Affinity Express Commemorates Launch of Manila Operation
-- Graphic Arts Online, 8/11/2008 8:11:00 AM
(Press Release) Manila, Philippines—Affinity Express Inc., the leading provider of outsourced graphic and design services, announced today the official launch of its operation in Manila, Philippines, which has grown rapidly to almost 250 employees. Local staff members were joined by the worldwide Affinity Express leadership team and representatives of its parent LiveIt Solutions, Inc. (the holding company for Ayala Corporation’s investments in the business process outsourcing sector) and Ayala Corporation.President and CEO of Ayala Corporation Fernando Zobel de Ayala commented: “We are pleased to back a premier company that is bringing the outsourced graphic and design industry to the Philippines and are confident that Affinity Express will achieve its vision of revolutionizing the creative design process.”
CEO of LiveIt and Chairman of Affinity Express Fred Ayala said, “We invested in the company because it is an industry-leading innovator. With the impressive growth of the Manila facility, we are confident Affinity Express has the optimal combination of operations, people, technology and expertise to enable it to continue to set the pace for the global outsourced graphic and design industry.”
Affinity Express Chief Executive Officer Kenneth W. Swanson further explained, “A presence in Manila has long been part of our strategic plan. It made sense to accelerate efforts when Affinity Express was acquired in January 2007 by LiveIt Solutions. The investment has paid off, as the capabilities, talent and commitment of our local team have resulted in the consistent satisfaction of our clients and the expansion of our business with them. The Affinity Express staff has taken huge strides in helping us to achieve our company goal: to become the most reliable producer of high volumes of designs that meet creative and turn time expectations, while providing excellent technical quality and superior value to clients.”
According to President of Manila Operations J. Ricardo Moran, “We established this subsidiary in the Philippines because of its large pool of talented college graduates with excellent design skills, who are well-attuned to the popular culture in the U.S. where most of our clients are based. In addition, having another major facility, with skills, systems and workflow that are redundant to our operations in the U.S. and India, provides the company and our clients with disaster recovery and contingency planning.”
Mr. Moran noted that Affinity Express offers numerous career opportunities for local Philippines graduates to expand design skills, use cutting-edge technology, learn project and operational management, and gain experience working with clients and team members around the world. He said, “In addition to excellent benefits, we provide employees with challenging work in a creative environment.”
Affinity Express delivers integrated graphic solutions that combine highly-trained staff and technology in a multi-shore business model. Services include creative design for print and online advertisements, websites and branded marketing collateral. The company also offers production execution functions such as document creation, image editing, vector artwork and embroidery digitizing. Orders are produced in QuarkXpress; Adobe InDesign, Flash, Illustrator and Photoshop; .html; and dozens of other software. Affinity Express solutions are technology-enabled with state-of-the-art order management systems and workflows. Clients benefit from lower production costs, higher profits and flexible capacity. Today, more than 6,000 companies in the newspaper, direct mail, publishing, printing and promotional products industries, as well as major corporations, rely on Affinity Express to meet their high-volume, quick turn time demands. Affinity Express has clients in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia and the Philippines.
Since its establishment, the Affinity Express Manila operation has evolved into a center of excellence that provides print and online ad production for the McClatchy Company (the #3 newspaper business in the U.S.), Morris Communications, the Columbus Dispatch, Mimeo and many others. The facility is also the home of the newest line of business for the company: graphic and design services for corporations and their advertising agencies. With projected annual growth of 40%, Affinity Express plans to increase the local team to over 300 employees by the end of 2008.
About Affinity Express
Affinity Express is the leading business process outsourcing company that is 100% dedicated to graphic and design services. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Affinity Express has over 800 employees and maintains production centers in Pune, India and Manila, Philippines. The company offers its services 24 hours per day and seven days per week, producing products in over 30 software packages and multiple platforms. Affinity Express manages its unique creative process with a continuous improvement approach based on Lean Six Sigma, so that clients receive reliable output with fast turn times for their mission-critical digital files.
At the end of 2006, LiveIt Global Solutions, the holding company for Ayala Corporation’s investments in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector, acquired 100% of Delaware-incorporated Affinity Express. Founded in 1834, Ayala Corporation is the oldest business house in the Philippines and one of the largest conglomerates in the country. Ayala Corporation and its listed subsidiaries have a combined market capitalization of approximately $15 billion.
For more information about Affinity Express, please visit www.affinityexpress.com.
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