Top Firms GAM 101
Green Shoots at Top Printers
Sustainability has taken on whole new meaning for top North American printing firms: survival. The sectors' largest, having witnessed the decline and fall of some of their biggest customers—or even entire markets like automotive and publication work—are jockeying to position themselves to grow with recovery.
Economists suggest that May represented the bottom of the recession, and whispers of optimism arrive from printers recording a slow down in the slowdown—the aptly named “green shoots” of recovery. During the biggest downturn since the Depression, the environmental movement may have been expected to fall victim to the fall off. But the larger printers have so fully embraced at least some aspects of it—chain of custody certification for papers, or proactive compliance that even exceeds regulatory standards—that they can't turn back from it. The biggest firms in the industry report facing the toughest competitive market ever. Print buyers have begun demanding even more while wanting to pay even less. And lenders are more selective, hampering efforts by printers to update and grow margins.
Unsurprisingly, printers included in the 27th Annual GAM 101 listing of the largest firms in North America report sales were down. Aggregate revenue for GAM 101 firms increased 3%. That compares to a 12% leap last year, perhaps representative of the printing industry's share in the economic bubble. Overall, 40% of firms reported sales declines.
The current economic reality is painful, and has proved fatal to some firms. The EPI Companies, Marrietta, GA, are gone with the wind. And Graphic Press (subsequently renamed Insync Marketing Solutions) included in last year's coverage, ceased operation. Likewise for 104-year-old Sleepeck Printing, Bellwood, IL, which had $57 million in revenue four years ago, but saw its assets split and plant taken over by Rider-Dickerson and Service Web last month. Closure also faces Solar Communications, which once ranked 52 on the GAM 101.
Yet, the industry's top firms are rising to the challenge with profit strategies that combine tough budget decisions with focused capital spending. GAM 101 firms report aggressive cost-cutting moves, such as staff cuts, facility closures and wage and benefit reductions.
Quad/Graphics (No. 4), for the first time in its history, slashed production capacity, shutting down the equivalent of an entire plant. The decision lead to 550 job cuts in five states, or 5.6% of its domestic workforce.
Visant (No. 12), Cenveo (No. 6), RR Donnelley (No. 1) and Vertis (No. 8) all closed plants last year or earlier this year.
At the same time, firms are investing in technology, plant expansions and acquisitions–to either buy the book-of-sales from competitors, or to enter new markets.
AFL Web (No. 83), betting it can profit while contributing to the salvation of the newspaper business, is poised to complete the second phase of a multimillion-dollar press investment when it brings online the remaining eight of 20 new 4-color Manugraph DGM towers this summer. The first 12 started up last summer at the firm's new 150,000-sq.ft. plant in Voorhees, NJ.
Super trade printer 4over opened three new facilities since last year, at sites in Florida, New Jersey and Texas, funded through industrial revenue bonds. The company's impressive track record has attracted the attention of lenders, says CEO Zarik Megerdichian, and 4Over now receives many offers for funding.
Capital spending for GAM 101 firms held steady at $1.3 billion. Still, many firms report lending standards are tougher and banking relationships strained. To some extent this resulted from depreciating value of assets normally used as collateral—such as real estate, plants and equipment.
“Raising new capital is difficult to impossible in the current environment due to lenders' challenges, as well as their collective minimization of asset values for collateral,” says George Glisan, CEO, Hickory Printing Group (No. 99).
Adds George Scharr, senior VP, CFO, Flower City Printing (No. 89). “The financing process is longer and more difficult, but workable. Bank margins are definitely higher.”
Some printing markets were already braced for today's tough operating environment.
Worzalla Publishing Company (No. 78) reports when clients started moving four-color sheetfed work to China in 2001, the firm re-evaluated its product offering and staffing levels. The actions taken at that time, proved essential for weathering the current recession.
“Make the tough, common sense decisions that need to be made, when they need to be made,” advises Charles Nason, Worzalla's CEO. “You cannot hesitate in this environment.”
Even firms serving markets that are somewhat recession-proof–i.e. food and health care–are making protective moves.
Label printer WS Packaging (No. 26), trained its employees on the principles of lean manufacturing, which focuses on eliminating process steps that do not add value, minimizing resources used, while at the same time improving quality. Cost saving initiatives were also implemented.
The company more than doubled its size over the last seven years, through growth and acquisition. A joint venture between WS Packaging and French RFID technology firm ASK, will result in a new plant in Essex, VT, to produce contactless RFID inlays for a range of secure ID cards.
Where did they go?
A number of firms that appeared last year or in prior years are missing from this edition of the GAM 101 list. American Color Graphics was acquired by Vertis, and Ivy Hill was taken over by Multi Packaging Solutions. The new parent opted not to participate in the tabulation of top printers.
Other past participants that chose not to share sales numbers include: Canadian Bank Note (No. 49), MPI Label (No. 59), Williamson Printing Corporation (No. 66), Tanaseybert (No. 74), National Graphics (No. 75), Publication Printers (No. 76) and E&D Web (No. 82).
Sales data, the criteria used to rank firms, was provided by either the firms listed or from public sources. Special thanks to Marcy Calkins for her assistance in compiling the list.
To view prior year GAM101 lists, please click on the year: 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003.
To be included in the 2009 GAM 101, contact Lisa Cross at lisa.cross@reedbusiness.com
| Rank | Company, Headquarters, Products, Prior Year Rank | Current | Change |
| FootNotes: ¹ Publicly Held; N/A not available, *Converted from Canadian Dollars, **Converted from British Pounds Sterling and ***Estimated Abbreviations: BK-Books, BUS-Business Forms, CAT-Catalogs, COM-Commercial, DM-Direct Mail, FIN-Financial, INS-Inserts, PUB-Publications, SPC-Specialty, NL-Not Listed |
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| 1 | RR Donnelley¹, Chicago, IL, COM, PUB, BK, (1) | 11,582,000 | -0.04% |
| 2 | Quebecor World¹, Montreal, QC, COM, PUB, BK, (2) | 4,016,900 | -13.70% |
| 3 | Valassis¹, Livonia, MI, INS, (4) | 2,400,000 | 9.09% |
| 4 | Quad/Graphics, Sussex, WI, CAT, (5) | 2,266,000 | 11.08% |
| 5 | Transcontinental Inc.1*, Montreal, QB, COM, PUB, (3) | 2,247,458 | 4.43% |
| 6 | Cenveo Inc.¹, Stamford, CT, COM, (6) | 2,098,694 | 2.54% |
| 7 | Rock-Tenn Company¹, Norcross, GA, SPC, (10) | 1,902,200 | 7.75% |
| 8 | Vertis Communications, Baltimore, MD, INS, DM, (11) | 1,800,000 | 28.57% |
| 9 | American Greetings¹, Cleveland, OH, SPC, (8) | 1,646,399 | -4.88% |
| 10 | Avery Dennison¹, Pasadena, CA, SPC, (13) | 1,550,800 | 3.00% |
| 11 | Deluxe Corp.¹, St. Paul, MN, SPC, (9) | 1,468,662 | -7.57% |
| 12 | Visant Corporation1, Armonk, NY, BK, DM, SPC, (12) | 1,365,600 | 7.51% |
| 13 | Harland Clarke¹, San Antonio, TX, SPC, (14) | 1,290,400 | 16.83% |
| 14 | Consolidated Graphics¹, Houston, TX, COM, (15) | 1,145,000 | 4.57% |
| 15 | Scientific Games¹, New York, NY, SPC, (17) | 1,118,829 | 6.89% |
| 16 | Standard Register¹, Dayton, OH, BUS, DS, PM, (19) | 791,076 | -8.59% |
| 17 | Bowne & Co.¹, New York, NY, FIN, (20) | 766,645 | -9.87% |
| 18 | De La Rue 1**, Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK, SPC, (21) | 664,182 | 15.3% |
| 19 | American Reprographics¹, Walnut Creek, CA, SPC, ( 26) | 639,045 | 1.84% |
| 20 | DST Output, El Dorado Hills, CA, SPC, (NL) | 528,000 | N/A |
| 21 | Schawk, Inc¹., Chicago, IL, COM, SPC (23) | 494,200 | -9.22% |
| 22 | Minuteman Press, Farmingdale, NY, COM, (NL) | 465,000 | 1.08% |
| 23 | CGS Systems Int.¹, Englewood, CO, SPC, (NL) | 439,975 | 15.16% |
| 24 | Brown Printing Co., Waseca, MN, PUB, (27) | 415,000 | 0.00% |
| 25 | VistaPrint USA Inc.¹, Lexington, MA, COM, (40) | 400,700 | 56.58% |
| 26 | WS Packaging Group, Inc., Green Bay, WI, SPC, (30) | 388,920 | 14.60% |
| 27 | Clondalkin Group***, Philadelphia, SPC, (NL) | 382,282 | N/A |
| 28 | Allegra Network LLC, Northville, MI, COM (28) | 353,000 | -4.85% |
| 29 | Fort Dearborn Company, Elk Grove Village, IL, SPC, (29) | 350,000 | 2.94% |
| 30 | The Sheridan Group, Hunt Valley, MD, PUB, (24) | 348,000 | 1.10% |
| 31 | Matthews Brand Solutions ¹ , Pittsburgh, PA, SPC, (37) | 329,103 | 16.02% |
| 32 | Ennis, Inc.¹, Midlothian, TX, BUS, (22) | 327,034 | -5.22% |
| 33 | SGS International ¹ , Lousville, KY, SPC, (33) | 323,500 | 4.76% |
| 34 | EarthColor, Parsippany, NJ, COM, (31) | 300,000 | -9.09% |
| 35 | Norwood Promotional Products, Indianapolis, IN, SPC, (NL) | 312,000 | -4.13% |
| 36 | AlphaGraphics***, Salt Lake City, UT, COM, (NL) | 290,000 | N/A |
| 37 | Multi-Color Corporation¹, Sharonville, OH, SPC, (44) | 289,763 | 37.78% |
| 38 | Arandell Corporation, Menomonee Falls, WI, CAT, (36) | 287,000 | 0.00% |
| 39 | Courier Corporation¹, North Chelmsford, MA, BK, (35) | 280,324 | -4.84% |
| 40 | Trend Offset Printing Services, Los Alamitos, CA, PUB, (39) | 275,000 | 0.00% |
| 41 | St. Joseph Communications*, Concord, ON, COM, (34) | 267,319 | -4.9% |
| 42 | IWCO Direct, Chanhassen, MN, DM, (38) | 252,000 | -9.65% |
| 43 | Publishers Press, Shepherdsville, KY, PUB, (41) | 234,000 | 3.08% |
| 44 | J.J. Keller & Associates, Inc., Neenah, WI, PUB, (42) | 228,204 | 5.36% |
| 45 | Gannett Offset¹, Springfield, VA, PUB, (43) | 198,000 | -10.42% |
| 46 | Command Web Offset, Secaucus, NJ, COM, (47) | 168,000 | 0.00% |
| 47 | Taylor Publishing***, Dallas, TX, BK , (NL) | 166,800 | N/A |
| 48 | Pollard Banknote¹, Winnipeg, MB, SPC, (NL) | 163,618 | 26.24% |
| 49 | Chapman Printing Co.¹, Huntington, WV, COM, BUS, (51) | 162,685 | 11.70% |
| 50 | DG3-Diversified Global Graphics, Jersey City, NJ, COM, (54) | 150,000 | 11.11% |
| 51 | The Matlet Group, Pawtucket, RI, COM, (50) | 148,500 | 0.00% |
| 52 | Freedom Graphic Systems, Milton, WI, DM (NL) | 145,000 | 3.57% |
| 53 | Japs-Olson Company, St. Louis Park, MN, COM, (48) | 140,986 | -7.90% |
| 54 | Imagine! Print Solutions, Minneapolis, MN, COM, (53) | 135,000 | 3.29% |
| 55 | Sandy Alexander, Clifton, NJ, COM, (52) | 127,000 | -10.56% |
| 56 | Lithographix, Inc., Hawthorne, CA, COM, (55) | 120,000 | -4% |
| 57 | BCT, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, COM, (NL) | 108,329 | -16.38% |
| 58 | Creel Printing Company, Las Vegas, NV, PUB, (57) | 106,000 | -9.40% |
| 59 | Henry Wurst Incorporated, North Kansas City, MO, COM, (63) | 101,000 | 14.77% |
| 60 | Webcrafters, Inc., Madison, WI, BK, (62) | 100,000 | 14.94% |
| 61 | Angstrom Graphics (MBO St. Ives), Hollywood, FL, COM, (56) | 96,000 | -17.95% |
| 62 | Outlook Group Corp., Neenah, WI, COM, DM, SPC (56) | 92,000 | 3.37% |
| 63 | Imprimerie Solisco Inc*., Scott, QC, PUB, (58) | 87,704 | 1.55% |
| 64 | Hammer Packaging, Rochester, NY, SPC, (60) | 84,000 | -5.62% |
| 65 | IntegraColor, Mesquite, TX, COM, (61) | 80,757 | -7.95% |
| 66 | Edwards Brothers, Inc., Ann Arbor, MI, BK, (67) | 80,200 | 1.52% |
| 67 | Friesens Corp., Altona, MB, BK, (70) | 80,000 | 1.27% |
| 67 | Smyth Companies, Inc., St. Paul, MN, SPC, (65) | 80,000 | 0.00% |
| 69 | Bert-Co. Industries, Inc., Cerritos, CA, SPC, (79) | 76,000 | 8.75% |
| 69 | Southwest Offset Printing, Gardena, CA, PUB, (73) | 76,000 | 1.33% |
| 71 | 4over Inc., Glendale,CA, COM, (91) | 75,783 | 27.80% |
| 72 | Pictorial Offset Corporation, Carlstadt, NJ, COM, (69) | 75,000 | -6.02% |
| 73 | Continental Web Press Inc., Itasca, IL, CAT, (68) | 74,500 | -5.70% |
| 74 | National Print Group, Inc., Chattanooga, TN, SPC, (72) | 74,000 | -2.63% |
| 75 | Unimac Graphics, Carlstadt, NJ, COM, (77) | 72,000 | 0.00% |
| 76 | Maple-Vail Book Mfg. Group, York, PA, BK, (71) | 70,000 | -10.26% |
| 77 | American Spirit Graphics, Minneapolis, MN, COM, (78) | 69,176 | -2.40% |
| 78 | Worzalla, Stevens Point, WI, BK, (86) | 65,423 | 2.84% |
| 79 | The John Roberts Co., Minneapolis, MN, COM, (80) | 65,000 | -5.80% |
| 80 | The Lane Press, So. Burlington, VT, PUB, (90) | 63,600 | 6% |
| 81 | Specialty Print Communications, Niles, IL, COM, (87) | 62,000 | 1.40% |
| 82 | John Byrne Co., Niles, IL, COM, (NL) | 61,200 | -1.92% |
| 83 | AFL Web Printing**, Voorhees, NJ, COM | 59,000 | N/A |
| 84 | GLS Companies, Minneapolis, MN, COM, (84) | 57,000 | -12.31% |
| 85 | Universal Printing Company, St. Louis, MO, COM, (92) | 56,000 | -3.45% |
| 86 | Webcom Inc.*, Toronto, ON, BK, (89) | 55,133 | 0.00% |
| 87 | Times Printing Co. Inc., Random Lake, WI, CAT, (81) | 55,000 | -15.38% |
| 88 | Suttle-Straus Inc., Waunakee, WI, COM, (100) | 54,318 | 10.21% |
| 89 | Flower City Printing Inc., Rochester, NY, SPC, (93) | 53,897 | -2.08% |
| 90 | Bolger Vision Beyond Print, Minneapolis, MN, COM, (NL) | 53,833 | 71.44% |
| 91 | NPC, Inc., Claysburg, PA, COM, (97) | 53,100 | 7.06% |
| 92 | Lake County Press, Waukegan, IL, COM, (95) | 50,629 | 0% |
| 93 | Pratt Corporation, Indianapolis, IN, SPC, (85) | 53,000 | -17.19% |
| 94 | Brown Industries, Inc., Dalton, GA, COM, (94) | 50,400 | -2.33% |
| 95 | Intelligencer Printing Company, Lancaster, PA, COM, (NL) | 50,200 | -1.47% |
| 96 | LAgraphico, Inc., Burbank, CA, COM, (NL) | 49,421 | 15.99% |
| 97 | Malloy Incorporated, Ann Arbor, MI, BK, (101) | 46,200 | 0.43% |
| 98 | Primary Color Systems, Costa Mesa, CA, COM, (98) | 46,000 | -6.12% |
| 99 | Hickory Printing Group, Inc., Conover, NC, COM, (99) | 44,700 | -6.88% |
| 100 | Ripon Printers, Ripon, WI, COM, (NL) | 43,441 | -0.92% |
| 101 | Concord Litho, Concord, NH, COM, (NL) | 42,086 | -2.98% |
