Fire Rips Through Royal Printing
GUILFORD, CT—A venerable mom-and-pop printing operation here is recovering from a late night fire that struck August 11. Royal Printing, a $3 million a year performer owned by the husband-and-wife team of Lou and Susan Weady, suffered a three-alarm blaze shortly before midnight in the rear of the operation. The fire was under control within an hour.
The blaze was still under investigation at press time, but Lou Weady said that the fire emanated from the recycling bins that are set out each Thursday night for Friday pickup. Preliminary indications, though unofficial, point toward arson.
Most of the company's seven presses escaped harm, but Royal's platemaking equipment and much of its bindery gear—collators, folders, cutters and a mini binder—suffered heavy water damage. Weady, who carried extensive insurance, said that all of the bindery equipment would be replaced.
"We probably lost 30 percent of the building," Weady revealed. "One corner of the building may have structural damage."
A good deal of finished jobs and some work in progress were lost, but a number of fellow printers stepped up to lend a hand. "They all volunteered," he noted.