Quebecor World

MONTREAL—Quebecor World is instituting a major strategic capital investment plan that includes the purchase of up to 22 new web presses for its U.S. manufacturing platform, with many supplied by MAN Roland. The plan calls for 48-, 64-, 96- and 128-page web presses that target the company's magazine, catalog, retail and book platforms. Sixteen of those presses will be MAN Roland LITHOMAN and ROTOMAN machines. An order has been placed for 12 presses, to be commissioned in 2005 and 2006, which carry a price tag of about $165 million. The balance, to be delivered in 2006 and 2007, will also cost $165 million. "During the last

ORLANDO, FL—Bob D'Angelo is one of the lucky ones, if you can call it that. The sales rep for Central Florida Press, part of the Quebecor World family, was starting his fifth day without electrical power. The good news, in the aftermath of Hurricane Charley—the worst storm to hit U.S. land in about a dozen years—was that power was to be restored as early as later in the day. "I'm just doing a Cool Hand Luke...a lot of sweating," D'Angelo jokes. The storm, which lasted no longer than an hour in some parts of Florida, had its greatest effect on the west coast, where

AUGSBURG, GERMANY/MONTREAL--Quebecor World Inc. has awarded a multi-million dollar order for 16 web presses to MAN Roland Inc. The new presses are part of a recently announced major strategic capital investment plan that includes the purchase of a total of 22 new presses for Quebecor World's U.S. magazine, catalog, retail and book platforms. "This investment will benefit our customers and our shareholders by enhancing service and quality and improving efficiency. We are pleased to partner with MAN Roland because they produce a top quality product that will be delivered on time," said Pierre Karl Peladeau, president and CEO, Quebecor World Inc. The

NEW YORK—Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) and DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, an affiliate of Credit Suisse First Boston's Alternative Capital Division (DLJMBP), announced a series of transactions with an aggregate value of approximately $2.2 billion that will create a unique specialty printing and marketing services enterprise under the leadership of Marc Reisch. The transactions encompass the recapitalization of Jostens and the acquisitions of Von Hoffmann Corp. and Arcade Marketing, all three companies currently owned by DLJMBP. Reisch is currently a senior advisor of KKR and chairman of Yellow Pages Group, Canada's largest telephone directories publisher. He formerly served as the chairman and CEO of

MONTREAL—Looking to get the most out of its equipment resources, Quebecor World announced that select equipment at its Kingsport, TN, book manufacturing facility would be decommissioned or redeployed to other locations. The remaining Kingsport assets will be refocused and specialized to better service the customer base, the company said in a release. The moves will spell the loss of 450 positions in Kingsport, though Quebecor World expects about 280 jobs to be recreated at other U.S. book facilities once the equipment has been relocated. Those employees whose positions are being eliminated were encouraged to apply for the transplanted jobs or for other positions in the Quebecor

MONTREAL—The U.S. magazine platform of Quebecor World suffered a devastating blow with the announcement that its Effingham, IL, printing facility would be closed by year's end. The move will result in the loss of about 600 jobs. According to a company press release, select equipment from the 570,000-square-foot Effingham plant will be relocated throughout the Quebecor World magazine plant network. About 200 jobs will be recreated once the relocation initiative is finished. The company felt the move was necessary to be able to "maintain its leadership in the increasingly competitive North American print market." The announcement was the first step in a "significant reorganization" of the

Banta Corp., Mensasha, WI, announced the appointment of David Engelkemeyer to vice president of worldwide operations. He assumes senior executive leadership responsibilities for all of Banta's manufacturing operations, which include the corporation's print, supply-chain management and healthcare facilities. Michael Sullivan has assumed the duties and office of president and general manager of Envelopes & More. He replaces his father, John Sullivan, who led the Bloomfield, CT-based company since its inception in 1990. He will remain with the organization in an advisory capacity. Kevin Rickard, vice president of operations at Rickard Bindery in Chicago, has been elected president of Binding Industries Association International (BIA) for

"On a $1,000-per-hour web press, it's almost unimaginable how expensive it is to not match color on the press," says Michael Graff, senior executive vice president at Sandy Alexander Printing in Clifton, NJ. These days, however, plate remakes due to color issues are down to 20 percent of what they were before, Graff reports. "We've had a perceptible improvement in time of matching proofs, and our makeready time is down considerably." Repeated rounds of color proofing used to be very costly for Que-Net Media, as well, reveals Brian Gaughen, color quality manager of the Quebecor World subsidiary in Los Angeles. But, recently,

Paloian Rejoins Donnelley Group CHICAGO—John R. Paloian, who spent 11 years at RR Donnelley before moving on to Quebecor World, is rejoining the Windy City printer as group president, publishing and retail services. He is now responsible for the company's magazine, catalog, retail advertising insert and directory business. Paloian, who was co-COO at the time of his departure from Quebecor World, previously served as president of the magazine/catalog business. Banta Names Streeter Chairman MENASHA, WI—Banta Corp. announced that Stephanie Streeter, president and CEO, has also assumed the role of chairman of the board of directors. Streeter replaced Donald D. Belcher, who retired after holding the position for

By Harris DeWese Another wave of merger and acquisition activity is mounting in the printing industry. Soon it will sweep across the industry as never before. It began mid-year 2003 and is likely to continue for several years. This new era of consolidation will be of greater magnitude than previous periods. It will have a different impetus and many new characteristics. This surge is enabled by an improving economy, continuing low interest rates, buyers' pent-up demand for external growth, the difficulty associated with organic growth in printing and the catalytic effect of a handful of recent mega-deals. This new period of consolidation will