James

Okay people.  I have been very quiet in regards to my new job since, well, 3 days after my last job, so its about time I tell people some information.

Late last year, I had made a decision to leave Tech Solutions Canada Ltd., the company I helped start, owned shares in, etc.  I will not go into details on that.  I dont want to be ‘that’ guy.  Long and short of it, it was time to move on.  As of beginning of February, all my shares were successfully sold, and have no ties to the company at all.

I accepted a position with Glacier Media Group based out of Vancouver.  More specifically, the Prairie Newspaper Group (PNG), the group that looks after the Saskatchewan/Manitoba region.  Even more specifically, Estevan Web Printing. I have taken up the position of IT manager for the PNG, where I am dealing with all the locations’ computers/networking/software/servers, etc..  Estevan Web Printing is the local company that runs the printing press that prints all the newspapers in Estevan, Weyburn, and about 30+ more per week.  This is a very large, busy, yet very organized operation.

On top of that, there has been some recent news in regards to Estevan Web Printing that I have known about, but is finally public.  This is from this article.

The Globe and Mail newspaper has hired a new company to print its Manitoba and Saskatchewan edition.

Glacier Media Inc. will begin printing the Globe starting this fall out of its printing plant in Estevan, Sask., the Globe said Wednesday in a news release.

For decades, the Manitoba and Saskatchewan edition has been printed in Brandon, Man. by the Brandon Sun, then trucked to various points in the two provinces.

The Sun is owned by FP Canadian Newspapers which also owns the Winnipeg Free Press and other publications.

According to the Sun, its contract to print the Globe expires at the end of September.

The Globe said the move to Estevan — 311 kilometres southwest of Brandon — takes place as the paper prepares for a “significant redesign” to take advantage of advanced printing technology.

It’s a multi-year agreement, the company said.

Yes, that right, Estevan Web Printing will be the location where the Globe and Mail for Sask/Man region’s paper will be printed, 6 days a week.  In order to accommodate this, Estevan Web Printing is going through a 10.2 million dollar expansion of its current facility.  My job is also to take care of the press’s electronics side.  With new press technology, the press is very automated, and where there is automation, there is a computer part of some kind.  From the servers, to the cabling, to the plate machines, right to the press, there is a lot of electronics that I will deal with on a day to day basis.

I am currently sitting in a hotel in Toronto, where we are for meetings with the Globe and Mail in regards to quality control and implementation details for the new equipment (and the ‘significant redesign’ details).  This is the second trip I have been on, with my new position.  I was sent to Vancouver the week after I started to meet with head office, and get to know some of the people and procedures.

Let me just say…its a whole new world.  So far, I have enjoyed EVERY waking minute of it.  I love to be in a position where I am learning something new 5 to 10 times a day – at least.    I am honoured to be put in this position, and to be part of such a large, yet local, operation.  The company that I am now with, has been GREAT to me, and I have no doubt that this will continue for a very long time.

Anyhow..thats the update.  People keep asking me what I am doing, what happened at the last place, etc.  So now that the Globe and Mail stuff is public, I figure now is as good time as any to let people know what I’m up to, other than taking pictures of my daughter.