Industry Honors Web Offset Execs

Last month's PIA/GATF Offset and Beyond conference in Schaumburg, IL, was the venue for two prestigious industry leadership awards: the Harry V. Quadracci Vision Award and the H. Howard Flint II Pressroom Manager of the Year Award.

Kenneth Field, Sr., CEO of Continental Web Press, received the 10th annual Vision Award, bestowed for leadership, achievement, and visionary excellence in web offset printing. The award is given in honor of the late Harry V. Quadracci, founder of Quad/Graphics and the award's first recipient.

Field founded Continental Web in 1973. Today the firm is an $80 million web offset printer employing 200 at two plants, in Illinois and Kentucky. Field says he has not achieved success alone. Diane, his wife of 40 years, has been with him every step of the way and manages finances and day-to-day business operations, while serving as the company's executive VP and treasurer.

In addition to running his company, Field has found time to give back to the industry. He has served as president of the Web Offset Assn., as a director of the Printing Industries of America, a director of the Printing Industry of Illinois/Indiana and on numerous industry committees.

Past winners of the award include: Roger Perry, former owner and chairman, Perry Printing; John Frautschi, chairman, Webcrafters; Thomas Brinkman, Sr., founder, Metroweb Corp.; Edward Barr, former chairman, Sun Chemical Group; Jerry Williamson, CEO, Williamson Printing Corp.; F. Edwards Treis, chairman,, Arandell Corp.; William Hogg, executive VP, manufacturing & operations, Valassis Manufacturing Co.; Thomas Quadracci, chairman and CEO, Quad/Graphics, Inc.; and, last year, Remi Marcoux, executive chairman, Transcontinental.

The winner of the Flint Pressroom Manager Award was Jeff Wendt of Arandell Corp., Menomonee Falls, WI. The award—given in honor of the late chairman of Flint Inc. who died in 2005—recognizes a web offset pressroom manger or supervisor who has excelled in the profession.

Wendt oversees a workforce of 107 unionized associates who are supervised by eight pressroom managers. His pressroom produces over 1.8 billion signatures annually and operates four 24-page format M3000 presses, one 16-page format M1000 press, and one 32-page format M3000 press.

Combined with the support of his associates, he has the responsibility of monitoring and maintaining profitability and productivity in the pressroom.

Wendt joined Arandell in 1989 as a job planner and worked his way up through the ranks to his current position.

His award came with a $2,000 scholarship to the graphic arts school of his choice. Wendt designated the University of Wisconsin-Stout as the fund recipient.