Domtar, the third-largest producer of uncoated freesheet paper in North America, has completely redesigned the packaging for all of its commercial printing; premium text, cover and writing; business; and publication papers to help paper merchants and printers more easily navigate Domtar’s product offerings and efficiently manage their inventories. Domtar’s new packaging is the next phase of its “A Different Feel” branding initiative, which emphasizes the company’s attentiveness to its customers. “A paper mill that actually listens to its customers and takes action is pretty rare these days,” said Joe Tuohey, vice president of operations for L.P. Thebault Company. “But Domtar pays attention to the little details that make our lives easier. They came to me more than a year ago for feedback and they actually implemented a lot of my suggestions.” “Domtar has experienced incredible growth over the last few years and our customers were concerned they would lose the personal interaction and responsiveness they valued,” said Scott Townsend, Domtar’s director of strategic marketing initiatives. “We took action to show them otherwise. We consolidated our product lines to reduce confusion; we increased our distribution network to ensure faster delivery throughout North America; and now we’ve standardized our packaging to make it easier for customers to manage their paper inventories.” Functional, Recognizable, Efficient “Paper packaging has usually been superficial. It comes down to ‘my name and logo are better than yours,’” Townsend explained. “We felt there was an opportunity to have our packaging better reflect our brand attributes and Domtar’s customer focus. The packaging has pizzazz and character, yet is still functional for merchants, printers and end-users.” Townsend said Domtar’s packaging takes into account how people actually use paper. The design for its rolls and skids features silhouettes of people interacting with paper, making it instantly recognizable on a merchant’s or printer’s floor. The product labels are simple, color-coded and placed in the same location on all grades, making the relevant information easy to find. Product information is also listed in English, French and Spanish. Domtar’s ream wrap packaging for retail products simplifies paper selection for consumers. The sophisticated four-color designs jump off store shelves and connote quality. “Retail consumers want to make paper decisions quickly,” Townsend said, “and the packaging imagery helps them match our products to the right equipment and end-use.” Coming Soon Domtar plans to phase in its new packaging designs gradually by product line to help its customers exhaust their old inventories. The packaging for business papers and publication papers will be introduced starting by the end of April. Commercial printing and text, cover and writing papers will follow later in the year.