Canadian Printing Group Builds Sheetfed Network

MONTREAL–Transcontinental Group plans to build a network of sheetfed printing companies in Canada with the acquisitions of Coronet/Fahlke Printers Ltd. and the Montreal and Toronto plants of the O'Keefe Group. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

Coronet/Fahlke, based in Winnipeg, specializes in high-quality sheetfed commercial products and provides prepress services. It employs 40 people and bills about CDN$7 million annually. Transcontinental already operates three plants in the Winnipeg area; Transcontinental Printing-Winnipeg produces flyers, LGM Graphics prints magazines and catalogs, and Spot Graphics produces commercial and screen printing products.

"The acquisition of Coronet/Fahlke Printers fits in with our strategy of developing a Canada-wide network of sheetfed printers, just as we have done for flyer and newspaper printing,'' says Remi Marcoux, Transcontinental's chairman and chief executive. "Coronet is a profitable and well-managed company and we are proud that the owners, Rodger Kim Orris and W.F. Loron Orris, have agreed to stay on with us at the new entity that from now on will do business under the name Coronet Printers.''

The O'Keefe Group's commercial sheetfed plants serve a high-end clientele that includes financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and design and advertising agencies. Founded in 1968, the group employs about 200 people and posted sales of CDN$33 million last year. Brian O'Keefe, the company's president, will continue to work for the company.

With these acquisitions, Transcontinental now operates plants in Quebec City, Montreal, Toronto, and Winnipeg. The firm, which also publishes consumer magazines, offers interactive marketing, Internet solutions, and door-to-door distribution of advertising material. With more than 10,500 employees, it reported revenues in 2001 of CDN$1.8 billion.