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July 1, 2013

BDN to outsource printing, shut Hampden presses

Bangor Publishing plans to close its presses in Hampden later this year, cutting 27 full-time positions as it contracts printing of its Bangor Daily News with the Lewiston-based Sun Media Group.

The Sun Journal reported its parent company, Sun Media, will subcontract with Alliance Press in Brunswick for some of that work. The papers printed in Lewiston and Brunswick will then be trucked overnight to Bangor for distribution.

The Bangor paper will continue to print some papers at a facility in Presque Isle.

Todd Benoit, COO of Bangor Publishing Co., said the decision was driven by an aging flexographic press, built in 1964, that would require significant investment in the near future to continue operating.

The Hampden printing plant was built in the late 1980s, when the paper's daily print circulation was around 85,000. It is now roughly 47,000.

The paper reported the 27 workers set to lose their jobs through the closure will receive severance packages and other assistance.

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