Company to consolidate printing operations

The TimesDaily is ramping up production of its press equipment tonight to print The Decatur Daily for the first time in Florence.

Tennessee Valley Printing Co., which owns both newspapers as well as the Moulton Advertiser, is consolidating its printing operations, starting with Monday editions of the newspapers. Tennessee Valley Printing purchased the TimesDaily in April from the New York Times.

Darrell Sandlin, publisher of TimesDaily, said readers won't notice the switch.

"It shouldn't affect the TimesDaily reader; there may be a minor change on some of the delivery times," Sandlin said.

Readers of The Decatur Daily will notice a difference with more color in the newspaper.

The TimesDaily installed its press in 1997, a much more updated version than the press at The Decatur Daily, which is 45 years old. After two years of study, Tennessee Valley Printing found the cost of a new press to be an estimated $7 million to $9 million.

Mike McKillip, TimesDaily circulation director, said the TimesDaily had already been adapting its routes in anticipation of the printing consolidation.

"There should be no visible impact for readers," McKillip said.

TimesDaily has three additional trucks to deliver directly to outlying areas, including Rogersville, Cherokee and Russellville.

"Newspaper life under local ownership is better than under a national conglomerate," said McKillip, who worked with Gannett Newspapers for 30 years. "Our owners are interested in a growing, living product with a local flavor - the consolidation will give the company an opportunity to grow both (TimesDaily and The Decatur Daily)."

Beyond printing consolidation, the newspaper has already seen several changes since its purchase.

The former customer service call center in Manila, Philippines, long a bane for TimesDaily subscribers and readers, relocated to Decatur about two weeks ago.

Sandlin said the local move will allow for a better quality call center staff and greater efficiency by having a single call center for the family of newspapers.

The TimesDaily online site has also recently expanded. TNValleyWheels.com launched in July, a Web site that advertises new and used vehicles across north Alabama. TNValleyPreps.com launched at the beginning of the school season and features updates, schedules, rosters, team photos, video and stories. The latest addition, TNValleyHomeFinder.com, will be an online real estate resource, which Sandlin said has yet to be fully populated.

The consolidation also resulted in a recent round of layoffs, including seven full-time employees at TimesDaily and 12 full-time employees at The Decatur Daily.

Trevor Stokes can be reached at 740-5728 or trevor.stokes@TimesDaily.com.