IWCO Direct

JUST WHEN it appeared that merger and acquisition activity was beginning to garner steam in the printing industry, along came a downturn in the economy. Is it a recession? Ask again about six months from now. Most economist pundits feel we’re heading in that direction or at least may start suffering stagflation—slow growth, high unemployment and fast-rising prices. At any rate, the writing is on the wall, enough so that President Bush rushed through a $170 billion economic stimulus package in February, and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke continues to cut interest rates to help stave off a recession. For the sake of discussion,

CHANHASSEN, MN—IWCO Direct has tabbed Patrick Deck to fill the newly created role of executive vice president of operations. Deck is now responsible for the strategic direction of all IWCO Direct manufacturing facilities to ensure that operational business plans, profitability and earnings targets are met or exceeded.

WASHINGTON, DC—January 28, 2008—Membership in the organization that is promoting the marketing and promotional power of print continues to grow. Jet, Inc. and Lake County Press have joined The Print Council as full members. Jeff Norby, Jet’s President, will also serve on the Marketing Steering Committee to the Print Council’s Board. “Jet joined the Council because we are quite aware and concerned that print has become somewhat marginalized or commoditized in the eyes of both clients and suppliers,” he says. The Print Council is working to turn that perception around. “We believe in the value of print as a very important component in a

NEW YORK—January 22, 2008—In the face of otherwise daunting marketplace challenges—including a substantial postage rate increase, higher raw materials costs and heightened competition from low-cost interactive media—U.S. direct mail spending continued to grow in 2007, climbing 5 percent from 2006 to total $58.4 billion in aggregate investment, according to a white paper released today by Winterberry Group, a leading strategic consulting firm serving the marketing industry. The white paper, entitled Vertical Market Trends in Direct Mail 2008, is the New York-based consulting firm’s fourth annual study of the direct mail sector, inclusive of both mailers and the production service providers who support their campaigns.

WASHINGTON, DC—January 8, 2008—The Print Council, a national business development initiative created to help promote greater use of printing and print media, today announced that GLS Companies and The Hickory Printing Group have recently joined the organization. As new members, the companies will work in concert with other member companies of The Print Council on initiatives to help develop, maintain and expand the market for printed materials. Members of The Print Council include commercial printers, paper manufacturers, press, ink and equipment manufacturers, publishers, industry associations, ad agencies, and public relations firms. Through advertising and speaking engagements, The Print Council is a visible and leading

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

BY ALL rights, the 2007 direct mail year in review should have been one lined with unbridled glee in the wake of postal reform legislation that squeaked through Congress at the 11th hour of last December’s lame duck session. At long last, future rates would be tied into the Consumer Price Index, providing mailers with a degree of cost certainty. Then came the May rate increase and a reminder that every silver lining is attached to a dark cloud. The crippling increase for flat-shaped mail pieces was particularly harmful for catalogers and their printers but, on the whole, the direct mail community enjoyed success

Frank Beddor, Jr., age 83, of Naples, FL (who lived most of his life in Minneapolis and Chanhassen, MN) died on November 10 after a brief illness. An entrepreneur and devoted family man, Frank was born in Minneapolis to Frank Beddor, Sr., and Genevieve Nolan Beddor. He was a graduate of St. Thomas Academy and served in the Navy and Army Air Corp, graduating from the University of Minnesota. In 1957, he married Marilyn Branchaud, whom he called the “love and joy” of his life. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in June 2007. An eternal optimist who found promise in obstacle, he built

NAPLES, FL—Frank Beddor Jr., an entrepreneur who helped build many well-known Midwestern printing companies during the 1970s and 1980s, passed away Saturday at the age of 83. Mr. Beddor began his printing career with Japs-Olson and in 1969 he founded the company that would become IWCO Direct of Chanhassen, MN. He also founded, acquired and/or merged a number of well-known printing establishments, including The Press, Viking Press, McGill/Jensen, Brookshore Litho, Danner Press and The Press of Ohio. Away from the office, Mr. Beddor always sought out adventure. He once took a motorcycle trip from Minneapolis to South America along with his Great Dane, Rowdy. In 1953

CHANHASSEN, MN—IWCO Direct will expand its Elm City, NC, plant and consolidate three Long Island facilities into one, moves that will add 350 new positions to the organization. Elm City is the former Cox Target Media Valpak production facility, acquired by IWCO Direct in October of 2006. The deal included a phased transition to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year but, based on performance results and operational costs, the facility will be expanded beyond the initial plan to include a “super commingle” site to drive postal optimization strategies. “The value of commingling has been proven by the May postal rate increase,” reports