. "I deeply regret having to close this long-time Courier facility, but after due deliberation we are convinced that it is the only available solution to bring our one-color capacity in line with today's economy.
For more information, visit www.courier.com.