Restructuring At Printing Industries of America, Interview With CEO Michael Makin

Follow-up Interview with CEO Michael Makin

Printing Impressions Editor-in-Chief Mark Michelson spoke with Michael Makin, CEO of Printing Industries of America (PIA), earlier today to gather more information about the association’s restructuring announcement and to dispel some inaccurate press reports that initially came out.

According to Makin, 14 employees were laid off, with staff cuts made across the board, including at Printing Industries of America’s Sewickley, (Pittsburgh), PA, headquarters and its Washington, DC, satellite office. The vast majority of the staff positions eliminated, however, comprised individuals working within the in-plant printing and hands-on training facility at the suburban Pittsburgh headquarters. Equipment on loan will be returned to the manufacturers, most notably a 1994-era Heidelberg Speedmaster sheetfed offset press and a Xerox iGen4 color digital press.

Makin admits that non-tenured employees who were released did not receive prior notification as part of their severance—as would be typical procedure in any corporate restructuring—but that long-term employees were notified in advance in as “dignified manner as possible” and received generous severance packages. Two of the most well-known individuals impacted by the downsizing include Brad Evans, senior research technician/lab coordinator, and Lloyd DeJidas, director, graphic services and facility group.

With the elimination of the in-house printing operations, the PIA’s Board of Directors also voted to put the building housing its 53,000-square-foot headquarters up for sale. Formerly GATF’s home prior to the 1990s merger, the building is now owned outright by Printing Industries of America. Makin indicated that, once the commercial property is sold, the association will lease office space near the Steel City, perhaps closer to the Pittsburgh Airport for easier access. He expects that the sale may take some time, noting that the board’s 2014 budget assumes the association will remain there all of next year.

The shift to an online training model will be spearheaded by Julie Shaffer, vice president of digital technologies. Popular courses, such as those related to health/safety and an orientation to the graphic arts, will continue, among others.

“Some have speculated that we are no longer in the technology business,” Makin said. He pointed out how that is not true, noting that Dr. Mark Bohan will continue to oversee the association’s technical services, including a toll-free technical hotline, lab services for conflict resolution and technical consulting services, among other initiatives.

“Our revenues are not as great as they used to be,” Makin concluded. “Our expenses have to reflect that. It was wonderful to have a state-of-the-art (production training/testing) facility, but it is a luxury that is no longer sustainable.” Ninety percent of Printing Industries of America’s members had never even seen the production facility housed there, he added.

SEWICKLEY, PA—November 23, 2013—Please find the special announcement below from Michael Makin, president and CEO of Printing Industries of America:

Dear Members:

As we all know, our industry continues to change and evolve. Just as printing and media companies must adjust to new and often challenging realities, so too must the trade associations that represent them.

We recognize that Printing Industries of America should reflect and adapt successfully to rapid changes in our industry and we are taking strong and deliberate steps to respond to current industry conditions, while staying true to our core mission statement.

Earlier this week, Printing Industries of America announced a major restructuring in the model for its delivery of technical training. Whereas once we had the luxury to maintain a state-of-the-art facility for hands-on technical training, the business realities of today have made this model unsustainable from a financial perspective, particularly as fewer and fewer companies have availed themselves of such hands-on, equipment-focused learning.

In an age where more and more individuals are learning through online sources, our training model must reflect and embrace this new paradigm.

We are thrilled to announce that in 2014 Printing Industries of America will introduce a new online training platform that will offer top-notch training for our members without requiring them to spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in travel costs to Pittsburgh. Offering distance training allows us to be more nimble in our educational content development, providing timely courses on cutting edge technologies.

We will, of course, continue to offer classroom style learning and face-to-face networking opportunities through our Continuous Improvement and Color Management Conferences and the Print Leadership Summit. And vendors within our industry have also graciously offered their training facilities going forward for hands-on equipment training.

Just as organizations must adapt to new technologies, they must also accept current market conditions and operate within their means. To sustain a viable organization going forward, Printing Industries of America has had to right-size its staff complement, not unlike many of you have had to introduce within your own companies. It is true we will be a smaller organization going forward, but our commitment to our core service offerings will remain unchanged. We will continue to be represented in Washington with a government affairs presence, maintain our economic research for the industry from market surveys to ratio benchmarks, continue to offer expertise in the environmental, health, and safety arena, and continue to provide human resources assistance and educational offerings.

While our business model going forward will no longer include the presence of capital equipment for training at our facility, Printing Industries of America is by no means vacating its presence as a technology leader for the industry. In addition to the aforementioned online training platform, we will continue to offer a toll-free technical hotline, unbiased research and commentary on the latest technologies impacting the industry through white papers, case studies and our monthly Tech Alert Publication, conflict resolution services with our lab, and technical consulting.

We believe that multi-channel marketing and cross-media strategies will be critically important to the future of the industry and as such will continue to expand The Integrated Print Center to keep our members current on integrated marketing communication trends, tools and techniques through hands-on applications, online video training series, learning management systems, reports and relevant information feeds.

Change is never easy but we must embrace it to move forward. The restructuring of your national association was responsible and necessary. I am confident the committed and professional team of men and women serving this organization will embrace the change and move forward excited with the opportunities to come. Thank you for your continue support of the organization.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions at is 1-800-910-4283 (ext. 777).

Sincerely,

Michael Makin, MBA
President & CEO

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Restructuring at Printing Industries of America (Includes Follow-up Interview with CEO Michael Makin)