Ripon Printers Acquires Iowa Shop to Bolster Nonheatset Web Offset Business

Andy Lyke

Ripon Printers, a Ripon, Wis.-based provider of catalogs, publications, manuals, soft-cover educational products and digital communications, announced that it has acquired certain business interests and assets of Maquoketa Web Printing, of Maquoketa, Iowa.

According to Andy Lyke, president and CEO of Ripon Printers — and a 2016 Printing Impressions/RIT Printing Industry Hall of Fame inductee — the move further increases Ripon Printers’ presence in the nonheatset web offset market, while providing Maquoketa’s former customers with access to higher technology and a broader range of printing and electronic services.

He told Printing Impressions that Maquoketa Web Printing, which is still operating one shift with approximately 43 employees, will likely shut down in a couple of weeks. Only a few minor pieces of equipment will be relocated to Ripon. Former Maquoketa Web Printing President R.B. Melvold, and a handful of other Maquoketa employees, will remain with Ripon Printers. The company was founded approximately 70 years ago by Melvold's father.

Click here to learn more about how having a 'team-first' mentality has earned Andy Lyke a place in the 2016 Printing Impressions/RIT Printing Industry Hall of Fame

“We believe our cultures fit well together, and that clients will experience a seamless transition while benefiting from greater capacity, newer technology and a broader suite of services,” adds Lyke.

The acquisition of Maquoketa Web Printing is part of Ripon Printers’ strategy to continue to build for the future. Lyke indicates that future acquisitions are not out of the picture, but that Ripon Printers will now focus on integrating the book of business, which includes educational publications, that resulted from the Maquoketa deal. Ripon Printers reported most recent fiscal year sales of $48.8 million and was ranked No. 107 on the 2016 Printing Impressions 400 list of top printers.

However, Lyke notes that Ripon Printers continues to look for new employees, partly driven by the growth the company will receive from this acquisition. Openings primarily include second and third shift web press and finishing equipment personnel, he says. “We have been fortunate to call Ripon home for over 50 years and provide wages and benefits for so many in the Ripon and New Berlin areas.”