UPFRONT
Sheridan Shutters Capital City
BERLIN, VT—Capital City Press' operations here are being discontinued by its parent company, The Sheridan Group, resulting in the loss of approximately 150 jobs. The printing of scientific, technical and medical journals, along with book printing, will be consolidated into other locations within the company. Much of the work will be handled by The Sheridan Press in Hanover, PA. Capital City employs 200 workers, and 45 of them—which comprise the Publications Services division—will reportedly be offered employment by Dartmouth Journal Services, another company in The Sheridan Group chain.
FedEx Kinko's Opens Center
DALLAS—FedEx Kinko's has taken the wraps off of its World Production Center in Memphis, TN. The 28,500-square-foot facility is designed to help customers efficiently process and ship documents. The expanded services for the Commercial Production Center includes direct mail capabilities, CD/DVD duplication and high-speed laminating. The company also announced that Gary Kusin, president and CEO of Office and Print Services, resigned effective the end of January. He has been replaced by Kenneth May, executive vice president and COO.
Quebecor World Done Dealing
MONTREAL—Quebecor World has completed its divestiture of non-core assets with the sale of its 51 percent stake in Quebecor Merrill Canada (QMC) to partner Merrill Corp., of St. Paul, MN. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Merrill now owns 100 percent of the shares of QMC, a financial document services specialist with locations in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.
NPC Atop GPO List for '05
WASHINGTON, DC—NPC Inc., of Claysburg, PA, topped the 2005 Government Printing Office (GPO) list of contractors that supplied printing information products and services to Congress, federal courts, more than 130 federal agencies and the American public last year. NPC registered $25.4 million in contracts value, barely eclipsing Monarch Litho ($24.8 million) of Montebello, CA. Gateway Press, Louisville, KY, ranked third at $20.3 million.
Four Xerox Systems for Ditto
PITTSBURGH—Ditto Document Solutions has installed four high-speed digital printing systems from Xerox Corp. The machines include an iGen3 110 digital production press, two Nuvera 120 digital production systems and a Nuvera 120 digital copier/printer. The iGen3 110 is reportedly the first of its kind installed in Pittsburgh.
Ennis Acquires TBF Operation
MIDLOTHIAN, TX—Ennis Inc. has entered into an agreement to acquire the outstanding stock of Tennessee Business Forms/Avant-garde (TBF), based in Tullahoma, TN. The deal also includes associated land and buildings from a partnership that leases the facility to TBF. The deal brings Ennis added short-run print products and solutions, along with integrated labels and form/label combinations sold through the indirect sales marketplace.
X-Rite Plunks Down $280M
GRANDVILLE, MI—X-Rite will pay $280 million for the outstanding registered shares of Amazys Holding, plus 2.11 shares of X-Rite Inc. stock per share. Amazys develops, markets and supports hardware, software and services to measure and communicate color under the GretagMacbeth brand. The combined company anticipates $25 million in annual operating expense savings by the third year following the deal.
Donnelley Finishes Peak Deal
CHICAGO—RR Donnelley has completed the sale of Peak Technologies to Platinum Equity. Peak Technologies, an integrator of automatic identification and data collection equipment and systems, had been reported as a discontinued operation since the fourth quarter of 2004.
New Digs for Gabriel Group
ST. LOUIS—Direct mail manufacturing specialist Gabriel Group has invested $5 million in a new facility that measures nearly 50,000 square feet. The building, which will be occupied by May, doubles capacity for Gabriel and allows it to bring its two facilities under one roof.
Cadmus Opens Asian Center
CHARLOTTE, NC—Cadmus Global Pack-aging Solutions has opened a new Asian Operations Center in Hong Kong. The operation will provide support for Cadmus' expanding Asian manufacturing network and a higher level of service for customers in the region.
Quad Picked for Fortune List
SUSSEX, WI—Quad/Graphics was named to Fortune magazine's 2006 list of "100 Best Companies to Work for." Quad ranked 75th overall and 25th out of the 38 large companies on the list. The printer was chosen for its family oriented atmosphere, where half of the employee base is related by blood or marriage, along with its onsite medical and child daycare centers and recreation facilities.
Transcontinental Loses Execs
MONTREAL—Transcontinental Inc. cited "differences of opinion" as Andre Prefontaine, president of its publishing and distribution subsidiary Transcontinental Media, departed suddenly. Company spokesman Jean Blouin told the Canadian Press the differences came to a head during a recent encounter between Prefontaine and CEO Luc Desjardins. Blouin said the men had the same vision for the media group, but they did not share the same approach. The company also announced the resignation of CFO Daniel Denault, who is leaving to become CFO of Bombardier Recreational Products.
New York Printers Join Forces
WATERVLIET, NY—Tech Valley Printing has acquired Staffield Printing, of Clifton Park, NY. The acquisition was the third made by Tech Valley since 2004, according to The (Albany) Business Review. Staffield owner Jim Staffield will remain with the organization as a senior vice president. The combined company has annual revenues of $12.7 million.
