MBO America

Tucker-Castleberry -- Relationships Do Matter
August 1, 2005

By Erik Cagle Senior Editor The world of commercial printing is much more than ink on paper, and the related services required to make the final product a reality. It is about people, the relationships they form, and the trust they build as business partners and even as friends. As technology improves processes and levels the competitive playing field for printers, making quality a reality across the board, offering the lowest price still isn't always going to win the contract. Honesty, integrity, satisfaction and reliability still count to some print buyers. And it keeps them coming back with more jobs. Take Tucker-Castleberry Printing in

BINDERY matters
June 1, 2005

Gämmerler to Build Manufacturing Plant HANOVER PARK, IL—Material handling and inline finishing equipment manufacturer Gämmerler plans to build a 80,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Palmetto, FL. Scheduled to open in April 2006, company officials say that the new facility will house the latest in automation equipment, provide roughly 35 percent of annual global production capacity and significantly improve Gämmerler's operational efficiency. "The decision to build the new plant was based on an increase in demand for Gämmerler's products in North America and a desire for a more flexible and efficient international manufacturing platform," says Gämmerler CEO Gunter Gämmerler. "The Palmetto plant will complement our existing production

American Printing — Fast-track Firm
June 1, 2005

American Printing is, by its own definition, a small national printer. But if the venerable Birmingham, AL-based shop can follow through on its game plan, that will change drastically. Growth has been a key for the sheetfed offset, half-web and digital print provider. When current owner Robert “Bo” Stanford acquired the company in 1992 from a venture capital group, American Printing boasted just 18 employees and annual sales under $1.8 million. Fast forward to 2005. A base of more than 170 employees has enabled American Printing to post $19 million in sales for fiscal year 2004. Its current plant, acquired eight years ago, has

BINDERY matters
May 1, 2005

Show Shines for Manufacturers ORLANDO—With 150 exhibit spaces of machines and services at Orlando Graphics 2005, held in April, enthusiasm for 2006 has already been expressed with 98 percent commitment by this year's exhibitors. "The quality of visitors, not the quantity, is what generates business for us," says Hans Max, president and CEO of MBO America, an exhibitor at the show. "We were extremely satisfied not only with the immediate sales, but the followup sales and leads produced by Orlando Graphics." MBO ran demonstrations allowing visitors to see more than 20 multiple-machine configurations bringing improved production to the pressroom or bindery. There was excitement over MBO's

IWCO Direct -- Direct Route to Success
February 1, 2005

By Erik Cagle Senior Editor One would be hard pressed to find a better model for success than the one that is constantly being crafted and perfected at IWCO Direct in Chanhassen, MN. The former Instant Web Companies, which recast its name last year to reflect its integrated direct mail package capabilities, has been a runaway train for billowing sales the past four years. Its revenues in 2001 registered a very respectable $84 million, a figure that climbed to $91 million in 2002 and $124.9 million in 2003, culminating with an estimated $146 million for 2004. Growth a Constant Perhaps culminating is an inaccurate

BINDERY matters
January 1, 2005

Finishing Supplier Changes Structure HANOVER PARK, IL—Gämmerler, a supplier of materials handling and in-line finishing equipment, is implementing a new global organizational structure designed to unify the company's resources to improve customer support on a global basis. This includes the formation of a senior level, global management team with collective responsibility for worldwide service, sales, marketing, finance, engineering and order management functions. Open House has Post-Drupa Flavor ROSELAND, NJ—In November, Bobst Group USA held its "Direction '04" open house, the North American launch and domestic premier of the 12 new products announced earlier this year at Drupa in Germany. During the three-day open house, U.S. converters

SUPPLIER news
November 1, 2004

Colter & Peterson and MBO America are now co-distributors of Wohlenberg paper cutters and cutting systems for the U.S. market. Specifically, the cooperative agreement will allow technical experts and sales personnel from both companies to confer with each other on how Wohlenberg cutters can best enhance the efficiency and productivity for printers and trade finishers looking to upgrade their operations. Rochester Institute of Technology's School of Print Media presented the Cary Award to Frank Steenburgh, senior vice president for business growth, Production Systems Group at Xerox Corp. during a breakfast at Graph Expo 2004. The Cary Award is presented annually to those who have

GRAPH EXPO & CONVERTING EXPO 2004 DIGITAL PRINTING -- Solution
November 1, 2004

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor Scientists have challenged its veracity, but the "boiling frog" legend endures. Here's a short version: Drop a frog into a pot of boiling water and it will immediately jump up. Place a frog into a pot of temperate water, then slowly turn up the heat, and it will stay in the pot until it is overcome. Admittedly, the dire consequences of this cautionary tale are overblown when it's applied to the current status of digital printing. Nonetheless, it does give one a visceral sense for how the slow pace of a change can mask its magnitude over time

GRAPH EXPO & CONVERTING EXPO 2004 Binding & Finishing -- Binde
November 1, 2004

by chris bauer Managing Editor If you still think of the bindery as a labor-intensive segment of the print shop where manual operations are the norm, then you obviously were not paying close enough attention at Graph Expo and Converting Expo 2004. Exhibitors touting the next generation of finishing equipment proved that bindery gear is now just as automated and digitized as equipment in prepress departments and pressrooms. Muller Martini, for example, showed printers and finishing professionals how to make the most of computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) in their binderies and pressrooms. Under the theme "Integration—Solutions from A to Z," the company introduced a

Floor-Model Folders — Getting into the Fold
October 1, 2004

by chris bauer Managing Editor Once overlooked in a printing world that focused heavily on digital technology, bindery equipment, including floor-model folding machines, can now be part of the conversation. Modern machines offer all of the automation that today's users desire. According to Josef Niehueser, product manager for Stahlfolder (distributed by Heidelberg), automation and integration are the features that folding machine users want to incorporate. The bindery is the only production department left that still involves a degree of manual labor, he points out, and printers want to take as much labor out of the finishing process as possible. "Integration is the next