Vertis Communications

The 150-employee Vertis Communications plant on Tomsons Rd. (Saugerties, NY) will close Jan. 7. The company blamed economic conditions in a notice Thursday to the state Department of Labor. All 150 employees of the plant, which produces advertising inserts, will be affected, according to the filing.

A spokeswoman for Vertis Communications, Amy Bowman, said in an e-mail, “Vertis will consolidate the Saugerties operation to other regional facilities. Vertis customers and employees remain top priority, and the company is taking every step possible to facilitate a smooth transition.”

“It’s one of the biggest employers in the town,” (Town Supervisor Gregory) Helsmoortel said.

Save Mart Supermarkets, a fast growing grocery retailer, has named Vertis Communications its exclusive provider of advertising inserts printing and logistics. Vertis will provide Save Mart same-day delivery of highly versioned, superior quality advertising inserts.

Royal will acquire substantially all of the assets of Vertis’ Webcraft Chemicals subsidiary, which operates under the name Craig Adhesives & Coatings as a supplier of UV-cured and water-based adhesives and coatings to the printing and graphic arts markets.

BALTIMORE—Vertis Communications augmented its large-format business with the implementation of an EFI Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system that offers seamless integration with its production equipment, including a new EFI VUTEk GS3200 wide-format inkjet printer.

With the addition of EFI Pace software and a VUTEk GS3200 large-format inkjet printer, Vertis advances its end-to-end capabilities in large-format media design and production. “EFI advanced technology represents a powerful extension to Vertis’ full-service large-format solutions, maximizing our speed, flexibility and accuracy from production to fulfillment and reporting,” said Terry Monday

Vertis Communications has appointed Gerald “Jerry” Sokol Jr. to the permanent position of president and CEO, effective July 25, 2011. “Since assuming the role as interim president and CEO, Jerry has demonstrated outstanding leadership, taking decisive actions to establish a solid operational foundation for the company while setting a clear growth strategy to capitalize on a rapidly changing industry,” said Doug Teitelbaum, chairman of the board.

“Heroes” is a 32-page, full-color supplement written by Stars and Stripes’ editorial staff and features stories of the bravery and sacrifice of our nation’s Armed Forces. It’s delivered to U.S. military bases, Department of Defense Dependents Schools and distributed as a special supplement to The Washington Post.

The HP Scitex FB700 inkjet printer will enable Vertis to print vivid images, brilliant colors and white ink on an expanded line of large-format substrates, including glass and corrugated plastic. Earlier this year, Vertis installed two HP Scitex large-format printers.

Vertis Communications has received the Eastern Area Vice President’s Award for Strategic Business Development from the U.S. Postal Service. Vertis was recognized for its commitment to innovation and collaboration in managing and optimizing large, time-sensitive First-Class mailings for clients.

Commercial printing industry news briefs, including items Vertis, RR Donnelley, Böwe Bell + Howell, SourceLink, American Litho, Berlin Industries, MSP Digital Marketing, Domtar Corp., Tigner Printing and Mercury Print 
Productions.