UPFRONT

Economy Dooms the Hine Co.

PEORIA, IL—The economy and foreign competition prompted The Edward Hine Co. to shut down its business, according to the Peoria Journal Star. The firm, which printed brochures and booklets, was in the process of selling off its equipment. An executive at Hine told the newspaper that clients had shifted to bidding out contracts on a yearly basis. And, as clients developed just-in-time inventories, the long-run capabilities that had long been Edward Hine Co.'s meal ticket soon became its detriment. The Edward Hine Co. had been a mainstay in Peoria since 1880.