July 6, 2009: Transcon begins printing S.F. Chronicle

Transcontinental Inc. last night began printing the San Francisco Chronicle at its new $200 million plant in Fremont, Calif.
The shift occurred quietly, with neither Transcontinental nor Hearst Corp., the owner of the Chronicle, publicly commenting on the move before the switch took place.
Hearst tapped Transcontinental in 2006 to print the Chronicle under terms of a 15-year contract. The newspaper said it decided to outsource production, in part, because it wasn't cost effective to replace its aging presses.
The contract was a coup for Transcontinental, which saw the Chronicle as a natural stepping-off point of its strategy to extend its production outsourcing capabilities to U.S. newspapers.
Yet in the more than two years since Transcontinental and Hearst signed the contract, the souring economy battered both the printer and the newspaper. At one point, Hearst threatened to shut down the paper in a bid to gain cost concessions, leading Transcontinental to issue a statement that it had contingency plans in place in the event the paper did fold.
Transcontinental, meantime, has had to weather its own challenges. Since the first of the year, the printer has laid off more than 1,500 workers, closed plants and posted a second quarter loss of $144 million as it battles to regain profitability.
The Chronicle is the second U.S. newspaper Transcontinental produces, and the first printed at a U.S. facility. Transcontinental is expected to aggressively pursue other U.S. printing customers in Fremont, which is anchored by three manroland Colorman XXL heatset/coldset presses and postpress equipment from Goss International, Ferag, Cannon Equipment and other vendors.
Transcontinental also produces under contract The (Toronto) Globe and Mail, La Presse and certain regional editions of The New York Times.
Look for more on Transcontinental printing the Chronicle in the September issue of News & Tech.