Stephen Franzino

By Erik CagleSenior Editor Although the company itself is 179 years old, Courier Corp. has the vitality of a teenager. The North Chelmsford, MA-based book printer found the fountain of youth courtesy of a comprehensive strategic planning process that began in 1990 and provided Courier with a sleek, sexy and, most of all, fiscally lucrative overhaul. The publicly held printer shed a number of markets, and the company that once published newspapers and dabbled in commercial work narrowed its focus to three book manufacturing segments—education, religious and specialty trade. The results have been outstanding. Through the first nine months of 2003, Courier has enjoyed

WHITE STONE, VA—Top technologists and strategic planners from leading printing, premedia and publishing companies around the world met in Orlando, FL, recently at the R&E Council/GCA Digital Smart Factory Conference to discuss integrated manufacturing in the printing industry. The meeting, co-sponsored by the R&E Council and the Graphic Communications Association, was an outgrowth of the 1999 Digital Networked Production Systems conference, staged by the R&E Council to explore the efficiencies possible in automating the print manufacturing process. The conference was co-chaired by Orlando Boleda, vice president of product development at Hart Graphics, and Stephen Franzino, vice president of technology for Courier Companies.