Quadracci, 66, Found Dead In Lake
"No one, in my view, has impacted and contributed more to the printing industry than Harry Quadracci," stated Tom Basore, executive director of the Web Offset Association, who learned of the news while on business in Mexico. "For a company to grow from a zero base to $1.8 billion in 32 years—it's a feat that will never be equaled in this industry.
"It's a very sad day for the printing industry and a major loss."
Angelo Rivello, senior vice president of manufacturing and distribution for Newsweek, recalled how Mr. Quadracci came to the publication's rescue in 1975 during the midst of a gasoline shortage and labor strike. The company signed a contract to print Newsweek, making the venerable current events publication its first marquee client.
Rivello also knew and worked with Mr. Quadracci's father, the late Harry R. Quadracci—a trail blazer in the early days of web offset printing.
"I feel like I've lost more than a friend. He's been like both a father and a brother to me," Rivello said. "There is no one I can look to in the industry who's left a bigger imprint than Harry Quadracci.
"Along the way, he made many people successful in this business. He just believed in the American way. That's what building a business is all about."
The printing industry, he added, has lost a great man—"the greatest man, in my opinion."
Harris DeWese of Compass Capital Partners, who first met Mr. Quadracci in the early 1980s, noted the owner was a business mastermind. "Harry Quadracci set a standard for excellence in leadership, strategic thinking and management that, in my mind, is unprecedented in our industry," DeWese said. "He leaves a legacy of accomplishments that should provide guidelines for every manager in our industry."
Ken Field, president and CEO of Continental Web Press, Itasca, IL, remembers swapping "some crude technology" information in the early 1970s, as their respective companies were still in their nascency.
