Transcontinental (company)

Canadian media company

Transcontinental Inc.

Trade name

| TC Transcontinental
Company type| Public

Traded as

| TSX: TCL.A
TSX: TCL.B
Industry| Packaging, Printing, direct marketing, Publishing, Distribution
Founded| 1976
Founder| Rémi Marcoux, Claude Dubois and André Kingsley
Headquarters| 1 Place Ville Marie,

Montreal, Quebec

Canada

Key people

| Thomas Morin
Revenue| 2.8 billion (2024)

Number of employees

| 7,400 +
Website| tc.tc

Transcontinental Inc., operating as TC Transcontinental, is a Montreal-based packaging, commercial printing and specialty media company.

Transcontinental is publicly-traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange, and has over 7,400 employees—the majority of which are based in Canada, the United States and Latin America.[1]

## History

[edit]

The company was founded in 1976 by Rémi Marcoux and partners Claude Dubois and André Kingsley as a flyer-printing business. It generated $2.9 million in revenue in its first year of operations.[2] In 1978, the company was renamed GTC Transcontinental Group Ltd., and it established a Door-to-door flyer distribution division known as Publi-Home Distributors.[3][4]

In 1979, the company entered the publishing industry after acquiring Les Affaires and SIC. It also purchased the Imprimerie Chartier (now Transcontinental Saint-Hyacinthe) printing plant. In 1984, the company went public on the Montreal Exchange, and later the Toronto Stock Exchange.[5] Transcontinental subsequently performed a number of acquisitions over the decade that followed, including 20 Telemedia-owned community newspapers in the Montreal area, The Hockey News, and a number of commercial printing companies (including Southam Inc.'s plants and printing division), among others.[5]

### Purchase of Telemedia and expansion into Atlantic Canada

[edit]

On January 29, 2000, GTC Transcontinental announced its acquisition of the publishing business of Telemedia for $150 million, including Canadian Living, Homemakers, and the Canadian editions of Elle and TV Guide.[6] In 2002, Transcontinental acquired 12 newspapers and two printing plants in Atlantic Canada and Saskatchewan from CanWest Global for $255 million, in what was one of the company's largest transactions to date.[7]

In 2003, after receiving the contract to print La Presse, the company established its new Transcontinental Métropolitain printing plant.[8] In 2006, the company enters a segment offering strong growth potential in the publishing market by acquiring Chenelière Éducation, the leading publisher of French-language educational resources in Canada. In 2011, Transcontinental reached an agreement to exchange assets with the U.S. printer Quad/Graphics, acquiring six of its Canadian plants (dating back to its predecessor Quebecor World) and a prepress in Markham, Ontario, in exchange for Transcontinental's Mexican operations, and a stake in a black-and-white book printing operation owned by the company.[9][10]

### 2012–2016: More expansion

[edit]

In 2012, Rémi Marcoux stepped down as chair of the board, and was succeeded by his daughter Isabelle Marcoux.[11] In December 2013, Quebecor Media subsidiary Sun Media announced that it would sell 74 of its community newspapers in Quebec to Transcontinental in a deal valued at $75 million.[12] The Competition Bureau approved the sale in May 2014, under the condition that Transcontinental divest 34 of its Quebec newspapers for competition reasons.[13] In March 2014, Transcontinental acquired U.S.-based Capri Packaging to expand into the flexible packaging market. The company described it as a "new promising growth area", amidst softening revenue in advertising, and decreases in its core printing businesses.[14] In November 2014, Transcontinental sold 15 of its consumer magazines, including Canadian Living and The Hockey News, to Quebecor's Groupe TVA for $55.5 million. Transcontinental also received a contract to print magazines and marketing materials for TVA through 2021.

### Getting out of Atlantic Canada and the Prairies

[edit]

In May 2016, Transcontinental sold its 13 newspapers in Saskatchewan to Star News Publishing of Alberta. As a result, a Transcontinental plant in Saskatoon was also shut down.[15] On December 1, 2016, Transcontinental Media acquired Rogers Media's financial industry publications, including Advisor's Edge, Avantages, Benefits Canada, and Conseiller.

On April 13, 2017, Transcontinental announced that it had divested media assets in Atlantic Canada to SaltWire Network.[16] On April 18, 2017, Transcontinental announced that it planned to place 93 of its remaining newspapers in Ontario and Quebec (including Montreal's Métro) for sale, in order to "contribute to the continued sustainability of local media and to foster greater connections with the advertisers and communities they serve", and to focus more on its educational publishing and specialty media operations.[17] In April 2018, Transcontinental announced that it would acquire Coveris Americas for US$1.3 billion, its largest acquisition to-date, as part of an effort to bolster its flexible packaging business. Isabelle described the proposed purchase as one that would "[crystalize] our strategic shift toward flexible packaging and solidifies our commitment to profitable growth". The purchase would make Transcontinental the seventh-largest packaging company in North America.[18][19][20]

### Leadership changes

[edit]

On September 19, 2019, Transcontinental divested its financial industry publications between Contex Media and Newcom Media.[21] On December 9, 2021, Francois Olivier retires after 28 years with TC Transcontinental, the last 13 as President and Chief Executive Officer. On December 10, 2021, Peter Brues. A member of the Board of Directors of Transcontinental Inc. since 2018, succeeds him as President and Chief Executive Officer. On June 7, 2023, Thomas Morin was named TC Transcontinental's President and Chief Executive Officer.[22] He previously served as President of TC Transcontinental Packaging, beginning in 2019, and has been a member of TC Transcontinental’s Executive Management Committee since then.

## Packaging

[edit]

Transcontinental established its packaging business in 2014 with the purchase of Capri Packaging, as part of a move to diversify its business activities.

The division focuses primarily on the production of flexible packaging , such as bags, pouches, rollstocks, labels, die cut lids, shrink films and advanced coatings.The division has grown primarily via the acquisitions of other vendors, having consolidated into one of the largest converters of flexible packaging in North America.[23]

TC Transcontinental Packaging has operations in the United States, Canada, Guatemala, Ecuador, Colombia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

### Facilities

[edit]

Facility  | Location  | Country

|
|

Transcontinental Albany  | Clinton, MO  |  United States
Transcontinental Armenia  | La Tebaida, CO-QUI  |  Colombia
Transcontinental Battle Creek  | Battle Creek, MI  |  United States
Transcontinental Brooklyn  | Brooklyn, NY  |  United States
Transcontinental Christchurch  | Christchurch  |  New Zealand
Transcontinental Clinton 1  | Clinton, MO  |  United States
Transcontinental Clinton 2  | Clinton, MO  |  United States
Transcontinental Elgin  | Elgin, IL  |  United States
Transcontinental Exton  | Exton, PA  |  United States
Transcontinental Guayaquil Agro  | Guayaquil, EC-G  |  Ecuador
Transcontinental Guayaquil Consumer  | Guayaquil, EC-G  |  Ecuador
Transcontinental Griffin  | Griffin, GA  |  United States
Transcontinental Huntley  | Huntley, IL  |  United States
Transcontinental Lenexa  | Lenexa, KS  |  United States
Transcontinental Menasha  | Menasha, WI  |  United States
Transcontinental Montreal  | Montreal, QC  |  Canada
Transcontinental Ontario  | Ontario, CA  |  United States
Transcontinental Richmond  | Richmond, BC  |  Canada
Transcontinental San Luis Potosi  | San Luis Potosí, SL  |  Mexico
Transcontinental Spartanburg  | Spartanburg, SC  |  United States
Transcontinental Tulsa  | Catoosa, OK  |  United States
Transcontinental Villa Nueva  | Villa Nueva, GT-GU  |  Guatemala
Transcontinental Whitby  | Whitby, ON  |  Canada
Transcontinental Wrexham  | Wrexham, WAL  |  United Kingdom

## Retail Services & Printing

[edit]

TC Transcontinental is the largest commercial printing company in Canada, and one of the largest in North America.[24][25][26]

In January 2016, the Toronto Star announced it would outsource its newspaper printing to Transcontinental with a five-year contract beginning in July 2016, and the contract has been extended to the end of 2027. The operations were shifted to its Vaughan plant.

This was followed in November 2017 by the announced closure of its Métropolitain plant, primarily due to the La Presse newspaper ceasing print and moving to a digital-only model.[27][28]

In May 2019, Transcontinental announced that it would close its Brampton plant by the end of 2019.[29]

In June 2025, the Corporation announced the acquisition of Middleton Group, a provider of in-store-marketing solutions based in Ontario, Canada.[30]

### Facilities

[edit]

Facility Name  | Location  | Country

|
|

Transcontinental Anjou  | Montreal, QC  |  Canada
Transcontinental Aurora  | Aurora, ON  |  Canada
Transcontinental Beauceville  | Beauceville, QC  |  Canada
Transcontinental Boucherville  | Boucherville, QC  |  Canada
Transcontinental Brampton  | Brampton, ON  |  Canada
Transcontinental Calgary  | Calgary, AB  |  Canada
Transcontinental Halifax  | Halifax, NS  |  Canada
Transcontinental LaSalle  | Lasalle, QC  |  Canada
Transcontinental Middleton  | Markham, ON  |  Canada
Transcontinental Owen Sound  | Owen Sound, ON  |  Canada
Transcontinental Paris  | Paris, ON  |  Canada
Transcontinental Vancouver  | Annacis Island Delta, BC  |  Canada
Transcontinental Vaughan  | Vaughan, ON  |  Canada
Premedia Montreal  | Montreal, QC  |  Canada
Premedia Toronto  | Toronto, ON  |  Canada

## Media & Education

[edit]

TC Media Books is the leading Canadian French-language educational publishing group as well as a trade book publisher, the leader in the supplemental educational material market in Québec and the leading distributor of French-language specialized books in Canada.

TC Media Books publishes for all levels of instruction in print and digital formats, mainly under the Chenelière Éducation, Gaëtan Morin Éditeur, Beauchemin, Modulo, Graficor and Édisem brands.

TC Media Books is also being active in general interest publishing mainly under the Éditions Caractère and Éditions Transcontinental brands.

During decades, TC Media was a leading provider of media solutions in Canada.

The sector reached Canadian consumers and professionals through a wide range of print and digital publishing products in French and English: newspapers, magazines, trade publications, mass marketing tools, etc.

### TC Media - Facilities

[edit]

Facility Name  | Location  | Country

|
|

TC Media HQ  | Montreal, QC  |  Canada
Distribution Centre - Education  | Boucherville, QC  |  Canada

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Can TC Transcontinental Recover?". Dividend Earner. May 7, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
2. ^ "Rémi Marcoux cède la barre de TC Transcontinental". Infopresse. Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
3. ^ "Rémi Marcoux, beauceron pur sang". www.lesaffaires.com (in French). Retrieved July 11, 2019.
4. ^ Goldenberg, Joel (August 18, 2017). "TC Transcontinental - Forty Years of Growth". The Suburban Newspaper. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
5. ^ a b "Cercle des Grands entrepreneurs du Québec". cercledesgrandsentrepreneurs.com. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
6. ^ "GTC acquires Telemedia's magazines". Retrieved July 11, 2019.
7. ^ CBC Staff (July 10, 2002). "CanWest sells papers to Transcontinental for $255 million". CBC News. Montreal: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on April 15, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2024.
8. ^ Orfali, Philippe (April 18, 2018). "Transcontinental veut convertir l'usine qui imprimait La Presse". Le Journal de Montréal. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
9. ^ "Transcontinental to close two Quad/Graphics plants, cut 500 jobs". Retrieved October 22, 2019.
10. ^ "Transcontinental Exchanging Assets with Quad". Marketing Magazine. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
11. ^ "Marcoux quitte la présidence du conseil d'administration de Transcontinental". HuffPost Québec (in French). February 16, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
12. ^ "Sun Media sells 74 community newspapers to Transcontinental for $75-million". Financial Post. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
13. ^ "Transcontinental told to sell 34 papers in Sun Media deal". The Globe and Mail. May 28, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
14. ^ "Transcontinental acquires U.S. flexible packaging firm, raises dividend". The Globe and Mail. March 11, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
15. ^ "Star News Publishing buys 13 newspapers across Saskatchewan". CBC News. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
16. ^ Doucette, Keith; Thomson, Aly (April 14, 2017). "Transcontinental sells off its Atlantic papers". Toronto Star. Toronto: Torstar. The Canadian Press. p. B2. Retrieved December 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
17. ^ CBC Staff (April 18, 2017). "Transcontinental selling 93 newspapers in Ontario and Quebec". CBC News. Toronto: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on June 29, 2024. Retrieved December 26, 2024.
18. ^ "Transcontinental to diminish role of printing with US$1.3-billion packaging deal". Financial Post. April 2, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
19. ^ Tison, Marc. "Isabelle Marcoux et François Olivier, personnalités de la semaine". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved July 11, 2019.
20. ^ Goldenberg, Joel (August 18, 2017). "TC Transcontinental - Forty Years of Growth". The Suburban Newspaper. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
21. ^ "Transcontinental selling majority of publications to Newcom Media, Contex Group". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
22. ^ "Transcontinental Names Thomas Morin to Succeed CEO Peter Brues". MarketWatch. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
23. ^ "TC Transcontinental Strategically Shifting to Flexible Packaging". Flexible Packaging Magazine. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
24. ^ "TC Transcontinental - 2019". www.businesschief.com. Archived from the original on May 9, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
25. ^ Goldenberg, Joel (August 18, 2017). "TC Transcontinental - Forty Years of Growth". The Suburban Newspaper. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
26. ^ "Building Print Platforms: TC Transcontinental's plans for newspapers and packaging". PrintAction. August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
27. ^ "Transcontinental closing Montreal newsprint plant as industry struggles". Canadian Manufacturing. November 7, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
28. ^ "Transcontinental Closing Métropolitain Plant". PrintAction. November 13, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
29. ^ Frisque, Graeme (May 11, 2019). "Transcontinental closing Brampton printing plant, laying off 125 workers". BramptonGuardian.com. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
30. ^ "TC Transcontinental Acquires Middleton Group to Grow its ISM Activities". MarTech Cube - Marketing Technology news and Martech Interviews. June 24, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2025.

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[edit]

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