Industry Headlines

ProForma Adds 500th Distributor

— The Cleveland-based ProForma distributor network has added its 500th franchise. ProForma One Stop Marketing, Memphis, Tenn., has been opened by Kurt Wulff, a former sales representative for Moore.

Wulff said that the decision to establish the distributorship was based on quality-of-life issues. Wulff chose ProForma because, "It will allow me to have more free time and minimize financial risk."

ProForma was third among the Top 100 Distributors with sales of $175 million. The company expects to top $200 million in total sales for the 2000 calendar year.

Precept CEO Deason Resigns

Doug Deason has resigned as president and CEO of Precept Business Services, Dallas. Lee Hassell of Hassell & Associates, a private consulting firm, has been named interim president and CFO. Hassell & Associates has been engaged to provide operational and financial oversight of the company.

Deason will remain a member of Precept's board of directors and will become chairman and CEO of Precept Builders.

Ennis Sales Up in Second Quarter

Net sales for Ennis Business Forms, DeSoto, Texas, increased 44.5 percent for its second quarter to $55.1 million compared to $38.2 million last year. Net earnings for the same period decreased by 3.1 percent to $3.8 million.

The company attributes the lower earnings to charges related to the closure of its Louisville, Ky., plant and increased interest expenses funding the acquisition of Northstar Computer Forms.

For the first half of its fiscal year, Ennis reported net sales of $101.9 million, compared to $77.8 million last year and net earnings of $7.6 million, compared to $7.1 million last year.

PrintXcel Expands Mailer Capacity

The Clarksville, Tenn., plant of PrintXcel has increased production capacity for its VersaSeal mailer product line.

Equipment installed in September, dedicated to pressure seal production, will double current capacity of the mailers. With capabilities including 11 and 14 C-, V- and custom-folds, the mailers are available in stock, imprinted or custom formats.