AUGUSTA, Ga.—The Holland (Mich.)Sentinel and Flashes Publishers, Allegan, Mich., will merge operations into one company, effective immediately. Both the daily newspaper and the commercial printing company are owned by Morris Communications.

When the merger is complete, the company will publish The Holland Sentinel; Flashes Shopping Guide, with nine zoned editions; and multiple niche and online projects. A combined composing facility and classified call center are in future plans.

"It will take several months to fully combine operations, but we have the talent in place to move ahead with this effort," said J. Stanley Warren, director of Morris' Eastern Publishing Group. "It helps that The Sentinel and Flashes already have a history of collaboration on a number of printing projects and joint publications."

The combined companies will be led by Sentinel Publisher Michael T. Hengel. Hengel, who became publisher of the Sentinel in 2001, has had oversight responsibility for Flashes Publishers since that time. Stephen W. Kenemer, the Sentinel's operations manager, has been named operations manager for the combined businesses.

"We anticipate that the combined companies will allow us to operate with greater efficiency and, most importantly, to better serve customers in the West Michigan marketplace," said Hengel.

Morris Communications is a privately held media company with diversified holdings that include newspaper and magazine publishing, outdoor advertising, radio broadcasting, book publishing and distribution, and online services. For more information, visit www.morris.com.