Print
Solutions April 2006
Cover
Story
TOP
100 Manufacturers
Still
on Their Way Up
by
LaShell Stratton and Preeti Vasishtha
Manufacturers
contended with some inflation
in 2005, but many logged sales
increases.
Last
year was a mixed bag of good news
and bad news for print manufacturers.
Though most companies faced rising
costs of paper, ink and transportation
largely due to increased oil prices,
sales numbers submitted by manufacturers
who participated in this year’s
Top 100 issue showed an average
growth of 5.9 percent in 2005,
compared to 4.7 percent the previous
year and only 1.5 percent in 2003.
Companies
who showed the highest sales in
specific product areas such as
commercial printing, paper-based
forms, cut sheets, and labels
and tags also showed sales increases
overall. Those who ranked among
the top 10 commercial print sellers
scored an average 15.6 percent
sales growth; among paper-based
form sellers, an increase of 6.5
percent; among cut sheet sellers,
an increase of 5.1 percent, and
among labels and tag sellers there
was an increase of 9 percent.
Once
again, Ennis Inc., based in Midlothian,
Texas, ranked No. 1 on the list
with more than $563 million in
sales, compared to $365 million
last year and $259 million the
previous year. The $563 million
includes sales for all Ennis divisions:
360° Custom Labels, Adams
McClure, Admore, Advertising Concepts,
Alstyle Apparel, Calibrated Forms,
Crabar, ColorWorx, GBF, Genforms,
GFS, Northstar, Royal Business
Forms, Star Award Ribbon Co.,
TBF/Avant-Garde and Witt Printing.
|
Those
who ranked among the top
10 commercial print sellers
scored an average 15.6
percent sales growth.
|
Ennis’
continuing strategy of acquiring
firms whose products can be sold
through distributors has paid
off well, doubling the size of
the 96-year-old company. The acquisition
of Alstyle in 2004, a $242 million
deal, made Ennis a major player
in the wearables market and complemented
its broad line of print products.
Earlier this year, Ennis acquired
TBF/Avant-garde of Tullahoma,
Tenn., which had sales of $2.2
million in 2004.
In
March, Ennis finalized its purchase
of Specialized Printed Forms of
Caledonia, N.Y., which ranked
No. 46 on last year’s Top
100 list with sales of $12 million.
Specialized’s sales are
not included in Ennis’ sales
total for this year.
Some
companies fell slightly in the
rankings due to sales losses.
TST/ Impreso was bumped from No.
3 in 2005 to No. 7 this year.
The company also saw a decrease
in sales of 25.3 percent and reported
having to downsize quickly after
losing $35 million in business.
ProDocumentSolutions, Paso Robles,
Calif., was bumped from No. 33
in 2005 to No. 45 this year. The
company also saw sales decrease
34 percent between fiscal 2004
and fiscal 2005. “ProDocumentSolutions’
sales fluctuation is due to contractual
printing agreements we have that
come up every other year,”
explains Cris Highnote, the company’s
sales manager. “Our 2006
sales will increase back to 2004
sales levels or higher.”
Companies
that performed well in 2005 were
willing to share their recipes
for success. Gary St. Onge, CFC,
vice president of sales and marketing
at AmeriPrint Corporation, Harvard,
Ill., which ranked 62nd in the
top 100, but eighth on the list
of fastest-growing manufacturers,
says the company added some 80
distributors in 2005 after expanding
its products and capabilities—a
move that increased the manufacturer’s
2005 sales by 19.6 percent. AmeriPrint
installed a press to produce cut
sheets, introduced short-run laser
checks and launched a Check 21
center to evaluate financial documents’
compatibility with Check 21 Act
requirements. The company also
focused on marketing through DMIA’s
TRADEMarts to improve visibility
among distributorships.
Terri
Pummill, vice president of Grand
Rapids, Mich.-based Concept Forms,
which ranks 92nd on the Top 100
list but is fifth among the fastest-growing
manufacturers, says the company
achieved 28.4 percent sales growth
because it sold not-so-new products
such as guest checks and parking
tickets through a network of distributors
who sell to the “right markets.”
One distributor has national accounts
which significantly increased
production volume of guest checks
and parking tickets.
ANRO
Inc., Devon, Pa., a newcomer to
the Top 100 list, scored big with
an overall ranking of 24th, a
rank of tenth among fastest-growing
manufacturers and second among
top commercial printing sellers.
Larry Wolfe, director of sales
and marketing at ANRO, credits
penetrating deeper into current
accounts by offering clients additional
products as one of the reasons
for 18.2 percent sales growth
in 2005. But he was quick to point
out that ANRO has seen steady
growth in sales for the past decade.
“Double-digit growth isn’t
atypical for us,” Wolfe
says.
Kurt
L. Streng, president of Cadillac
Looseleaf Products, Troy, Mich.,
which ranks 98th, says diversification
and a move to multi-media packaging
and production helped Cadillac
Looseleaf experience a whopping
sales growth of 33.3 percent in
2005. The company also ranked
third among fastest-growing manufacturers.
Streng
says Cadillac Looseleaf promoted
with direct mail pieces and plant
tours, and it upgraded its web
site. “Maybe it was just
a case of being at the right time,
right place,” he says. “Last
year, we landed a few new clients
and a few of their existing clients
got even bigger customers. And
it wasn’t just one or two
customers. A number of our independents
were able to bring in clients
who wanted more than one product.
We’re
expanding our staff as we speak.
We brought a few new people on
board and we plan to get a few
more CSRs. We may even add onto
our building in the future, but
capacity wise, we’re good
for now.”
