Quad/Graphics, the hemisphere’s largest privately held commercial printer, announced today that its Sussex, WI, manufacturing facility has received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, Silver rating, from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
I nearly choked on my Coke this morning when the news came down that RR Donnelley had made a pretty straightforward offer of $1.35 billion in cash and stock to acquire Quebecor World.
QuadTech, Inc., the world's preeminent designer and manufacturer of automated print controls, today announced four new customer projects to start off 2009. After successful showings at drupa and All-in-Print China, QuadTech returned to home to complete product orders with Mid-Atlantic Graphics, Graphic Packaging, Progress Printing and Omnova.
Printing Impressions' Upfront Commercial Printing News for February 2009
Citing softness in the economy and a desire to have production capacity in line with print demand, Quad/Graphics announced it was shutting down the equivalent of one plant’s worth of capacity immediately. As a result, 550 positions—roughly 5.6 percent of Quad’s domestic workforce—were eliminated in five states.
From the "it's going to get worse before it gets better" department comes a Quad/Graphics capacity reduction that sees 550 people lose their jobs this week. Another 72 jobs are gone as Courier Corp. shuts down short-run Book-mart of North Bergen, NJ, while 62 Multi-Color Corp. positions are eliminated as its Framingham, MA, operations are folded into other facilities. That's nearly 700 jobs in under a week. It's a safe bet that more than 1,000 people industry-wide will be cut loose this week.
Quad/Graphics President & CEO Joel Quadracci announces a $1 million donation to food banks and meal programs in Southeastern Wisconsin and six other U.S. locations where Quad/Graphics has printing facilities. The gift is made possible by the Windhover Foundation, a charitable organization funded by Quad/Graphics and the Quadracci family, and chaired by Betty Quadracci.
IF THIS magazine chose to hand out an award for the biggest newsmaker of the year, the 2008 honor would go to Quebecor World (QW), hands down. One might contend that the attention, while merited, is not the type of exposure a company would want: Financing issues, trying to sell an unprofitable venture and muddling through with bankruptcy in two countries. But Quebecor World is a printer for our economic times, the No. 2 in North America at a time when market leaders (Circuit City, AIG, Lehman Bros.) have come crashing down.
AS THE largest privately held printer of magazines, catalogs and other commercial products in the Western Hemisphere—and the third-largest printer, public or private, in the nation—Quad/Graphics employs more than 12,000 people worldwide in 10 core domestic printing plants, as well as operations in Poland, Argentina and Brazil. With a resumé like that, it’s no wonder that being “green” is extremely important to this mega printer.
SUSSEX, WI—About 100 employees, mostly in administrative positions throughout Quad/Graphics’ Wisconsin workforce, were let go due to the economy’s impact on the printer. According to Claire Ho, marketing communications director for Quad, the length of the economic slump necessitated the move. “The downturn in the economy appears to be longer than anyone previously anticipated, and so we’re being proactive in how we address what’s happening in the economy and our industry,” Ho says. “The reductions were tough, but necessary, and we opted to do them all on one day to minimize disruption to employees and the business. Now, we can be focused on serving
