A marketing plan verified ... and more.

In May, I wrote a Spotlight column suggesting a way to create market value in that ubiquitous commodity grade--uncoated free sheet. The good folks at Finch, Pruyn and Co. quickly verified my choice of brand name, Casablanca, pointing out that they own it and have been highly successful using it! In fact, they have owned this name for a decade plus and use it on a line of Opaques Additionally, spokesperson from the company tell me that they have exercised the concept of "Play it again, Sam" in their recycled content program, William Kaechele, customer service manager, sent me a sample ream for verification. Bill--it is fine paper, no pun intended.

SEE THE SIGHTS

I might add that if you have never been to Glens Falls, New York, USA, and the Finch, Pruyn facilities, you are in for a treat. Late summer is the time to go, but hotel rooms are hard to find then due to vacationing in the Adirondacks and the racing season at Saratoga. This company has shown repeatedly how one can maintain independence (it is privately held) and be competitive in today's world. As a plus, one should visit the Hyde Collection Art Museum, a private museum founded by the descendants of the owners of Finch, Pruyn and Co. It is up the hill from the mill and holds a world-class art collection. Over the years, the company has been a significant benefactor to the museum.

Companies such as Finch, Pruyn present a significant challenge to the publicly traded behemoths of the paper industry. Such companies can nimbly change management direction without the inertia experienced by larger competitors. Sometimes this produces good results, but sometimes the results are not so great. My view is nimbleness with an occasional slipup is far more desirable to numbness and its concomitant growth rates measured in fractions of a percent. One might think of them as hydroplane racing boats compared with aircraft carriers.

DIFFERENT PRIORITIES

Unwittingly, Finch, Pruyn has contributed to a point I make later in a separate feature on budgeting in this issue. In this article, I suggest a cash flow "waterfall" approach to budgeting used consistently by entrepreneurs and venture capital funds.

The cash fall waterfall concept makes salaries of management and executives the lowest priority. In April, Finch, Pruyn announced that it will cut pay for salaried employees by 15% and increase the portion of health insurance paid by these employees from 35% to 50%. These decisions affect 240 employees.

For more than ten years, I have been saying that the size of pulp and paper companies was moving from a pattern of a near size continuum from smallest to largest to a new model--barbell shaped--with some small companies at one end and very large ones at the other. This has indeed come to pass. The flexibility of companies like Finch, Pruyn and Co. will assure the continued validity of this model in the future.

About the author: Jim Thompson is chairman and CEO of Talo analytic International Inc., Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He is also a member of the Solutions! Editorial Board and writes the weekly column "Nip Impressions" in TAPPI'S weekly electronic newsletter, Over-the-Wire. Contact him at [e-mail]. Editor's Note: TAPPI members can receive Over-the-Wire for free. To subscribe, log in to www.tappi.org as a member, click on "My TAPPI" and go to "Update Member Record." Under "Publications," click "yes" on the Over-the-Wire box.