Two Strong Views Into Growth Strategies

If there is one commonality among most players in the broad, and at times shockingly diverse, printing industry, it is the quest for growth — the necessity to make plans and execute decisions that will enable the company to survive at a minimum and to wildly thrive at best.

For many companies, sales are seen as a primary path to growth — converting more prospects into paying customers. And while sales are important, it is what happens upstream of sales — the investments in equipment, the changes in strategy, the careful course corrections that straighten the path ahead — that allow strong sales to happen.

This article highlights the investment and growth efforts of two commercial printing companies, one mid-sized and one massive, and provides a view into the reasoning behind their efforts.

Expanding to Grow

At Seaway Printing, an 85-employee company that has been in business since 1884, the production focus is on books and magazines for publishers operating mostly on a national platform. Among the efforts Seaway Printing is undertaking to grow, says company President Kevin Heslin, is the move into a completely new facility.

This investment, he says, was born of necessity: The company ran out of space and needed room to grow.

“We didn’t want to manage two plants,” Heslin says, “and were able to buy land in a tax incentive district. The plan is to never move again.” The new facility — only recently occupied by the company — is 60,000 sq. ft., with space to expand up to 200,000 sq. ft.

The facility, which is purpose-built for Seaway Printing, will enable the company to set up processes the way it chooses. The previous plant, Heslin says, was old, occupied in pieces, broken up, and “not conducive to what we were trying to do.” He shares that the new location is, “wide open, better for workflow. We’re able to set it up for growth.”

At the time he was interviewed for this article, Heslin said the company was just completing its move into the new facility. In addition to moving existing equipment into the new space, he says the relocation also involved the purchase of new equipment, including a long perfecting press from Heidelberg, an addition to its existing HP high-production inkjet platform, and a Contiweb splicer. About the addition of equipment, he says the company couldn’t add more hours into the day, so adding capacity became an obvious decision.

The new Heidelberg press, Heslin says, was the first piece of equipment installed in the new building. “[We] knew we couldn’t move without an additional press,” Heslin says, clarifying that the press purchase was not a replacement but an addition of both capacity and capability. Because Seaway Printing invested in available automation technology, he says he expects the new line to run with one operator.

Heslin describes the company as being unlike most commercial printers, which do a little bit of everything. “We do a lot of very little,” he states.

When asked what key lessons he has learned from Seaway Printing’s quest to build its new facility, Heslin laughs as he says, “God laughs when man makes plans.” More seriously, he shares that having the right partners on board is essential. “Whether it’s moving, equipment, or consumables — we always believed in the strength of partnership,” he says. Managing two locations, he adds, is not twice as hard as managing one, but instead, “significantly more difficult.” Careful planning was paramount.

“Looking into the future,” Heslin says, “the company would like to add additional automation to platemaking and increase capacity in both folding and binding.”

Heslin says many investment and growth decisions today involve doing “what we can to drive manufacturing costs down — to some degree, that is about reducing headcount.” He says he sees a lot of recent focus on increasing overall revenue per employee. Investments, he says, are ultimately a part of business. “There is definitely a group that are making the investments, and there are those who aren’t. [For them] it will be almost impossible to catch up.”

Diversifying with Strong Intention

Truly a “household name” in the printing industry, RR Donnelley (RRD) is the largest printing company today, according to the 2023 Printing Impressions 300 list, with more than $5 billion in annual sales and 28,000 employees. And while the size and extent of the company is truly vast, the desire to grow, to expand gracefully, even brilliantly, is the same. Al duPont, chief commercial officer, and John Pecaric, chief operating officer, shed light on some of the company’s recent strategic moves.

Printing Impressions (PI): Is digital marketing a next big thing?

Al duPont: Digital marketing is no longer a “next big thing” — it’s the essential present. And as client interest for an optimal marketing mix increases, our ongoing investment in innovation needs to align with this interest. Our acquisition of the digital and print marketing businesses from Vericast is positioned to do just that. It will expand RRD’s digital marketing offerings with capabilities across display advertising, dynamic mobile, and social media marketing, while also enhancing RRD’s print marketing offering, including our cooperative mail and print coupon clearing business. This gives our clients access to the tools they need to function effectively as modern marketers.

PI: RRD announced a move to transform Albertsons Companies through omnichannel marketing approaches. Is this opportunity a channel for increased company growth?

duPont: Omnichannel marketing is a major growth driver for us. Our partnership with Albertsons allows us to showcase its effectiveness at scale, driving localized, personalized promotions that result in greater customer engagement. Though Albertsons is the latest client to utilize our omnichannel approach, it isn’t the only. We’re actively expanding these capabilities across a number of verticals.

PI: As a 160-year-old company — and one of the biggest out there — how does RRD approach company growth?

duPont: Along with the celebration of our 160th anniversary this year comes meaningful reflection on our continued growth and evolution as a company. To put it into perspective, RRD started out producing phone books and today we manufacture cell phone boxes. As technology and communication evolves, so does RRD.

Additionally, throughout RRD’s history, our client-centric mentality and relentless focus on meeting client needs has remained constant. Over time, we’ve leveraged a combination of growth strategies including acquisitions, investment in new technologies, and market expansion, all with the intention of elevating engagement across the full customer journey f
or clients.

PI: As a company with such a long history, how important is it for RRD to stay in touch with its core? Or is it a company that follows opportunity and shifts technologies to meet the need?

John Pecaric: At RRD, we’re constantly balancing foundation with flexibility. Our foundation being our core, which is print, mainly speaking to natural fibers, paper, paperboard, etc. We’ve maintained our focus on natural fibers given the proven benefits to consumers and the environment across sustainability, recyclability, and renewability.

It is equally important that we continue to adapt and respond to the marketplace. As Al shared, as client interest in achieving an optimal marketing mix increases, our ongoing investment in innovation needs to align with this interest. We’re always monitoring key industries and listening to the needs of our clients, so we can
grow together.

PI: Certainly, one way to foster growth is by expanding capacity, and RRD made a huge investment at drupa with the purchase of 15 HP Indigo and PageWide presses. What brought those purchases about and in what way does it define a future path for RRD?

Pecaric: RRD’s print clients show a growing need for speed and efficiency across the production cycle. Postal increases are driving a shift in mail acquisition towards smaller, more frequent, and highly-personalized campaigns. Because of this, clients need access to automated content creation tools that output in print and e-channels with speed and scalability. Our latest investments meet this need and we’ll continue investing in new technologies to stay ahead of market shifts and better support our clients.

PI: This year, RRD announced it was expanding its label capacity to support e-commerce. Can you describe that move, what led to that decision, and how the company is expanding this capacity?

Pecaric: We’ve seen an influx in the needs of our e-commerce and logistics clients, as well as an increased demand for variable imaged labels. Our team recognized a renewed opportunity to further enhance the execution of our labels to better serve our clients. Our investment in these new presses will enable RRD to offer end-to-end solutions, delivering faster and more efficient service.

Toward a Common Goal

While the companies profiled here are wildly different — in size, in focus, in efforts — their commonality is shared goals and the thoughtfulness behind their decisions. While the efforts described here are strong, the success of those efforts will be proven out in time, amid ever-present economic fluctuations, the changing tastes of customers (and their customers), and the specter of profound business disruption. And, ultimately, sales will have to do its job by establishing reliable, lucrative connections between what a company does and the customers it will serve. How will your company successfully meet its profound promise? Start planning.