GAM/GABB 101 Top Printers01
2006 Official Ranking of the Industry's Top Printing Firms
By Lisa Cross, Senior Editor -- graphic arts online, 5/1/2006
North America's largest printing firm remains RR Donnelley, and Quebecor is #2. But it may come as a surprise that newly public Kinko's, at $2.1 billion, is number three just ahead of Quad/Graphics. The results show North American printers' strong 2005 sales gains held steady. Last year marked a return to better days for the industry after a rebuilding period, following plummeting sales reported in 2002's listing.
This year's 24th edition of the annual Graphic Arts Monthly listing of the 101 largest print firms was researched jointly with our sister publication, the Graphic Arts BlueBook, using the A.F. Lewis databases. Renamed as the GAM/GABB 101, this year's listing finds more firms (72%) posted sales gains than losses. Of firms posting gains, 33% were in double digits compared to 30% in last year's listing. Companies on the list represent $50.8 billion in sales. Sales data was provided by the companies on the list and represents each firm's fiscal year. Top printers invested $1.3 billion in capital improvements.
Companies on the 2006 list made big news in the past year, announcing mega acquisition deals, spin-offs and new leadership. RR Donnelley bought catalog printer Spencer Press (#55 on last year's list with sales of $86 million). Another huge deal for the printing giant, not reflected in the results here, was the purchase of Office Tiger in March, a provider of business process outsourcing services, for $250 million cash. The company also announced last month it will invest $85 million to expand operations at three Virginia plants.
Quebecor World divested several commercial operations, acquired by the Matlet Group, now #48 on the list. Q-W has been undergoing a massive reorganization, relocating and decommissioning assets, investing $580 million to retool operations, cutting thousands of jobs and closing operations. The company recently named Wes Lucas, former chairman, president and CEO of Sun Chemical, as its new CEO.
Leadership changes occurred at many firms, with new CEOs at FedEx Kinko's, Quad/Graphics, Cenveo, Vertis, Chesapeake Corp., Paxar, Trend Offset and K/P Corporation (see p.32). Other noteworthy news was the takeover of Cenveo by Burton Capital Management. The company initiated a turnaround plan and shuttered several plants, divesting its Canadian envelope operations. Also, EarthColor (now #35) acquired Applied Printing Technologies, listed as #56 in 2005.
In addition to Matlet Group, new names on this 2006 list include Workflow Management (12), WS Packaging Group (28), UnigraphicsUSA (41), CGI North America (54), VistaPrint USA (58), Imprimerie Solisco (59), Printegra (60), Southwest Offset Printing (79), The EPI Companies (98) and AFL Web Printing (99). Firms from the 2005 list, with their former ranking in parentheses, that chose not to participate this year: Clarke American (20), Walsworth Publishing (49), IPC Print Services (64), Unimac Graphics (69), Toppan Printing America (72), Wilcox Press (100) and Gateway Press (101).
An extended data set of more than 1,000 sites represented by the GAM/GABB 101, including key management contacts, equipment and product mix at top printers' individual plant facilities, is available for purchase. To reserve your copy, e-mail csartori@reedbusiness.com, call 646.746.7429, or visit www.gabb.com/top101.
| Rank | Company (Parent) Headquarters, Products, CEO | Current | Prior | Change | Employee Count | Sales per Employee | Production Sites |
| Annual Sales ($000s) | |||||||
| 1 | RR Donnelley¹ | 8,430,000 | 7,156,000 | 18% | 50,000 | 168,6000 | 140 |
| Chicago, IL, COM,PUB, BK, M. Angelson | |||||||
| 2 | Quebec World¹ | 6,280,000 | 6,620,000 | -5% | 31,000 | 202,581 | 130 |
| Montreal, QC, COM, PUB , W. Lucas | |||||||
| 3 | FedEx Kinko's¹ | 2,070,000 | 2,000,000 | 3% | 20,000 | 103,500 | 1,500 |
| Dallas, TX, COM, SPC, K. May | |||||||
| 4 | Quad/Graphics | 1,950,000 | 1,818,000 | 7% | 11,000 | 177,273 | 9 |
| Sussex, WI, PUB, CAT, T. Quadracci | |||||||
| 5 | American Greetings¹ | 1,902,727 | 1,953,729 | -3% | 8,300 | 229,244 | 16 |
| Cleveland, OH, SPC, Z. Weiss | |||||||
| 6 | Transcontinental, Inc.¹ | 1,900,000 | 1,700,000 | 12% | 14,000 | 135,714 | 60 |
| Montreal, QB, COM, PUB, L. Desjardins | |||||||
| 7 | Cenveo, Inc.¹ | 1,750,000 | 1,740,000 | 1% | 8,000 | 218,750 | 80 |
| Stamford, CT, COM, R. Burton | |||||||
| 8 | Deluxe Corp.¹ | 1,720,000 | 1,570,000 | 10% | 8,310 | 206,980 | 31 |
| St. Paul, MN, SPC, R. Eilers | |||||||
| 9 | Banta Corporation¹ | 1,543,927 | 1,422,184 | 9% | 8,500 | 181,638 | 39 |
| Menasha, WI, COM, DM, PUB, S. Streeter | |||||||
| 10 | Vertis, Inc.¹ | 1,500,000 | 1,500,000 | 0% | 6,000 | 250,000 | 60 |
| Baltimore, MD, DM, INS, D. Durbin | |||||||
| 11 | Visant Corp.¹ | 1,498,300 | 1,462,200 | 2% | 7,700 | 194,584 | 27 |
| Armonk, NY, BK, DM, SPC, M. Reisch | |||||||
| 12 | Workflow Management | 1,200,000 | N/A | N/A | 4,600 | 260,870 | 20 |
| Greenwich, CT, COM, BUS, G.C. Mosher | |||||||
| 13 | Valassis¹ | 1,131,000 | 1,044,100 | 8% | 3,600 | 314,167 | 13 |
| Livonia, MI, INS, A. Schultz | |||||||
| 14 | Chesapeake Corp.¹ | 1,042,000 | 1,031,700 | 1% | 6,129 | 170,011 | 44 |
| Richmond, VA, SPC, A. Kohut | |||||||
| 15 | John H. Harland¹ | 982,900 | 798,400 | 23% | 5,600 | 175,518 | 12 |
| Decatur, GA, FIN, T. Tuff | |||||||
| 16 | Standard Register1 | 901,920 | 890,250 | 1% | 3,850 | 234,265 | 16 |
| Dayton, OH, BUS, D. Rediker | |||||||
| 17 | Clondalkin Group | 870,253 | N/A | N/A | 4,200 | 207,203 | 40 |
| Philadelphia, PA**, SPC, N. McDermott | |||||||
| 18 | Paxar Corp.¹ | 809,100 | 804,400 | 1% | 10,800 | 74,917 | 3 |
| White Plains, NY, SPC, R. van der Merwe | |||||||
| 19 | Scientific Games Corp.¹, | 781,683 | 725,495 | 8% | 4,000 | 195,421 | |
| Alpharetta, GA, SPC, A. Weil | |||||||
| 20 | Consolidated Graphics¹ | 779,000 | 708,000 | 10% | 5,300 | 146,981 | 79 |
| Houston, TX, COM, J. Davis | |||||||
| 21 | Merrill Corporation | 697,893 | 531,171 | 31% | 6,500 | 107,368 | 85 |
| St. Paul, MN, COM, J. Castro | |||||||
| 22 | Bowne & Co.1 | 625,100 | 598,800 | 4% | 3,100 | 201,645 | 8 |
| New York, NY, FIN, P. Kucera | |||||||
| 23 | Ennis1 | 562,000 | 365,353 | 54% | 6,200 | 90,645 | 42 |
| Midlothian, TX, BUS, K. Walters | |||||||
| 24 | American Color (ACG Holdings)¹ | 449,513 | 471,102 | -5% | 2,010 | 223,683 | 14 |
| Brentwood, TN, INS, S. Dyott | |||||||
| 25 | Cadmus Communications¹ | 436,436 | 445,425 | -2% | 3,000 | 145,479 | 8 |
| Richmond, VA, PUB, B. Thomas | |||||||
| 26 | Brown Printing | 400,000 | 380,000 | 5% | 2,600 | 153,846 | 3 |
| Waseca, MN, PUB, T. Engdahl | |||||||
| 27 | The Sheridan Group | 348,000 | 287,500 | 21% | 2,000 | 174,000 | 8 |
| Hunt Valley, MD, PUB, J. Saxton | |||||||
| 28 | WS Packaging Group | 300,000 | 300,000 | 0% | 1,800 | 166,667 | 18 |
| Algoma, WI**, SPC, K. Kidd | |||||||
| 29 | Arandell Corp. | 269,411 | 258,800 | 4% | 688 | 391,586 | 1 |
| Menomonee Falls, WI, CAT, D. Treis | |||||||
| 30 | Perry Judd's Inc. | 261,500 | 260,400 | 0.5% | 1,450 | 180,345 | 4 |
| Waterloo, WI, CAT, PUB, C. Hutchison | |||||||
| 31 | St. Joseph Corp. | 255,977 | 255,976 | 0% | 2000 | 127,989 | 4 |
| Concord, ON *, COM, T. Gagliano | |||||||
| 32 | Trend Offset Printing | 240,000 | 232,000 | 3% | 995 | 241,206 | 3 |
| Los Alamitos, CA, COM, T. Nelson | |||||||
| 33 | Ivy Hill (Cinram)1 | 234,000 | 225,400 | 4% | 1,000 | 234,000 | 4 |
| New York, NY, SPC, A. Kern | |||||||
| 34 | Courier Corporation1 | 227,000 | 210,000 | 8% | 1,600 | 141,875 | 9 |
| North Chelmsford, MA, BK, J. Conway III | |||||||
| 35 | Gannett Offset (Gannett Company)¹ | 225,201 | 204,618 | 10% | 1,159 | 194,306 | 8 |
| Springfield, VA, PUB, D. Washburn | |||||||
| 36 | EarthColor | 207,000 | 183,000 | 13% | 715 | 289,510 | 7 |
| West Orange, NJ, COM, R. Kashan | |||||||
| 37 | Publishers Press | 200,400 | 192,060 | 4% | 1,705 | 117,537 | 2 |
| Shepherdsville, KY, PUB, N. Simon | |||||||
| 38 | IWCO Direct | 199,200 | 146,500 | 36% | 1,600 | 124,500 | 6 |
| Chanhassen, MN, DM, J. Andersen | |||||||
| 39 | J.J. Keller & Associates | 187,389 | 173,737 | 8% | 1,100 | 170,354 | 1 |
| Neenah, WI, R. Keller | |||||||
| 40 | Nationwide Graphics/Premier Print | 180,000 | 180,000 | 0% | 1,050 | 171,429 | 16 |
| Houston, TX**, COM, C. Norton | |||||||
| 41 | Fort Dearborn Company | 175,000 | 188,800 | -7% | 795 | 22,013 | 9 |
| Niles, IL, SPC, R. Adler Jr. | |||||||
| 42 | UnigraphicsUSA | 168,000 | 168,000 | 0% | 1,000 | 16,800 | 11 |
| Phoenix, AZ, BUS, S. Gaynor | |||||||
| 43 | American Banknote1 | 162,295 | 142,551 | 14% | 2,520 | 6,440 | 7 |
| Engelwood, WI, SPC, S Singer | |||||||
| 44 | Command Web Offset | 150,000 | 140,000 | 7% | 700 | 21,429 | 7 |
| Secaucus, NJ, BK, CAT, A. Merson | |||||||
| 45 | ColorGraphics, Inc. | 147,300 | 134,400 | 10% | 500 | 29,460 | 4 |
| Los Angeles, CA, COM, C. Madison | |||||||
| 46 | Hess Management | 140,000 | 130,000 | 8% | 900 | 15,556 | 3 |
| Austin, TX, CAT, BK, R. Mayers | |||||||
| 47 | Sandy Alexander (Mickelberry) | 139,000 | 135,000 | 3% | 335 | 41,493 | 4 |
| Clifton, NJ, COM, R. Grossman | |||||||
| 48 | Japs-Olson Company | 138,276 | 127,265 | 9% | 708 | 19,531 | 1 |
| St. Louis Park, MN, COM, M. Beddor | |||||||
| 49 | The Matlet Group | 137,000 | N/A | N/A | 620 | 22,097 | 5 |
| Pawtucket, RI, COM,CAT,INS, G.Stiffler | |||||||
| 50 | Champion Industries1 | 134,925 | 124,401 | 8% | 750 | 17,990 | 9 |
| Huntington, WV, COM, BK, M. Reynolds | |||||||
| 51 | St. Ives Inc.1 | 123,949 | 141,276 | -12% | 819 | 151,342 | 3 |
| US Div, Miami, FL, COM, W. Angstrom | |||||||
| 52 | PBM Graphics | 115,628 | 110,126 | 5% | 800 | 144,535 | 3 |
| Durham, NC, COM, T. Pegram | |||||||
| 53 | Lithographix | 112,273 | 103,341 | 9% | 490 | 229,129 | 1 |
| Hawthorne, CA, COM, H. Zebrack | |||||||
| 54 | PLM Group Inc.¹ | 105,084 | 105,084 | 0% | 450 | 233,520 | 4 |
| Markham, ON * | |||||||
| 55 | CGI North America, Inc. | 100,400 | 95,200 | 5% | 450 | 223,111 | 2 |
| Jersey City, NJ, COM, D.Klaiss | |||||||
| 56 | Creel Printing | 100,000 | 83,000 | 20% | 500 | 200,000 | 2 |
| Las Vegas, NV, PUB, A. Creel | |||||||
| 57 | Phoenix Color Corp.¹ | 98,577 | 106,159 | -7% | 690 | 142,865 | 4 |
| Hagerstown, MD, BK, L. LaSorsa | |||||||
| 58 | Imagine! Print Solutions | 96,850 | 86,741 | 12% | 530 | 182,736 | 1 |
| Shakopee, MN, COM, R. Lothenbach | |||||||
| 59 | VistaPrint USA1 | 90,885 | 58,784 | 55% | 600 | 151,475 | 2 |
| Lexington, MA, COM, R. Keane | |||||||
| 60 | Imprimerie Solisco, Inc. | 89,809 | N/A | N/A | 430 | 208,858 | 4 |
| Scott, QC*, J. Gresoire | |||||||
| 61 | Printegra | 89,700 | 70,200 | 28% | 835 | 107,425 | 13 |
| Peachtree City, GA, C. Campbell | |||||||
| 62 | L.P. Thebault | 88,300 | 78,700 | 12% | 283 | 312,014 | 2 |
| Parsippany, NJ, COM, B. Theabult | |||||||
| 63 | Keller Crescent Co. | 87,490 | 74,321 | 18% | 613 | 142,724 | 3 |
| Evansville, IN, SPC, T. Smythe | |||||||
| 64 | Integracolor | 87,400 | 82,200 | 6% | 535 | 163,364 | 4 |
| Mesquite, TX, COM, L. King | |||||||
| 65 | Smyth Companies | 85,000 | 85,000 | 0% | 425 | 200,000 | 5 |
| St. Paul, MN, SPC, J. Hickey | |||||||
| 66 | Pictorial Offset Corp. | 82,500 | 72,000 | 15% | 300 | 275,000 | 2 |
| Carlstadt, NJ, COM, D.,G. and G. Samuels | |||||||
| 67 | K/P Corporation | 81,500 | 80,000 | 2% | 500 | 163,000 | 8 |
| San Ramon, CA, COM, S. Kelly | |||||||
| 68 | Maple-Vail Book Mfg. Group | 81,000 | 77,000 | 5% | 950 | 85,263 | 5 |
| York, PA, BK, J. Wisotzkey | |||||||
| 69 | Continental Web Press | 80,500 | 80,300 | 0% | 400 | 201,250 | 2 |
| Itasca, IL, CAT, K. Field | |||||||
| 70 | MDC Partners1 | 80,100 | 69,739 | 15% | 647 | 123,802 | 5 |
| Toronto, ON, SPC, M. Nadal | |||||||
| 71 | The Williamson Printing Cos. | 80,000 | 75,000 | 7% | 400 | 200,000 | 3 |
| Dallas, TX, COM, Jerry Williamson | |||||||
| 72 | The Hennegan Company | 80,000 | 70,000 | 14% | 405 | 197,531 | 1 |
| Florence, KY, COM, R. Ott, Jr. | |||||||
| 73 | TST/Impreso¹ | 77,526 | 103,989 | -25% | 191 | 405,895 | 4 |
| Coppell, TX, SPC, M. Sorokwasz | |||||||
| 74 | Webcrafters | 77,000 | 77,000 | 0% | 650 | 118,462 | 2 |
| Madison, WI, BK, J. Garner | |||||||
| 75 | Edwards Brothers | 77,000 | 75,000 | 3% | 700 | 110,000 | 6 |
| Ann Arbor, MI, BK, J. Edwards | |||||||
| 76 | Outlook Group1 | 75,589 | 72,797 | 4% | 452 | 167,232 | 3 |
| Neenah, WI, COM, DM, SPC, J. Baksha | |||||||
| 77 | Tanaseybert | 75,000 | 65,000 | 15% | 325 | 230,769 | 1 |
| New York, NY, COM, E. Bernstein | |||||||
| 78 | Friesens Corp. | 74,097 | 80,560 | -8% | 550 | 134,722 | 3 |
| Altona, MB *, BK, D. Friesens | |||||||
| 79 | Hammer Packaging | 73,765 | 60,718 | 21% | 350 | 210,757 | 2 |
| Rochester, NY, SPC, J. Hammer | |||||||
| 80 | Southwest Offset Printing | 72,500 | 62,300 | 16% | 500 | 145,000 | 2 |
| Gardena, CA, PUB, G. McDonald | |||||||
| 81 | National Graphics | 68,800 | 66,800 | 3% | 359 | 191,643 | 3 |
| N. Brandford, CT, COM, N. Napoli | |||||||
| 82 | Henry Wurst | 67,176 | 75,951 | -12% | 525 | 127,954 | 5 |
| Kansas City, MO, COM, M. Wurst | |||||||
| 83 | Times Printing | 64,000 | 64,000 | 0% | 450 | 142,222 | 1 |
| Random Lake, WI, COM, R. Scholler | |||||||
| 84 | American Spirit Graphics | 64,000 | 61,600 | 4% | 300 | 213,333 | 4 |
| Minneapolis, MN, COM, D. Carlson | |||||||
| 85 | Universal Printing | 60,000 | 62,000 | -3% | 275 | 218,182 | 2 |
| St. Louis, MO, COM, R. Ebel | |||||||
| 86 | National Print Group (NPG Holding) | 59,475 | 56,970 | 4% | 373 | 159,450 | 5 |
| Chattanooga, TN, SPC, P. Harris | |||||||
| 87 | E&D Web | 58,500 | 62,000 | -6% | 175 | 334,286 | 2 |
| Cicero, IL, COM, C. Love | |||||||
| 88 | Progress Printing | 55,493 | 56,504 | -2% | 258 | 215,089 | 1 |
| Lynchburg, VA, COM, T. Thorton II | |||||||
| 89 | Lane Press | 55,000 | 50,000 | 10% | 300 | 183,333 | 1 |
| So. Burlington, VT, PUB, P. Drumheller | |||||||
| 90 | Specialty Printing | 54,500 | 42,600 | 28% | 185 | 294,595 | 1 |
| Niles, IL **, P. LeFebvre | |||||||
| 91 | Webcom Limited | 54,000 | 55,000 | -2% | 350 | 154,286 | 1 |
| Toronto, ON, BK, W. Wilkins | |||||||
| 92 | Worzalla | 52,886 | 44,558 | 19% | 355 | 148,975 | 1 |
| Stevens Point, WI, BK, C. Nason | |||||||
| 93 | Hickory Printing Group | 49,000 | 41,000 | 20% | 286 | 171,329 | 3 |
| Hickory, NC, COM, G. Glisan | |||||||
| 94 | GeoGraphics, Inc. | 47,914 | 40,746 | 18% | 301 | 159,183 | 1 |
| Atlanta, GA, COM, N. Hagan | |||||||
| 95 | Host Communications (Triple Crown Media)¹ | 46,203 | 55,754 | -17% | 260 | 177,704 | 1 |
| Lexington, KY, COM, T. Stultz | |||||||
| 96 | Jerome Group | 44,300 | 40,300 | 10% | 265 | 167,170 | 1 |
| Maryland Heights, MD, DM, A. Kohn | |||||||
| 97 | The Garvey Group | 44,210 | 42,550 | 4% | 206 | 214,612 | 7 |
| Niles, IL, COM, E. Garvey, Jr. | |||||||
| 98 | The EPI Companies | 44,000 | 36,000 | 22% | 215 | 204,651 | 3 |
| Marietta, GA, COM, W. Woods, Jr. | |||||||
| 99 | AFL Web Printing | 44,000 | 39,000 | 13% | 225 | 195,556 | 1 |
| Voorhees, NJ, PUB, D. Fordic | |||||||
| 100 | Lake County Press, Inc. | 43,000 | 42,000 | 2% | 205 | 209,756 | 2 |
| Waukegan, IL, COM, R. Johnson | |||||||
| 101 | EU Services | 42,459 | 40,557 | 5% | 380 | 111,734 | 1 |
| Rockville, MD, COM, J. Loudon | |||||||
| Footnotes: 1 Publicly held N/A - Information not available/applicable *Converted from Canadian Dollars **Estimated ***Based on 9 months Explanation of Abbreviations: BK-Books BUS-Business Forms CAT-Catalogs COM-Commercial Print DM-Direct Mail FIN-Financial Print INS-Inserts PUB-Publications SPC-Specialty Ordered by revenues provided by firms or SEC filings. Contact lisa.cross@reedbusiness.com for inclusion next year. |
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