Fast-track Firms — Movin’ On Up

DIFFERENT ROADS can lead to success. Some are straight on, filled with excitement and opportunity. Some are long and winding, wrought with trials and tribulations.

But in the race to printing prosperity, whether firms take the high or low road, or simply the one less traveled, it proves there are multiple avenues to sales growth.

Here’s a sampling of fast-track firms appearing on this year’s Printing Impressions 400.

Synergy Graphics, Plymouth, MN
Most Recent Fiscal Year Sales: $66 Million
Previous Fiscal Year Sales: $20 Million
Change: 230 percent

“Why are we successful?” ponders Mike O’Meara, Synergy Graphics president. “Lots of acquisitions! We were just a little company when we first started out in 1996. We had our niche, doing oddball jobs like diecutting, folding and gluing. Then, we decided to get into printing real estate.”

Over the years, Synergy has acquired several printing, binding, and mailing and fulfillment establishments, including one that’s particularly close to his heart. He calls it his “diamond in the rough.” Synergy Web Graphics is a 380,000-square-foot facility, formerly Mazomanie, WI-based Sunny Industries, which had been shut down. Synergy reopened its doors and got the full-web operation cranked up again.

“Now that operation is the biggest growth area within our company, and we’ve hardly tapped into it yet,” says O’Meara.

While Synergy’s core sheetfed, half- and full-web, and digital printing capabilities continue to grow, two areas of the business are proving to be real money makers. The printer opened a facility in St. Cloud, MN, and it became the Elections Services Group, which prints election ballots and other election materials for up to 20 states. “Next year is a presidential election, and we’ll really be cranking out the ballots.”

Synergy’s mailing and fulfillment operation in Fridley, MN, has also been instrumental in the company’s growth over the past five years. “This business is huge!” exclaims O’Meara. “And it’s getting bigger all the time. In fact, we plan to double our capacity and expand that facility sometime in the future.”

Synergy enjoys an excellent working relationship with its banks, according to O’Meara, to the point where they bring acquisition opportunities to the company. “They’ll hear about a printer who’s filed bankruptcy or has closed its doors to see if we’d be interested in buying them. When you have your banks bringing you business, you know you’re doing something right.”

O’Meara and his partners—Don Dale, Bob Schafer and Jim Scalise—are planning more acquisitions, expansions and equipment installations in the near future. “We’re going places,” he exclaims. “We’re going to be big. Really big.”

Print NW, Tacoma, WA
Most Recent Fiscal Year Sales: $11 million
Previous Fiscal Year Sales: $8.2 million
Percent Change: 34 percent

“We’ve been on a fast track from day one and have enjoyed a 500 percent growth rate in our first five years as a company,” says Ned Witting, CFO, explaining that Print NW was created when he and his two partners bought a small offset printing company, and almost immediately added fulfillment.

Within three years, the printer moved into a new building, doubling its plant size and more than doubling its printing capacity. Last year, it installed wide-format equipment and, last month, added a Xerox iGen3 digital press.

“We’ve been able to sustain our growth for a number of reasons,” interjects Jeffery Beardemphl, president. “First and most important, we hire good people and take care of them, while, at the same time, allowing them to be individuals. We believe that work should have an element of fun, and we look for people who enjoy what we do (printing). Improvement efforts, throughput, quality and overall good morale are driven by everyone.”

All of the Print NW execs came out of Quebecor, and each brings a unique and complementary skill set. Witting, CFO, brings financial experience. Beardemphl does nearly all of the hiring and oversees manufacturing. Jeff Stallings, sales manager, is the creative force who drives the company into new technologies and customer solutions.

“We will continue to invest strategically to better serve customers and continue our growth,” informs Stallings, noting that the new iGen3 will enable Print NW to add variable data printing to its service offerings. “We have 65 people working for us, and their families are depending on our success.”

Henry Wurst Inc., N. Kansas City, MO
Most Recent Fiscal Year Sales: $84.89 million
Previous Fiscal Year Sales: $67.2 million
Change: 26 percent

“I like to say that we’re big enough (to have plenty of capability and capacity), but not too big,” explains Mike Wurst, president and CEO. “Our revenue growth is only the beginning of the culmination of our strategy over the last 10 years or so.”

In 1996, Henry Wurst Inc., better known as HWI, was a web printer with a plant in Kansas City and a facility in Apex, NC. Today, after two acquisitions and a big consolidation, HWI is a four-plant operation, with additional locations in Denver and Burlington, NC. The merger of three companies into one under the corporate Wurst umbrella provides an unusually broad scope of capabilities for the printer’s customers—from sheetfed and web printing, to digital printing and Web-to-print, to binding, mailing and fulfillment, and even call centers.

“Our plants are fully integrated, so every one of our sales reps across the country can intelligently offer all of our capabilities to their clients,” Wurst adds. “We’re still a family company with family values. Our customers know that if we commit to something, it will happen. ”

Another key to success for Henry Wurst is its geographic footprint, which places the company in three important corridors of heavily populated areas: the East Coast, Midwest and the Rocky Mountain region. If need be, jobs can be split up between plants.

“Pretty much whatever our customers need, we can take care of it for them—under our own roof,” Wurst concludes. “It’s a pitch that seems to have increasing resonance in the marketplace.”

Prisma Graphic, Phoenix
Most Recent Fiscal Year Sales: $20 million
Previous Fiscal Year Sales: $14.9 million
Percent Change: 34 percent

When Bob Anderson took over Prisma Graphic in 2000, it had zero clients, zero sales. In its past life, the company had been a high-end boutique printer. But when the sales team left and took every account with them, Prisma was ready to go belly up.

Anderson bought the business, and now it’s one of the largest commercial printing operations in Phoenix.

Prisma, a heatset web and sheetfed printer, produces everything from business cards to brochures, but Anderson says the firm has become more of an information handler. “Now we offer digital printing (including variable data), customization, Web-to-print and online fulfillment.” The client base is impressive, with national accounts that include major airlines, hotel chains, restaurant chains, national realtors and industrial companies, to name a few.

“I’m a selling president,” says Anderson, who brought in the Fortune 500 companies to Prisma’s client base. “Part of our sales strategy has been to provide online printing solutions. We’re filling orders over the Internet, using our own software, and it’s been very successful. Between 30 and 40 percent of our business is done via the Internet, and 15 to 20 percent of our business is non-print.”

Prisma Graphic is a different kind of company, Anderson stresses. “We’re the face of the future.

“When I bought the company in 2000, we started out with no business. By 2006, we were doing $20 million in sales,” he concludes. “It’s been a great ride and a lot of fun.”

JohnsByrne Co., Niles, IL
Most Recent Fiscal Year Sales: $61.5 million
Previous Fiscal Year Sales: $40 million
Change: 54 percent

As a privately held, family owned company, Corey Gustafson says he’s honored that JohnsByrne is being recognized as one of Printing Impressions’ 2007 fast-track firms. However, his first inclination was to decline the recognition.

“We’re a hard-working and passionate company. We’re happy about our successes, and frankly, we know our job isn’t done yet. We are still improving and growing our offering,” reveals Gustafson, president of JohnsByrne. “That said, we really feel that our present offering of end-to-end services is really one of a kind. We love what we do. We’re passionate about printing, and we bring value to our clients through our innovative solutions.”

Due to its full-service capabilities, JohnsByrne has been able to attract national clients in the advertising, healthcare and financial industries, as well as those seeking specialty products like luxury packaging, printing on plastic and trading cards.

“We’ve oriented our entire organization in a client-focused manner,” Gustafson explains. “We actively listen to each customer, and frame our offerings and service around that client. We also align our sales and manufacturing efforts to specific vertical markets, where we feel we have a competitive advantage.”

Growth of the Johns-Byrne Co. is also the direct result of its strategy to expand its footprint and continue delivering a larger suite of services. Thus, it embarked on a strategic acquisition quest several years ago. First, it acquired a Chicago-based printing company that aligned with its current business offering, then a converting operation, the latter of which “was a bit of a watershed opportunity,” according to Gustafson, “because it allowed us to offer finishing, structural design, custom luxury packaging and fulfillment.” After adding the converting/finishing facility, JohnsByrne added another 157,000 square feet of manufacturing space.

Future growth of the company, Gustafson says, will come via continuous improvement of existing product offerings and judicious acquisitions.

Kirkwood Printing, Wilmington, MA
Most Recent Fiscal Year Sales: $29 million
Previous Fiscal Year Sales: $19.5 million
Change: 49 percent

Kirkwood Printing has been on a rapid growth track for the past three years. Partners Will Winship, Eddie Kelley and Bob Coppinger were three veteran sales representatives from Acme Printing, when they bought Kirkwood in October of 2004.

Although Kirkwood was a $9 million performer and produced excellent work, it lacked exposure among high-profile customers, says Winship, principal and chief marketing officer. “We were able to add clients such as Arnold Advertising, Exxon Mobil and Royal Caribbean to put Kirkwood on the national stage. Winning the Sappi International Printer of the Year in 2005 and Sappi North American Printer of the Year two out of the last three years reinforced that we’re one of the highest quality printers in the country, and that reputation further fueled our growth.”

Kirkwood Printing stands firm in its commitment to keep pace with client demand by investing in advanced equipment, new hires and value-added services.

“In the last three years, we have made more than $7 million in capital investments, highlighted by the purchase of two new Heidelberg XL 105s,” explains Winship. Last year, the company formed a direct mail division, Kirkwood Direct, which has been very successful and allows the printer to offer clients end-to-end direct marketing services.

Freeport Press, Freeport, OH
Most Recent Fiscal Year Sales: $25 million
Previous Fiscal Year Sales: $18 million
Change: 39 percent

“Nine years ago, Freeport Press was in jeopardy of not surviving the 127-year history we now proudly boast,” admits Deborah Luyster, production manager. “Dave Pilcher Sr. turned this company around and introduced new concepts that we old-timers had never heard of—nor wanted any part of, to be perfectly honest. But change is now our middle name.”

Pilcher learned of the company in 1998, when he was brokering printing firms. “Freeport Press wasn’t financially strong enough to put on the market, so I put together a deal to purchase it myself,” he explains. Pilcher re-established credit with the bank and relationships with vendors, negotiated new and extended terms, began upgrading equipment, and worked to rebuild the image and direction of the company, using both strong financial and legal counsel.

Today, Freeport Press is back on its feet in a big way. It’s become a short-run, streamlined operation with digital capabilities. Centerpieces of the operation include two new Agfa Avalon VLF platesetters, online Dalim digital proofing and sophisticated mailing services. An EFI enterprise-wide business system suite was also implemented recently.

Next Spring, Freeport Press will embark on its largest expansion in the company’s history with the opening of an additional 48,000-square-foot facility and the installation of the first of two new Komori System 38S fully automated web press systems. The second Komori will be installed in 2009.

Interestingly, Pilcher partially credits industry consolidation for the surge in Freeport’s business. “Buyers don’t want to give their business to a company so big that they feel they’ll get lost in the shuffle. We take good care of our customers and create significant value for them. That’s why they give us their business.”

To drive his point, Pilcher reveals, “Over the past five years, 50 printing companies in the Ohio Valley have closed. During that same period, Freeport Press has experienced double-digit growth.” PI