Fort Dearborn

Commercial Printing Industry News Briefs from Printing Impressions’ April 2013 edition, Brown Printing, Fetter Printing, EP Graphics, 4over Inc., RR Donnelley, Xerox, Smith's Printing and North Jersey Media Group.

Fetter Printing, part of Louisville, KY-based FetterGroup, has notified the state it will lay off 54 workers in Jefferson County this spring. A memo attached to the WARN notice, signed by Fetter President and CEO Terry Gill, said the company sold its paint-labeling line of business to Fort Dearborn and, as a result, will permanently be laying off 54 workers.

The memo said Fetter will continue its other lines of business and will retain some workers at the facility. Three rounds of layoffs are expected, two in May and another in June.

The acquisition of FetterGroup’s paint and coatings label business by Fort Dearborn will contribute to the company's near-term and ongoing success as the housing market recovers. “The acquisition is a logical fit for Fort Dearborn and reinforces our commitment to the paint and coatings label market,” said Fort Dearborn CEO Jeff Brezek.

THERE ARE two ways to view the current state of safety in the printing industry. On the one hand, as manufacturing industries go, printing is a relatively safe profession that has witnessed a steady decline in the rate of recorded injuries and illnesses, according to the PIA/GATF figures maintained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to the most current reporting data, in 2006, the manufacturing sector had an injury and illness rate of 6.0 per 100 full time employees. Printing and publishing had a rate of just 4.2 per 100 full time employees. Unfortunately, the worst of our injuries have been splashed

The 2012 Printing Impressions 400 list of the largest printing companies in the United States and Canada as ranked by annual sales.

Grafikom Acquires Speedfast TORONTO—Grafikom LP, a network of companies formerly under the Quebecor World umbrella, has swung its first independent deal since being established last November with the acquisition of Speedfast Color Press. Privately held Speedfast Color Press, a general commercial printer and mailer, has two facilities in Edmonton, Alberta. The deal enhances Grafikom’s holdings in Edmonton, which includes grafikom.Jasper. Mike Steiner, formerly the owner and operator of Speedfast Color Press, will serve as president for the Edmonton operations. Vertis Obtains USA Direct BALTIMORE—Vertis has struck a deal to bring USA Direct, of York, PA, into the fold. USA Direct provides design, printing, personalization and inserting

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL—Private equity firm Genstar Capital has signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all the assets of label manufacturer Fort Dearborn Co. The printer’s management, along with certain selling shareholders, will be among the ownership group.Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in the next couple…

I just pulled the plug on the PREM Web Press Database after 14 years. Kinda sad. But it was time for sundown. Every month since October of 1991, web printing companies had sent me data collected by AutoCount devices on their presses: gross, net, makeready and running waste impressions; number of forms and running stops; hours spent in running, making ready and recovery from unscheduled stops. In total, as the sun went down, the Database had more than 11,000 press-data months contributed by 68 companies from 205 web presses comprised of 53 press models. The companies were primarily from the continental U.S., but also

(Editor's Note: Company rankings for the current and previous years are based on figures reported in 2004. Therefore, companies that revised their 2003 revenues may have changed their 2003 ranking as compared with the ranking that appeared in last year's Printing Impressions 400. Similarly, the percentage change in sales is calculated on the most recent information provided.) 1 ('03: 2) RR Donnelley, Chicago, IL Total Sales (Millions): $8,204.50 Previous Year's Sales (Millions): $4,754.94 Change (%): +73 Principal Officer: Mark A. Angelson Employees: 44,000 Primary Specialties: SPEC 26%; CAT/PUB 23%; BF 10%; COM 9%; BKS 8% Web Offset Press Units: N/A Sheetfed Press

(Editor's Note: Company rankings for the current and previous years are based on figures reported in 2003. Therefore, companies that revised their 2002 revenues may have changed their 2002 ranking as compared with the ranking that appeared in last year's Printing Impressions 400. Similarly, the percentage change in sales is calculated on the most recent information provided.) 1 ('02: 1) Quebecor World, Montréal, Canada Total Sales (Millions): $6,242.00 Previous Year's Sales (Millions): $6,300.00 Change (%): -1 Principal Officer: Jean Neveu Employees: 38,000 Primary Specialties: PUB 26%; ADV 23%; CAT 16%; BKS 12% Web Offset Press Units: 3,156 Sheetfed Press Units: 985 Other Press