UPFRONT
Banta to Sell Healthcare Group
MENASHA, WI—Banta Corp. has reached an agreement to sell the assets of single-use healthcare products subsidiary Banta Healthcare Group to an affiliate of Fidelity Capital Investors for $67 million in cash. The deal is expected to close by the end of the first quarter. Fidelity is a private equity investment division of Boston-based Fidelity Strategic Investments. In a separate deal related to the divestiture, Banta sold its warehouse in Rialto, CA, to a California real estate investment company for $7 million.
Phoenix Color Closes Division
CHICAGO—Phoenix Color has authorized the closure of its Book Technology Park division and the sale of its press and binding equipment to RR Donnelley, based here. The two companies also reached an agreement that sees the Phoenix Color book component division producing components for a number of Donnelley book plants. Phoenix Color will continue to manufacture book jackets, paperback covers, preprinted case covers, inserts, endpapers and heavily illustrated multicolor books.
GRACoL Developing Standard
ALEXANDRIA, VA—The GRACol (General Requirements and Applications for Commercial Offset Lithography) Committee, through the International Digital Enterprise Alliance (IDEAlliance), is conducting a series of press runs at various locations across the country to develop a new specification and working guidelines for consistent, high quality commercial color printing. The initial purpose of the press runs is to research and develop a clear description of how good commercial printing "appears" to the eye on a Number 1 sheet. The heart of the "print appearance" specification will be to develop a new characterization data set to replace DTR004.
Sun Chemical's Murphy Resigns
FORT LEE, NJ—Michael S. Murphy has resigned his post as president of Sun Chemical's North American Inks division for personal reasons. Wes Lucas, chairman, president and CEO of Sun Chemical, will assume primary operations responsibility until a new North American Inks president is named.
HP CEO Carly Fiorina Forced Out
PALO ALTO, CA—Carleton "Carly" Fiorina, chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP), announced her resignation from the company amid reports that she was pressured into quitting. Robert Wayman, HP's financial officer, has been named CEO on an interim basis and Patricia Dunn was named non-executive chairman of the board.
Stabler Takes Helm at Nipson
DARTFORD, UK—Nipson Digital Printing Systems has appointed Robert Stabler as president of its North American operations. Alain Flament, former president, has been named Nipson's global chief marketing officer. Stabler formerly served as president of Agfa's Graphic Systems group in North America, where he played a role in transitioning Agfa into digital markets.
Spartanics Changes Ownership
ROLLING MEADOWS, IL—A trio of Spartanics executives—Tom Kleeman, Bill Gillen and Tom O'Hara—assumed ownership of the company effective February 1. Kleeman, formerly the chief technical officer, is now Spartanics' CEO, overseeing manufacturing and service operations. Gillen moves from vice president of manufacturing to COO, overseeing manufacturing and service operations, while O'Hara moves from comptroller/vice president of finance to president. In another move, Bill Knotts takes the helm as vice president of sales and marketing.
HBP Acquires Assets of Charter
HAGERSTOWN, MD—Commercial printer HBP Inc. has acquired the assets of Alexandria, VA-based Charter Printing. Charter employees will become a part of the HBP organization and the facility will do business as HBP-Charter, a wholly owned subsidiary. The deal will provide HBP customers with increased capacity and the availability of press checks in the Washington, DC, metro area. HBP-Charter clients will enjoy new proofing options, larger press formats, digital printing capabilities, mailing and fulfillment.
Cenveo Anderson Registers Data
LOS ANGELES—Commercial printer Cenveo Anderson Lithograph has successfully certified its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory with the California Climate Action Registry, earning the title of Climate Action Leader. All Registry members are required to report GHG emissions produced in California that undergo third-party certification, which contributes to the standardization and credibility of the reporting program.
EMR Systems, Gramercy Merge
NEW YORK CITY—Prepress and graphic services provider EMR Systems has combined forces with fellow Big Apple business Gramercy Offset, a provider of traditional print services for more than 35 years. Gramercy has relocated its facilities and personnel to EMR's West 26th Street location, and the pair have integrated their project management and quality control systems to provide customers with increased flexibility, continuity and speed.
Kubin-Nicholson Opens TX Plant
MILWAUKEE—Large-format printing specialist Kubin-Nicholson has raised the curtain on a new wide-format digital printing plant in Texas. The company already has one litho and one digital plant located here. According to Mike Rees, president and CEO of Kubin-Nicholson, the added facility will allow the company to better serve clients located in the south and others who ship there.
Xplor Co-locates Conference
MIAMI BEACH, FL—Xplor International has switched its Global Electronic Document Systems Conference, originally slated for November 6-10, 2005, to take place at the 31st annual Graphics of the Americas show, to be held February 3-5, 2006. The partnership builds upon the strengths of both organizations, bridging the gap between the digital and non-digital worlds.
