CGX Publishing Solutions Collaborates with EYC for Enhanced Personalization

We’re please to announce CGX Publishing Solutions, a development group of Consolidated Graphics, has
agreed to collaborate with EYC to provide retail marketers with a total solution for one-to-one targeted marketing communications. Together, CGX Publishing Solutions and EYC are able to provide retail customers with the insight and tools to implement revenue-building, data-driven promotions that improve relevance and response rates. Through this collaboration, they will be able to produce 100-percent variable direct mail pieces that can speak to each individual shopper differently. For more information, please read the press release.

Maximum Graphics Named 2010 Commercial Print Vendor of the Year!

We’re excited to announce that Maximum Graphics, a Consolidated Graphics company based in Chaska, Minnesota, was recently named the 2010 Commercial Print Vendor of the Year, given by Staples.

The award was presented on February 15, at the Staples National Conference held in Orlando, Florida. John Scheffler, president of Maximum Graphics, accepted the award on behalf of the Maximum team. They were one of only five winners in five categories, taking home the win in the Commercial Printing category.

From everyone at Consolidated Graphics we’d like to extend our congratulations to the Maximum team!

Mike Eastley Joins Image Systems as President

We're delighted to announce that Mike Eastley has joined Image Systems, a Consolidated Graphics company located in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, as president. Over the past ten years, Eastley has held various positions in commercial printing, and brings a strong technical background and sales acumen to this Consolidated Graphics company. Mike has a solid knowledge base that spans the print industry, and emphasizes the customer service that Image Systems has built  reputation around.

For those of you who may not be familiar with Image Systems, the company was founded as a pre-press shop in 1987. Since that time, Image Systems has grown in terms of facility size and service breadth, but maintains its original focus on top quality print fulfillment and superior customer service. Image Systems joined the Consolidated Graphics team in 1998, and has become an integral part of the company's overall service offering. For more information on Image Systems, click here. 

Spotlight On: Jim Cohen, EVP, Mergers & Acquisitions, CGX

We spoke with Jim Cohen, Executive Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions at Consolidated Graphics, to get the inside scoop on the print industry’s M&A landscape. Cohen joined CGX in 2005, and has led the company’s very active acquisition strategy since then, increasing the size of CGX by about  30% during this period.   In recognition of his contributions to the printing industry, last year Mr. Cohen was inducted into the National Association of Printing Leadership’s Soderstrom Society, the honorary society that recognizes outstanding contributions of service and leadership in the printing industry. 

How have you seen the industry change since joining CGX in 2005?

Cohen: The biggest change has been in the last two years, as the printing industry was hit hard by the recession. CGX was fortunately very well positioned when the recession hit because we have one of the strongest balance sheets in the printing industry, and this  allowed us to continue to aggressively look at acquisition opportunities, but the industry as a whole has changed dramatically.   Unlike before the recession, it became very difficult to find printing companies that were growing and profitable. So we had to get creative and see if we could make lemonade out of lemons with some of the distressed deals we were seeing literally every day of the week. I also redoubled my efforts in sourcing acquisition candidates because when you look at turnaround situations you have to pick your targets even more carefully because there is virtually no margin for error.  We have become very experienced in the last two years in devising structures that work for distressed companies and have managed to make the transactions win win for both sides.  Most of the companies we have looked at over the last two years will most likely not be around two years from now, and the owners more often than not have personal guarantees which could wipe them out if their businesses fail. It is a terrible situation for printing company owners today, and I am very sympathetic.  I’ve also tried to make clear to owners today that we do have an interest in looking at your company even if it is in financial distress.  So we are looking at a very changed landscape these days.  It is definitely very challenging today for most printers out there, including us.  

Another big change unrelated to the economy is the role that technology and digital plays in our business today.  Solutions selling is no longer a buzzword, and customers don’t care what kind of equipment you own.  They want solutions.  The growth in digital printing is great for us because we have the world’s largest and most modern network of digital presses, but it is a real struggle for independents because  digital printing only makes sense if you can sell solutions.  To sell solutions, you need a pretty special type of salesperson. Then if you actually have someone who can sell solutions, you are most likely going to need multiple digital presses.  And these presses need constant upgrades just like your laptop so printers will find themselves spending a lot more on digital equipment than they ever spent on offset.  This isn’t intuitive initially to printing company owners because the initial outlay for a digital press is typically less than for an offset press.  But layer on click charges, down time, software upgrades and the rapid evolution of digital printing technology, and you’re going to find that you need a lot of capital to compete in the digital arena. This is going to change our industry dramatically in the next few years.

How has the downturn impacted CGX from an M&A perspective?

Cohen: As I mentioned, we’re in a relatively good financial position, which allows us to continue looking at M&A opportunities in the industry. With so many distressed companies out there, we’ve become a white knight to some degree, rescuing some of these companies from almost certain liquidation or bankruptcy. We’re also continuing to invest in our business, positioning ourselves as an even stronger competitor when the economy rebounds.  This ability to reinvest is a key differentiator for us.

What things do you look for when identifying acquisition opportunities?

Cohen: There are a lot of factors we look for when assessing an acquisition opportunity. The most important one is that it must fit into CGX’s overall strategy, and complement our current product and service offering. We look at earnings growth, the strength of the management team and employees as well as the company’s customer base.  We look for a history of reinvestment in the business (quality of their equipment) and a good reputation, either nationally or in the local community in which they operate. There isn’t a single formula for what makes a company attractive to CGX, but rather a combination of qualitative and quantitative considerations.  Cultural fit is also extremely important.

What is most attractive about CGX from the perspective of acquisition candidates?

Cohen: There are a lot of benefits to being aligned with a company like ours.  We allow owners to take their chips off the table but also to continue running their business as part of one of the world’s leaders in printing.  This is a pretty exciting “Chapter Two” that we offer owners in terms of their own careers.  At the same time, we allow owners to continue to run their businesses autonomously, maintaining the structure and processes that make the most sense for them, and operating under their own name so as to preserve the brand equity they have built over multiple generations in many cases.  Allowing former entrepreneurs a healthy dose of autonomy is attractive to sellers.  We also provide the risk capital and as the bank, we relieve sellers of having to both worry about securing financing and personal guarantees on debt.  Also, sellers also find themselves with an instant peer group of 70 other presidents who are best in class themselves and are always available to share best practices.

It is also the best result for their employees because we own our companies for the long-term and are not looking to make a quick flip like a financial buyer would.  We’ll also invest in the businesses we buy to ensure that they succeed and that their customers’ needs are met at all levels.  And with our strong balance sheet and breadth of product offerings, an acquired company’s employees know that they are part of a financially sound industry leader, and if they are in sales they can offer a lot more in the way of solutions and products to their customers. 

We also offer better distribution to an acquired company’s customers because we are in or near every major metropolitan area in the US and also own companies in Toronto and central Europe and have strategic alliances with companies in Asia.  This is a great benefit to national and international customers as well as those who are looking to have a smaller carbon footprint by using a distribute and print model rather than vice versa.  We also offer customers a broader service offering (web, sheet fed, digital, POP, large format, direct mail, etc.).  

What M&A trends do you foresee going forward?

Cohen: I think even as the economy recovers, we will continue to see many companies fail over the next two to four years. This kind of lag is pretty typical with economic recoveries.  As banks continue their own recovery and finish dealing with their larger credit risks, they will turn their attention to their smaller printing credits and be more willing to take the write offs that they’ve been ignoring for the last couple of years.  As the struggling printers disappear, so will their desperate pricing strategies, and that will benefit the survivors who no longer have to lose money on jobs just to compete.  

More failing companies will inevitably also result in more mergers, but many of those will be between two equally desperate companies so don’t expect a lot of those mergers to work long term.  But in general as the economy recovers over the next few years, I expect to see a big pick up in acquisition activity as earnings return to the point where owners get comfortable with the value they can pull out of a transaction.  Many of these owners will have wanted to sell for years but had to delay due to the dip in profitability that they all had to endure during the recession.  So this pent up demand should be a very good thing for our own acquisition efforts.

Wetzel Brothers Offers Lamá Display Solution

After a thorough vetting process, we are proud to announce that Wetzel Brothers, Consolidated Graphics’ longest operating company and a leader in point-of-purchase (POP) displays, was recently selected as an official licensee in the USA for Marin’s International. The Lamá®is a patented, instant display that opens instantly into position in a matter of seconds. As easy as it is to set up, it’s just as simple to fold down, and saves customers up to two-thirds of their shipping expense due to its compact size.

Here’s how it all happened...

Last year, Marin’s, a French company and owner of the Lamá® patent, started looking for just a few qualified companies to manufacture and sell the Lamá® line of products stateside. They selected Wetzel Brothers because of their exclusive focus on POP displays and national scope, and thus the partnership was initiated.

What makes the Lamá® so fantastic is its ease of use and simple assembly (or should we say more accurately, no assembly?). It pops up automatically, and can be used for sampling promotional products, as a tabletop display, as a branding display, or in any number of formats utilizing the patented paperboard technology. Display sizes range from counter displays to 10 foot-high columns.

Companies like Procter & Gamble, Kraft, Microsoft, Sony, Unilever and more have already adopted the solution, and more recently, Wetzel brought the Lamá® to retail magnates Toys ‘R Us and Nintendo. According to Carine Krull of Wetzel Brothers, “They are excited about our new Lamá® capabilities and immediately made use of the innovative displays. We also anticipate generating a lot of new business as a result of this partnership.”

For more info on the Lamá®, you can  contact Wetzel Brothers. Wetzel Brothers recently exhibited the Lamá at the 2010 Shopper Marketing Expo, October 6-7, 2010 at the Navy Pier in Chicago, but if you missed them there be sure to catch them at GlobalShop at The Sands in Las Vegas, March 28-30,2011.

Guest Blog from InfoPrint Solutions: Why Frederic Printing is the Dream Partner

At CGX, we work closely with our suppliers to keep the print industry moving forward and to continue to better serve our customers. Today, I'm happy to introduce George Promis,VP, CF Production Solutions and Technology Alliances, InfoPrint Solutions, as he shares his thoughts on Frederic Printing's installation of the InfoPrint5000:

Here at InfoPrint Solutions, we’ve realized that building strong relationships with our clients, partners and suppliers is important and we consider it as a staple in the success of our brand. As such, you can imagine how excited we were to work with Consolidated Graphics’ Frederic Printing because they share the same high standards and carry this philosophy over to their relationships with their partners and suppliers.

Upon first hearing Frederic Printing’s needs for a new printing solution and examining their workload, clients and output we knew an InfoPrint 5000 would be a great fit – specifically to address their demands for a flexible, reliable and versatile solution and to enable the creation of unique, future applications. Customized college textbooks, direct mail marketing pieces and election ballots were a few output types Frederic Printing produced and looked to InfoPrint Solutions to optimize.

What was most impressive throughout the selection and vetting process was the openness and mutually-beneficial relationship we immediately felt when working with the Frederic Printing team. Right off the bat, we could tell this would be a growing and rewarding partnership with ongoing work into the future. Coincidentally, Frederic’s facility is located nearby our headquarters which enables us to work closely together to jointly test new applications on very short runs – a capability not often supported by other inkjet offerings. By doing this, Frederic has the ability to report back to its parent company the innovative approach they are exploring in the field of short run, high quality output.

Once the implementation began, Frederic Printing had a smooth transition integrating their workload onto the InfoPrint 5000. The flexibility of the InfoPrint 5000 quickly fulfilled the company’s short run digital color printing needs. This, along with the quick, seamless installation, minimal staff training and ease of use was praised by the Frederic Printing team. The solution immediately met the demands of their clients for high quality while meeting critical print windows.

Sustainability is another important factor for Frederic Printing, as it is for InfoPrint Solutions. Hence implementing the InfoPrint 5000 was a perfect solution as it supports sustainability and cost-effective printing practices. Specifically, it is one of the industry’s lowest power consuming high speed inkjet models and also delivers exceptional operational efficiency and uses water-based inks.

We, at InfoPrint Solutions, measure our success on the outcome and satisfaction our products provide. In this particular case, we couldn’t have been more thrilled to realize that Frederic Printing shared our fundamental beliefs. Since then, we’ve garnered a strong and supportive relationship that continues to meet the needs and demands of their customers.

Want to read more? Check out InfoPrint Insights blog for a post by Chris Greene, President of Frederic Printing, where he gives everyday examples of how his company is using the InfoPrint 5000.

Thank you,
George Promis
VP, CF Production Solutions and Technology Alliances
InfoPrint Solutions

Joe Davis Wins Print CEO of the Year!

We can't say enough about our CEO, Joe Davis, but it's always nice when the rest of the world realizes what an outstanding leader he is. Mr. Davis was recently honored as Print CEO of the Year by WhatTheyThink and Manroland for his "inspirational leadership and success."

We aren't sure if it's the incredible growth the company has seen (Mr. Davis has grown CGX from a single print facility to over 70 facilities in just 25 years, and our company has reached over $1 billion in revenues), his Leadership Development Program (in his acceptance speech, he said this is his proudest achievement), or the company's successful acquisition program (which is the company's core growth strategy), but whatever it is, 2,500 of Davis' peers seem to agree that he is worthy of such an honor. To learn more about the Print CEO of the Year award, click here.