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Less than a year ago, there was no such animal as National Hirschfeld. Oh, the Hirschfeld portion sounds extremely familiar, as in longtime family owned printing business A.B. Hirschfeld. Outside of former Rocky Mountain dweller Mail-Well (now Cenveo)—which recently relocated its headquarters to Connecticut—century-old A.B. Hirschfeld was easily one of the most recognizable names for printing in the state of Colorado.
The groundwork for negotiations that eventually led to the creation of National Hirschfeld began last April, when Brett Birky, president of National Printing and Packaging (NP&P), met with his old boss, third-generation company leader Barry Hirschfeld. The two men got together to toss around a common goal: the quest for a new facility.
“Through the course of lunch, it became clear (Barry Hirschfeld’s) two sons were not going to follow him into the printing business,” Birky says. “So there was a succession planning issue for Barry. And, with us looking to consolidate into one facility, it all tied together and was the stimulus behind discussions that ultimately led to a deal.”
The deal, consummated last December, ultimately involved four companies: A.B. Hirschfeld, National Printing and Packaging, C&M Press and OSI6. National had acquired a 50 percent stake in C&M back in 2004, while software development company OSI6 was the creation of Richard Stein, CEO of NP&P.
Digital Division
C&M Press, one of the largest digital printers in the country, brought its proficiency in variable data and 1-to-1 marketing to the table. Its founder, Rob Malkin (now COO of the new company), began C&M in 1983 as a provider of short-run books and manuals, then transitioned from offset printing into digital printing. NP&P had ventured into digital and found it an arduous task from a cost and volume standpoint prior to opting for the 50 percent stake in C&M.
All parties involved have reached their goal of consolidating, into a single building, the 160,000-square-foot Hirschfeld facility located on eight acres in central Denver. The 200-employee business, which has room for growth, has projected annual sales of about $40 million.
Oddly enough, despite some overlap in capabilities—both NP&P and Hirschfeld offer web and sheetfed offset printing—the companies weren’t fighting over the same slice of the pie prior to the merger. What has emerged from this grouping is a company with nine points of interest: direct marketing, data management, software development, commercial printing, digital printing, binding/finishing, mailing, fulfillment and list development.
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Web Offset Press Operating
PIA/GATF Guide to Troubleshooting for the Web Offset Press
