UPFRONT

Allen Takes Vertis Helm BALTIMORE—Quincy Allen, a 27-year veteran of Xerox Corp., has been named CEO of Vertis Communications, a targeted print advertising and direct marketing solutions specialist. The position had been open since Michael DuBose’s January 1 resignation from Vertis. Most recently, Allen was president of Xerox’s Global Business and Strategic Marketing Group, and a vice president for the corporation.

PrintTech Plus Grows Bigger

SALT LAKE CITY—PrintTech Plus has acquired Rocky Mountain Printing, which has plants in the Utah cities of Orem and St. George. The newly obtained facilities will operate under the name RMPlus. Former Rocky Mountain Printing owner Gary Bengtzen will remain with the company, and will focus on new business development and outside sales. The combined companies employ more than 100 people, with gross sales projected in the $20 million range.

Worth Higgins Makes Deals

RICHMOND, VA—Employee-owned Worth Higgins & Associates has acquired Billet Printing of Manassas, VA. In addition, the account executives and employees of the former Colonial Printing in Richmond have joined Worth Higgins. The new assets are expected to generate an additional $8 million in annual sales. The company also plans to hire an additional 40 or so employees during 2009 and will break ground on a 30,000-square-foot addition to its facility.

Jacob North Buys nobrainer

LINCOLN, NE—Jacob North Companies has acquired the assets of nobrainer LLC, which specializes in variable data printing and cross-media communications through its Individualized Content Mail products, including nobrainermail. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Founded in 1888, Jacob North provides web, sheetfed, digital and flexo printing, along with mailing, fulfillment and inventory management.

Industry Vet Wetzel Passes

CUDAHY, WI—Arthur Wetzel, who spent 73 years making Wetzel Brothers one of the Midwest’s leading printers, passed away March 12 at the age of 105. Mr. Wetzel spent his entire career working at the company founded by his father, Ignaz, and his uncle, August. He was president of the PIA in the 1950s, and championed early innovations such as offset printing on plastic substrates and waterless printing. Mr. Wetzel sold his company to Consolidated Graphics in 1999.

Gerace Doesn’t Renew Pact

SHARONVILLE, OH—Multi-Color Corp. announced that Frank Gerace, its president and CEO, has provided the required notice that he does not intend to renew his employment agreement when it expires on March 31, 2011. Under the terms of his deal, Gerace’s contract would have renewed automatically unless he or the company provided a notice of non-renewal at least 24 months prior to its expiration.

Kodak Consolidates Plate Mfg.

ROCHESTER, NY—Kodak announced that it will consolidate its plate manufacturing operations in the United States. The company will close its operations in Windsor, CO, by the end of 2009 and consolidate all U.S. plate manufacturing operations at its Columbus, GA, facility. This decision reportedly enables Kodak to maximize production and logistics efficiencies to further strengthen its position with customers.

KBA’s CEO Resigns From Post

WURZBURG, GERMANY—Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann, president and CEO of press manufacturer KBA (Koenig & Bauer AG), resigned from the company during its supervisory board annual audit meeting. Helge Hansen has stepped into the role of president. KBA expects to eliminate about 800 employee positions in the sheetfed division by the end of 2009.

Massingill Was a Good Mentor

LOS ANGELES—Chuck Massingill, a longtime printer credited with training many key people at the leading print shops of Southern California, died March 6. He was part of the group that founded the old Graphic Press and, under his guidance, the firm became a lithography leader. He also trained many of the key performers at such noteworthy companies as George Rice, Anderson Litho and Triangle Litho.

More Moves for Heidelberg

HEIDELBERG, GERMANY—Heidelberg has stepped up its cost-cutting initiatives with the announcement that it is laying off another 2,500 employees. The move is expected to result in a total savings of 400 million euro, double the previous target for the 2010/2011 fiscal year set by Heidelberg. In all, the company is reducing its workforce by 5,000. In announcing the move, Heidelberg pointed to the continuing reluctance of printers to invest, primarily due to printers’ low capacity utilization and their difficulty in securing bank loans.

Hamada Closes Its U.S. Office

YORBA LINDA, CA—Hamada of Japan closed its Hamada of America branch office here March 31, U.S. dealer Mid-State Litho reported. According to the report, American dealers of Hamada equipment are now networking their parts inventory on a national level for greater accessibility. Parts unavailable in the United States will be ordered and shipped directly from Hamada of Japan. National tech support will be offered by the national dealer network.

Baldwin Makes Staff Cutbacks

SHELTON, CT—Baldwin Technology, which specializes in process automation technology for the printing industry, announced that it is undertaking additional personnel reductions in the United States, Germany, Sweden and Italy in order to competitively position the company in the continuing global economic downturn. This extension of earlier cost-saving measures is expected to realize in excess of $20 million annually. PI