The AngstromGroup Printing Plant to Close, Impacting 131 Workers; Select Assets Acquired by Mittera

The AngstromGroup, a Cleveland-based provider of commercial printing, direct mail, mailing and fulfillment, and creative services, announced it will permanently close its printing facility beginning July 25, with completion expected within 60 days. The closure will impact all 131 full-time workers employed at the Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio, plant.

The AngstromGroup comprises AngstromGraphics, Angstrom Creative, and AngstromDirect (formerly New ChannelDirect). The AngstromGroup reported annual sales of $25 million on the most recent, 2022 Printing Impressions 300, ranking No. 166 on the 39th annual list (click here to access entire PI 300 list).

Mittera, a Des Moines, Iowa-based national printing industry powerhouse that has grown largely through M&A deals, has acquired select assets of The AngstromGroup, including hiring some of its workers. Reportedly the 12^th largest privately-owned printer in North America, this latest deal marks Mittera’s 20^th printing industry acquisition.

“Many AngstromGroup customers have been with us since we opened our doors, and we believe that Mittera shares the same dedication to customer satisfaction that we have tirelessly built and maintained. This transaction is the best possible outcome for our customers, vendors, and team members,” David Angstrom, president and CEO, said in a statement.

According to a WARN notice filed with the Office of Workforce Development in Columbus, Ohio, Angstrom wrote, “The company has been actively seeking capital and/or a buyer and believed that financing or a buyer that would have been sufficient to enable the company to avoid closure could be obtained.” He added the layoffs will be permanent, and there was no union representation and no bumping rights at the AngstromGraphics Inc. Midwest facility.

However, Mittera reported that some AngstromGroup employees will join the Mittera team, including members from its strong creative team that will enhance Mittera’s existing creative and marketing services

Jon Troen, CEO, Mittera

“This acquisition provides a great example of the power in partnering with former competitors who share a commitment to their client’s success,” noted Mittera CEO Jon Troen in a prepared statement. “This acquisition will ensure Angstrom clients continue to receive exceptional levels of client service, while gaining access to the enhanced portfolio of print, technology, and creative services offered by Mittera.”

The G7-certified AngstromGroup facility houses a wide assortment of web and sheetfed offset, digital printing, mailing and inserting, and finishing equipment. They include a six-unit Heidelberg Harris M-1000BE web offset press; a 40”, six-color Manroland 706 LV sheetfed offset press equipped with AMS Spectral LED-UV curing; a 40”, eight-color Manroland R708PLV sheetfed perfector with aqueous coater; Canon imagePRESS C750 and C1010 printers, a Canon Océ VarioStream 7650 toner-based monochrome rollfed press; Ricoh Pro C9210 and C7210SX printers; four Harris/Sheridan stitchers; a Muller Martini Prima stitcher; four Polar 137 cutters; five Stahlfolders, two Standard Horizon folders; four Bell+ Howell inserters; two Videojet PrintPro inkjet printers; and more.

The AngstromGroup Founded by Wayne Angstrom

Wayne R. Angstrom

The AngstromGroup began its operations under the leadership of the late owner, chairman, and U.S. veteran Wayne Angstrom, who originally acquired the company’s assets from St Ives Inc. in 2009. A 2003 inductee into the Printing Impressions Printing Industry Hall of Fame, he passed away in November 2021 at age 82.

Angstrom began his career in the graphic arts industry in 1962, when he left the Marines and found a job as a paper-and-ink lab technician with RR Donnelley in his hometown of Chicago. "I was one of those guys who just fell in love with the printing industry. It became something more than a job. Frankly, it has always been that way for me," he told Printing Impressions upon his 2003 induction in the Printing Industry Hall of Fame.

Over the years, Angstrom rose through the ranks of RR Donnelley, moving across several divisions and eventually becoming a division director. He then struck out on his own, becoming executive vice president of manufacturing for Maxwell Communications. Maxwell Communications was the vehicle that he used to acquire and run several printing companies. In 1991, he was named president and CEO of the U.S. division of St Ives, which, at the time, consisted only of the company's Hollywood, Florida, operation.

During his tenure, he oversaw the internal growth of the Hollywood operation, the acquisition of St Ives Cleveland (Perlmuter Printing, which he would later acquire), as well as the acquisition of Avanti/Case-Hoyt in Miami in 2001.

The acquisition of Avanti/Case-Hoyt was one of the largest — if not the biggest — deals in the printing industry that year. Avanti/Case-Hoyt posted sales of $109 million in 2000. At he time, it also gave St Ives a strategic position in Rochester, New York, and in Miami to complement its existing U.S. holdings.

Despite the closure of The AngstromGroup, Wayne Angstrom's legacy as a former printing industry leader and pioneer will live on.