The Garvey Group — All Under Four Roofs

Web-to-Print Traction

Web-to-print should provide greater traction in 2008, especially for verticals, such as insurance, that need to get marketing materials out to the end users or salespeople in the field. Garvey clients will turn to GFS as opposed to the more expensive option of maintaining those services in-house.

Sturtevant, WI: The long-run commercial member of The Garvey family saw a pair of new additions within the past two years: a 10-color, 40˝ Rapida 105 with roll-to-sheet and 5/5 perfecting capabilities, as well as a four-color Rapida 105 2/2 perfector.

According to Ed Halbur, Sturtevant general manager, 2007 was a learning year on the 10-color press, which produced quality that even exceeded The Garvey Group’s high expectations. An exciting bonus was its ability to perfect any job that came on-press.

“We run anything from 60-lb. enamel, a very thin sheet, up to 24-pt. The press will handle up to 47-pt.,” Halbur notes. “Makereadies are quick, allowing us to get running quickly. The press is also equipped with the DensiTronic S densitometry system, which has made for faster makereadies for color.”

The press additions have allowed The Garvey Group to break into the coupon market. Sturtevant’s bindery has enjoyed an uptick as a result, and Halbur feels few competitors can offer the capability of in-line folding and gluing for coupons. Calendar and brochure jobs have also been bountiful.

While founded in 1919 as an office supply company, The Garvey Group has undergone its most massive changes in the last 20 years. As recently as 1994, the company employed just 12 workers. But a run of deals bulked it up in the late 1990s, led by the 1999 acquisitions of TruLine and C Graphic that added greater commercial printing and fulfillment depth. Ed Garvey uses a 12-point checklist to measure the potential benefit of an acquisition.