Printing Impressions 300 Fast-Track Firm: Ironmark Prides Itself on Partnerships

The printing businesses recognized as Fast-Track Firms on the newly published, 2023 Printing Impressions 300 (click here to access the complete PI 300 list) of the largest printers in the U.S. and Canada, as ranked by annual sales, are not all the same. They serve different constituencies in different ways. What joins them is not necessarily what they do and how they do it, but instead their commitment to growth, to expansion, to customer service, and to exemplary sales performance.

Read below why Printing Impressions recognized Ironmark as a Fast-Track Firm.

Ironmark | Annapolis Junction, Maryland

Most Recent Fiscal Year Sales: $51.37 Million
Previous Fiscal Year Sales: $39.25 Million
Percentage Growth: 31%

Matt Marzullo, president of Ironmark, shown with company CEO Jeff Ostenso (right), notes that the company’s growth stems primarily from a drive to meet the developing needs of its customers. | Credit: Ironmark

“We are an integrated marketing and communications company,” says Matt Marzullo, president of Ironmark, when asked to describe the company. He adds that while Ironmark has its roots in commercial printing — “it’s our legacy” — he and his team have worked to diversify into additional areas, including digital marketing, creative services, promotional products, warehousing, and fulfillment. “We’re not just a printer,” he explains, “but a logistics partner.”

As the economy emerged from the 2008 financial crisis, Marzullo saw customers consolidating relationships with vendors, seeking, for instance, two vendors instead of five or six. He saw this as an opportunity to add ancillary services, thus increasing Ironmark’s value to its customers. In 2016-2017, the company added creative services, helping it become a valued provider on both sides of the physical/digital marketing divide. “Customers are torn between the two, and are looking for partners that can deliver both and help with the execution. This has allowed us to be the resource for these companies.”

Part of the company’s more recent revenue growth, Marzullo adds, is the result of its 2022 purchase of Millennium Marketing Solutions. This move doubled the size of the Ironmark’s agency services. The company also took on an investment partner — a private equity firm — last June to help it maintain its growth trajectory. He shares that while Ironmark has grown through acquisition, it has also experienced organic growth. “There are also just fewer players in the market, and customers are looking for a new, better experience,” he adds.

Sharing his thoughts on Ironmark’s path forward, Marzullo sees a continued evolution in mixing digital and physical services, as well as the need to serve enterprise accounts across numerous service lines. “We’re a good partner,” he explains, “but we want to make that even stickier.” He says that as a long-time vendor for some customers, one unexpected value point is that Ironmark “ends up carrying a lot of institutional knowledge.” In the longer term, Marzullo envisions Ironmark being basically the same company, just more of it. “We’re looking to grow our footprint and have some pretty exciting expansion plans.” Among future opportunities, he hopes to utilize customer data in ways that help clients make better decisions and better understand the ROI of their marketing spend.

For the industry in general, Marzullo sees continued investment, across the board. “I’ve been in the printing industry for 30 years,” he says. “It’s always evolving and there is plent of opportunity. [There is] so much tech that will help us move forward.”