COURIER CORP. -- Textbook Example
"Courier is an organization that strives to find the best spots for a customer's product, and then services the daylights out of them," Nichols says. "Obviously, quality is a given and prices have to be competitive, and that is something we can address. But the keys, from my viewpoint, are all about being flexible, providing on-time delivery and partnering with customers.
"We've been a little more resistant to the recession because we only manufacture books," Nichols adds. "Magazine printing, for example, is dependent upon advertising revenues. Some of our competitors are major players in other market segments, some of which have been hit the hardest."
Courier has also reaped the benefits of a strong, complementary relationship with Book-mart Press, which it acquired in 1997. Founded by current President Gary Gluckow and his father, Seymour, Book-mart Press engenders an altruistic love of its trade, developed by its founders and fostered by Courier. Gluckow and his wife, Michelle (also Book-mart's executive vice president), are driven by their affinity for the printed word and have remained with the Courier team due in large part to their shared philosophy in areas such as company culture.
"You can't find very many people who have sold their businesses and, seven years later, are still with the company," Gary Gluckow stresses. "We opted for Courier because the company cultures are the same—we're both very customer service and employee oriented. Turnover at Book-mart is extremely low. Many workers have been here for more than 20 years, and it's the same at Courier. It's like a family business and Jim Conway sets the tone for the whole company. He's so dynamic and energetic; everyone loves working for him."
In the past two years, Book-mart has added a Kolbus casing-in line for case-bound book production, along with a state-of-the-art Kolbus perfect binder. Capping the capital investments is a four-color Heidelberg cover press.
