Upfront

Industry Mourns Corr Passing
WEYMOUTH, MA—Veteran industry consultant Charlie Corr, long known for his wit and intelligence, passed away July 10 following a lengthy, undisclosed illness, his colleagues at InfoTrends revealed. At the time of his death, Mr. Corr was the group director for InfoTrends Enterprise Document Strategy Services, a role he had taken on in May of 2013 after nearly six years at Mimeo.com as vice president of corporate strategy.

Lifetouch Moves Operations
KANSAS CITY, MO—Lifetouch Services, a subsidiary of Lifetouch Inc. that provides yearbook and commercial printing, is laying off 244 employees from its facility here as it moves its production operations to Loves Park, IL, the Kansas City Business Journal reported. Rolling layoffs will impact 75 full-time and 169 seasonal employees. Full-time workers have been offered transfers to the Illinois plant.

Cedar Graphics Adds Brandt
DAVENPORT, IA—Commercial printing firm The Brandt Co., based here, closed at the end of June, and its operations were acquired by Cedar Graphics of Hiawatha, IA. The Brandt brand will be retained and production will be handled from Cedar’s facility in Hiawatha, IA, while sales and administrative offices will be maintained in Davenport and Peoria. Production staff at Brandt had an opportunity for jobs at Cedar Graphics.

InnerWorkings, Newsday Deal
CHICAGO—Marketing execution firm InnerWorkings Inc. announced that it has signed an agreement with Newsday LLC. InnerWorkings will direct and manage the production of non-newsprint products, including inserts, direct mail and select marketing materials, purchased by Newsday and its advertisers.

Cathedral Obtains AXIS Data
ROME, NY—Cathedral Corp., a provider of financial, marketing and fundraising communications for credit unions and banks, colleges and universities, nonprofit organizations, and churches, among others, has acquired AXIS Data Solutions, an Orlando, FL-based company that provides print, mail and electronic presentment of transactional documents and customer care solutions to credit unions and government clients.

Fidelity In-Plant Cuts Staff
BOSTON—The in-plant operations of Fidelity Investments will see their employee roster reduced by upwards of 500 printing and mailing workers following announced layoffs, The Boston Globe reported. A Fidelity spokesman told the paper that 400 positions would be eliminated from its Covington, KY, operations, with another 60 jobs lost from its Grapevine, TX, facility.

VT Companies Join Forces
BARRE, VT—Jeff Blow, president of Jet Service Envelope/Accura Printing based here, and Scott Putney of Spaulding Press in Bethel, VT, announced that they have combined their services, reported the Times Argus. Spaulding Press specializes in small-format, one- and two-color work, while Jet Service Envelope/ Accura Printing produces an average of eight million envelopes per month.

Spire Installs HP Presses
BOSTON—Spire has installed an HP T200 continuous-feed color inkjet press and an HP Indigo 7600 13x19˝ cutsheet digital press to help address increased customer demand for on-demand, variable data output. Spire’s recent 35 percent growth has brought new opportunities to further expand its print-on-demand offering and its high-volume benefit statement services.