Its new Commercial and Specialty print division combines the recently acquired HGI Co. operations in Burlington and Menomonee Falls, WI, with the commercial and book operations in Enfield, CT, and Leominster, MA. Digital and conventional presses with capabilities for short- to medium-run commercial work along with specialty print capabilities, such as large-format in-store signage and displays, will be added.
Included are equipment orders of more than $1 million from Quad/Graphics to enhance the productivity of several of its new and existing presses while simultaneously improving the quality of the printed product. The November orders bring the year-to-date orders for the Baldwin Americas operation to a 23 percent increase over orders recorded in the same period in 2009.
Though they have struggled to bring decentralized Worldcolor operations into the fold, Quad/Graphics executives told Wall Street analysts today they are off to “a fast start” in integrating the two companies. The bad news of the former Worldcolor’s structure is that its “previous acquisitions hadn't been integrated,” resulting in "no common manufacturing platform or workflow process” “63 vacation policies” and “94 post-retirement healthcare programs,” Quad executives said.
The good news is that Worldcolor had “very little corporate culture to change,” they added. That’s a huge contrast to Quad, where managers talk of “Quadracizing” almost everything and employees joke about
SUSSEX, WI—As part of its ongoing integration strategy, Quad/Graphics Inc. announced plans to cease production at its direct mail division facility in Fredericksburg, VA, by the end of next January. The move will leave 300 full- and part-time workers without jobs.
Quad/Graphics officials announced Tuesday that 80 percent of the employees at the Mt. Morris (IL) printing plant will lose their jobs over the next few months. Clair Ho, director of corporation communications for Quad/Graphics, said 400 of the Mt. Morris facility’s 500 workers will get pink slips by April 1. The job cuts will begin in January.
A loss of customers brought on the job reductions, which will also mean eliminating two departments—Bindery and Finishing & Offset Press.
“The reason is a loss of client work that was not renewed prior to Quad/Graphics acquisition of the
One of the biggest questions heading into 2011: Has the e-reader market peaked, having now been embraced by the most ardent bibliophiles, or is there reason to believe more market share can be cannibalized? Further, whither the future of the educational sector and its possible adoption of e-readers in lieu of textbooks?
It is not surprising to note that much of the commercial printing industry news in 2010 was dominated by the continuing struggle of printers trying to reconcile employee ranks with dwindling press hours. White-collar crime was rampant and, in some instances, theft indirectly led to closures.
While many magazine and catalog printers have reported some improvement in their sectors since 2009, economic and industry uncertainty still carried its weight into 2010. Reduction in advertising pages, a migration to digital alternatives, and the rising cost of postage and paper have remained key issues.
Quad/Graphics took its minority interest in HGI Co. a step further by acquiring the Burlington, WI-based company less than a year after the two firms had established a partnership. HGI is a full-service commercial and specialty products printer. The acquisition is said to bring together HGI's expertise in the commercial and specialty products segments with Quad/Graphics' technology and innovation to provide quick turn, customized and value-added solutions on a global scale.
Good news was difficult to find in 2010 for the printers of direct mail, not to mention the direct marketing community. Even the United States Postal Service (USPS) struggled in its continuing efforts to offset dwindling volume and out-of-control costs, having seen its request for an exigent price increase denied in late September by the Postal Regulatory Commission.
