Quebecor World

Hibner Named CFO at Banta MENASHA, WI—Geoffrey J. Hibner has been hired as the new Banta Corp. CFO. Hibner, 53, was most recently with Bridge Associates, a New York City-based management consulting firm. He succeeds current executive vice president and CFO Gerald A. Henseler, who will retire in October after a 37-year career with Banta. Quebecor Joins USPS Program MIDLAND, MI—Quebecor World's Midland facility has been authorized by the United States Postal Service (USPS) to participate in the new Periodical Co-palletization Program. The Quebecor World Midland facility is the second Quebecor World facility to obtain authorization for this program. Additionally, this is said to be the first

Frances Robertson has been named vice president of sales and marketing for Liberty Graphics, Euless, TX. Scott Brink has been hired by Print-Tech LLC, in Mountainside, NJ, as its new general manager. Brink brings with him 20 years of experience in commercial, financial and direct mail web and sheetfed offset lithography. Richard Dunn has been named vice president and director of Von Hoffmann's Jefferson City, MO, manufacturing facility. Before joining Von Hoffmann, Dunn held the position of vice president and general manager of Quebecor World's Dubuque, IA, plant. Prior to his assignment in Dubuque, Dunn was division vice president of Quebecor World's distribution and fulfillment

Clients and Suppliers Seen as Extensions of Print Operations PHILADELPHIA—According to the final count, this year's 5th Annual Digital Smart Factory Forum drew nearly 100 attendees here from across the country. The event is sponsored by the Research and Engineering Council of NAPL. A "digital smart factory" is an environment in which information technology (IT) is strategically applied across the printer enterprise to integrate manufacturing, business and customer-interfacing systems, according to the forum's sponsor. At this year's edition, a number of speakers stressed the importance of extending the concept beyond the print operation to include both ends of the supply chain—customers and suppliers. "While

MONTREAL—Quebecor World revealed plans to cut 1,000 jobs from its worldwide operations after the company lost $62 million in its second quarter. The loss includes write downs and restructuring charges of $82 million for the quarter. In 2002, Quebecor World had earnings of $64 million in the second quarter. The restructuring reflects the continued weakness of the printing industry in all of Quebecor World's markets, says Claude Helie, CFO. Helie revealed that three quarters of the affected employees were already gone at the time of the announcement. The majority of the job cuts came from the company's U.S. operations. The job cuts will cost the company

Quebecor First in USPS Program MONTREAL—Quebecor World's Trenton, NJ, Mailing Center has been authorized by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to participate in the new Periodical Co-palletization Program. Quebecor World reportedly is the first company to be granted authorization by the USPS for this new program. Participation in the program results in additional postage discounts for mail pieces that migrate from sack to pallet containers. Presently, Quebecor World's Trenton Mailing Center co-mails more than 80 publications and supplemental mailings. Anderson Litho Names President LOS ANGELES—Anderson Lithograph has appointed Mark Tennant to the position of president and general manager. Tennant, a 28-year veteran with Anderson Lithograph, has a

BY MARK SMITH Two truisms seem to come up in most discussions of computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) in the printing industry. One, print is a custom manufacturing process. Two, it may be the only manufacturing environment in which the customer provides—or at least controls—so much of the raw materials. Striving to build a Smart Factory and implementing CIM-based production are worthwhile goals, but the full benefits only come when the definition of workflow is extended beyond the walls of a printing plant. Connecting to customers' upstream processes is required to achieve true integration. That's a tall order. The range of print customers and applications

WESTAMPTON, NJ—Muller Martini and MBO America recently held a joint bindery customer expo at MBO's headquarters. The event attracted more than 250 participants. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has issued the first international safety standard for printing press systems: ISO 12648:2003 Graphic technology—Safety requirements for printing press systems. The standard was developed by ISO Technical Committee 130 (TC 130) Working Group 5 (Safety and Ergonomics). The committee is administered by NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies with NPES Vice President William K. "Kip" Smythe and Director of Standards Programs Mary Abbott serving as convener and secretary, respectively. Dauphin Graphic Machines

A Changing Landscape As our industry gears up for the annual GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO exhibition next month in the Windy City, it won't necessarily be business as usual. Printing companies across America—small shops all the way up to behemoths like Quebecor World—have been forced to lay off workers and close under-performing facilities. And, in response to many printers' hesitancies to invest in new equipment during these turbulent times, most industry suppliers have also downsized their manufacturing operations and their employee head counts. As painful as it might be, hard times, I guess, call for hard decisions. Long-time contributor Roger Dickeson refers to

Windy City Printer Upgrades Bindery CHICAGO—Schiele Graphics, a member of the Schiele Group, has purchased a Duplo System 4000 collator bookletmaker from Best Graphics. John Schiele, president, says that what got him excited about the machine was its ability to perform "intelligent collating," an add-on computer and software system that enables complex collating functions involving multiple components. alabama MONTGOMERY—Davis Printing has reportedly become the first printer in the state to employ FM screening. Creo's Prinergy workflow, two Intigris 800 proofers and a Trendsetter 800 Quantam are being used to produce 20 micron Staccato screening. The company plans to produce 90 percent of its

OPPENWEILER, GERMANY—Imagine a manufacturing operation where various MBO folding machines are custom-made to order. Where highly skilled engineers still produce spiral fold rollers by hand—just as they have done since the first MBO machine was built in 1967. And where even the electrical panels for the sophisticated Navigator control system are made in-house. That's just the world a group of U.S. printers and trade binders saw recently during a tour of MBO Binder GmbH & Co.'s manufacturing plant here in this quaint German community located near Stuttgart. MBO also has a large manufacturing facility in Porto, Portugal, used for mass production, whereas equipment assembled in