2023 Hall of Fame Inductee Frank Peczuh Leads with Humility and Commitment to Family

Frank Peczuh

The trajectory of Frank Peczuh Jr.’s career was locked into the family business (Peczuh Printing) at a very early age. First, the name fits. Second, his father, Frank James Peczuh, who passed away in 2019, and who founded the company in 1962, was very committed to family. Frank Peczuh describes his childhood in Price, Utah, as “Ideal. It was the perfect small American town. We were close to a pool, close to parks, we played baseball.” That ideal childhood also included Peczuh Printing. He started working at the company at age nine, performing janitorial tasks. “My father said if I learned to sweep the floor, I could learn to run a printing press,” he recollects. By age 12, he was.

Growing up, Peczuh says he was always involved in the business, and regularly worked there after school and during summer breaks. “I wanted to be an attorney,” he says, “but it didn’t work out that way.” But the challenges and the purpose of printing spoke to him.

“We manufactured something; made stuff. And we felt like underdogs, trying to grow a company located in a rural area.” Much of the company’s initial growth was gained by serving the power generation industries in nearby Wyoming.

Just as Peczuh turned 18, he began running the company’s front office, making sales calls, and tending to bindery operations. “I got to know the relationship side of the business.” By his 30th birthday, in 1992, his father had mostly stepped away from managing the business, though he still held his sons accountable: “We had board meetings around the kitchen table.”

At some point in the 1990s, a symbolic generational changeover took place. “We have a small farm with horses, cows,” Peczuh says. “My father handed me some old reigns from the shed, the ‘reigns to the company.’” Peczuh became president and CEO in 2000, and though his father has since passed, his influence has not: “His wisdom still reverberates throughout our company.”

The Evolution of a Company

Today, Peczuh Printing is still headquartered in Price, Utah, the same town where Peczuh grew up and grew into his current role. The company has added production facilities in Salt Lake City and Lindon, Utah, and uses offset and digital technologies to produce commercial applications and packaging, as well as signs and banners. Services include finishing and bindery, mailing, Web-to-print, fulfillment, and logistics.

Just as printing technology has changed over time, Peczuh Printing has changed to meet its potential. Peczuh says that when his father bought the business, it was a letterpress shop. His father saw offset as the then-future of print, and secured a loan to purchase an offset press, a Multilith 1250. In the mid-1980s, the company made its first investment in digital printing – a monochrome toner-based system. Even though he told his father digital was the new future of print, his dad, even at his passing, would have said, “It wasn’t printing.” In 2020, the company installed a Fujifilm J Press 750S sheetfed inkjet press, which has enabled it to access short-run work, particularly in the packaging space.

About the company’s current work. Peczuh says digital volumes have stayed generally static, while its offset work continues to expand. “We’ve found specific niches that have allowed us to grow,” he says. While Peczuh Printing has faced challenges during his tenure — The Great Recession, the need to reduce staff size, and the cultural challenges of growing through acquisition — his sights are ever-forward. “I’m an optimistic person,” he explains, “so I have the approach that I’ll work through it.”

Peczuh says that what has changed the most during his time with the company is how Peczuh Printing interacts with its customers. “There’s so much electronic communication,” he says. “We send proofs and send files. My dad wouldn’t recognize some of the things we do now.” Despite the ease of electronic communication, however, he says the company strives to build strong relationships — through human connection.

The Human Touch

“I’ve never met anyone who is as genuine as Frank is — as caring. There is no façade; he is who he is,” says Paul Lynaugh, COO at Peczuh Printing, who has known Peczuh for 15 years and has been with the company since 2022. Lynaugh notes that over the years he and Peczuh got to know each other as people and Lynaugh developed a deep respect for him. “To this day, it’s all about the legacy, the people — it’s not all about him.”

Lynaugh says his business involvement with Peczuh has taken several roles: that of vendor salesperson, business consultant, and trusted advisor. Lynaugh was ready for a new phase of his career, having served 24 years at Fujifilm, but didn’t know what that new phase would be. Peczuh called him out of the blue, seeking advice, wanting input to help him find someone to manage sales. As the call progressed, Peczuh said to Lynaugh, “This sounds a lot like you, Paul. Would you consider doing that?” Lynaugh says part of his work for the company includes maintaining a business foundation to complement Peczuh’s strong gut instincts.

In Lynaugh’s second week on the job, Peczuh ordered a new diecutter. “Why?” Lynaugh asked, “What was the business case?” He shares that the machine arrived this February and has run 12 hours a day, non-stop, producing more than 6 million folding cartons. Peczuh’s gut instinct was correct. “His knowledge of the business is just ingrained,” Lynaugh says. “We would have failed on major jobs if we didn’t have that diecutter.”

A Relationship Solidified

According to Cody Fraughton, whose company, Consolidated Direct Mail (Salt Lake City), serves as a vendor to Peczuh Printing, what makes Peczuh stand out most is his humility. Fraughton says he calls on a lot of companies that have offices festooned with signed sports memorabilia and other items placed to demonstrate “how connected they are.” With Frank, it’s different. There are no pretenses. He’s a real person.”

Nearly 30 years ago, Fraughton recalls, Peczuh called him to see if he could make a sales call, and suggested they meet. “It was a great meeting. We talked for 90 minutes. I did my very best to intimidate him with my work.” Peczuh looked at him and said, “Cody, I am not scared of your work. You will be as happy with us as you can possibly be. We won’t let you down.” Fraughton says that answer, delivered directly and honestly, solidified a now decades-long relationship.

Fraughton shares that during the “dot.com bust” of the mid-1990s, his company was reliant on several businesses that folded. He was in a massive cash crunch, owed Peczuh Printing “very low six figures,” and didn’t know how to pay it. Desperate, he offered to transfer the title of a property to Peczuh Printing. In response, Peczuh said, “Cody, I don’t want your property. I want you to pay me, so let’s figure out a way.” About a year later, he says, Peczuh called him to let him know, “You’re all paid up.” Fraughton adds, “That’s how he’s treated me.”

Path Forward, Lessons Shared

Peczuh sees himself leading the company for another 15 years, and, just as his father sought and succeeded at generational succession, he sees the same for himself. “I have a plan,” he says. “I have two daughters, Erin Needles and Kellie Nelson, who are actively involved in the business. I think they will be the future of our company.” Further, he has a younger brother, Timothy, who is a partner in the business. “I want my children to have the opportunity to take the helm. We don’t feel like owners of the company as much as stewards.”

Family is paramount to Frank Peczuh, who is shown here with five of his nine grandchildren (from the left: Lincoln, Reagan, Jaxson, Mason, and Rex).

During his time running Peczuh Printing, he says his wife and family have supported him, even though the job has required a “crazy amount” of his time and attention. His legacy includes four children and nine grandchildren. He and his son David, who has Down Syndrome, have a close and special bond. Frank calls to wake David every morning, Lynaugh shares. David answers, “Good morning, best friend.”

Asked if he has any hobbies, Peczuh says not really, then adds that as a young man, he was interested in becoming a fireman. Since 1983, Peczuh has served his community as a volunteer firefighter with the Price City Fire Department. He says the true value of that involvement is, “helping serve people on their worst day. I’ve seen a lot in my time doing that.”

Since 1983, Peczuh has served his community as a volunteer firefighter with the Price City (Utah) Fire Department.

For individuals just beginning their careers, he offers: “The people in our lives are far more valuable than any achievement you can garner. It’s the relationships that have value — mentors, heroes, friends. Put people first and seek to be the best person you can be.”

Asked if he’d like to convey a message about Peczuh, Lynaugh says, on behalf of the company, “We’re proud of him, and we’re proud that a ‘farmer’ from Price, Utah,’ made it into the Printing Industry Hall of Fame. His commitment is 100%.”

Fraughton says this: “There are people who dream and there are people who are able to transfer their dreams into reality. Frank does that by hard work, great relationships, and a great outlook on life. This is a good, American, hardworking guy. His father would be super proud of what he’s accomplished.”