Upfront
Court OKs Jacob North Sale
LINCOLN, NE—The U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved a going concern sale of Jacob North Printing to Midstates Printing, of Aberdeen, SD. Equity Partners CRB, a Maryland-based investment banker, served as intermediary for the debtor-in-possession. Midstates has already funded the acquisition and has started funding day-to-day operations.
Treis, 91, Built Arandell Corp.
MENOMONEE FALLS, WI—F. Edward Treis, whose Arandell Corp. became one of Wisconsin's largest printers, died July 8 of natural causes, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He was 91. Mr. Treis joined R&L Services in 1944, then became its owner in 1949, renaming the company Arandell for the phonetic spelling of R&L. The executive was elected to the Printing Impressions/RIT Printing Industry Hall of Fame in 1995.
RRD Granted Data Patent
CHICAGO—RR Donnelley (RRD) has been granted U.S. Patent 8,468,442, entitled "System and Method for Rendering Data." The patent is a continuation of U.S. Patent 7,917,841, and relates to a method of parsing and viewing information associated with business and/or financial data. The patent extends a portfolio of patents obtained by RR Donnelley in the acquisition of EDGAR Online.
Midtown, Modern Merge
ST. LOUIS—Midtown Printing announced it has merged with Jefferson City, MO-based Modern Litho. The deal is expected to enhance Midtown's offerings in printing, digital marketing services and cross-media campaigns. The firms will retain their names and respective locations. Modern Litho announced last month that it is expanding its facility by 23,000 square feet.
Champion Sells Subsidiary
HUNTINGTON, WV—Champion Industries has sold its Blue Ridge Printing subsidiary in Asheville, NC, for about $1 million, the State Journal reported. The firm was acquired by BRP Co., which consists of some management team members from Blue Ridge Printing, including division manager Bruce Fowler.
Agfa Closing Plate Factory
MORTSEL, BELGIUM—Agfa Graphics announced that it plans to close down its printing plate factory in Manerbio, Italy. The Manerbio plant produces analog offset plates and negative CtCP plates, product lines that the manufacturer noted are in decline. Agfa Graphics informed Manerbio's employees, as well as the trade unions, that it intends to close the factory, impacting 123 employee positions.
Resolute Fined for Death
CATAWBA, SC—Resolute Forest Products has been fined nearly $18,000 by the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation for numerous violations involving the death of contract worker Samir Storey in January, WSOC-TV Channel 9 reported. The company that employed Storey, Industrial Piping, was fined $15,400 for violations, as well. Storey died while cleaning a large tank that filters waste chemicals.
NAPL, AMSP Combine Forces
SAN DIEGO—The boards of directors of the Association of Marketing Service Providers (AMSP) and the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL) have unanimously passed a resolution calling for the consolidation of the two associations. AMSP is a national trade association for the mailing and fulfillment services industry. NAPL is a business management association representing commercial printing and graphics communications companies.
