Quad/Graphics : An Affair to Remember

His drowning death in July of 2002 marked the depths of a dark period in the firm's history. Only weeks before, the collapse of a 10-story automated storage and retrieval system triggered a fire at the Lomira, WI, plant, killing a contract worker.

The elder Quadracci was a man with great foresight, who saw the importance of growth in the 1980s and the need for Quad/Graphics to "get big, fast!" in order to have the means to keep up with technology. Prior to Larry Quadracci's passing, many familiar company names had disappeared from the printing landscape, having been consolidated or—unable to make the necessary changes—closed their doors. The big players, including Quad/Graphics, got bigger.