Transcontinental Inc. -- Growth on the Horizon

In fact, Transcontinental has invested (C)$120 million and (C)$140 million in new equipment in 2002 and 2003, respectively. The 2003 figure includes a new press and facility built to print the largest daily newspaper in Montreal, La Presse.

For 2004, Transcontinental has a capital expenditures budget approaching (C)$100 million. The individual business units were to prepare a wish list to present to senior management in March to help provide a Transcontinental braintrust of 20 attending Drupa with an investment plan.

"We'll do our homework so we can go there and be ready," Desjardins notes.

In remaining competitive and viable in challenging markets, Desjardins doesn't necessarily view the business landscape from an "us vs. them" mentality. Much of what helps to define Transcontinental is taken from the Horizon 2005 strategic plan, which has helped to set a clear path for the company.

The questions it aims to address include: what are the customers' needs, and how to identify and satisfy their problems; how to internally maximize opportunity and efficiency; and how does the company view sales growth through internal growth and through acquisitions?

Basic Training

"We're working as one company to leverage our best intelligence and our best practices," Desjardins states. "We conduct training programs for every employee, including management. We're evolving from selling a product to becoming more of a business resource for customers. We have a continuous improvement program to improve what we do in all areas—systems, operations, productivity and sales.

"Less than half of CC3's sales represents print; the rest is fulfillment and data mining management. They offer a lot of services we do in some of our businesses here, and we want to apply the services that make sense in every group of businesses we have to become a better resource for our customers. We've grown very rapidly in a high-growth-potential niche in printing, as well as in publishing. Our profile is changing from being a product-specific business to more of a value-added service and niche. In our three sectors, the growth since 1997 has been phenomenal and we intend to continue in that direction."