A View From the Top
1. Still the One
Midlothian, Texas-based Ennis has definitely found its lucky number. Another year brings another victory for the company that refuses to relinquish its number one-position on Print Professional's big list.
But perhaps even more rewarding for Ennis is the fact that 2009 marks its 100th year of business. Established in 1909, the company continues to uphold the core values—honesty, integrity and business savvy—first instilled by original owner Garner Dunkerley, Sr.
Such values become particularly important in an unstable financial climate. Reports of buyouts and businesses permanently shutting down have dominated the headlines this year—a wakeup call for Ennis staff members to be the best, because performing "slightly better" than the competition simply isn't enough.
Keith Walters, chairman, president and CEO of Ennis, has observed an effect on his customers as a result of the current business cycle, and noted that this is where integrity factors into the equation.
"In many cases, because of an engaged distributor and our customer finance team, our business relationships are growing stronger and both Ennis and our customer base will be stronger when the business environment improves," he said.
Enter business savvy and honesty. Walters cites Ennis' ability to manage costs as a key component of the company's success. "Many companies are now trying to lower their costs because of the slow economy, but this is something we evaluate every day—regardless of the economic environment. As a public company, we have to report and stand behind these numbers to our shareholders and board."
So, how will Ennis ensure it remains number one in 2010? By adapting to changing market conditions and selling through multiple strategies. For instance, Ennis plans to increase its presence in the apparel sector, while protecting its strong reputation in the print industry.
In addition, the company will further delve into e-commerce. "As the marketplace continues to change, Ennis has refocused its efforts on e-commerce, interoperability with the industry's leading software companies, program sales and a program to help distributors attack business traditionally held by the majors. This next year can be summed up in one word for Ennis: connectivity," Walters mentioned.
While nobody knows what the future holds, one thing is certain: never take anything for granted—even if your company has achieved the 100-year milestone.
"[This] is an important milestone to celebrate and reflect on the accomplishments of the company. After enjoying that reflection, our mindset is that year 100 is just like any other year and does not guarantee that we will see 100 more. Our success lies in our employees and management continuing their hard work and, as always, the support of a great group of distributors," Walters concluded.
2. Going Strong
Moving up a spot from last year's list to secure the number-two position is Huntington, West Virginia-based Champion Industries.
Founded in 1922, the company is modeled on the premise that performance equals results. And through the years, the foundation for continued performance and impressive results has been driven by Marshall T. Reynolds, chairman and CEO. Today, Champion Industries is a proven leader in the business forms and commercial print sectors, respectively.
But Reynolds isn't satisfied here. He admitted to currently working on several specialty areas, one of which is the mail sector. To make additional strides in this market, Champion Industries opened a spinoff of its Chapman Printing Charleston print-on-demand and mail facility. Operating as Champion Output Solutions, the division offers comprehensive transactional printing and mail center services. Without releasing too much information, Reynolds did acknowledge this move has worked out quite well.
Despite some topsy-turvy times, don't expect Champion Industries to back down. After all, the company reported even higher sales figures this year—during a recession. Quite simply, "Tough times don't last, but tough people do," Reynolds asserted.
3. On the Radar
This year's number-three ranking belongs to a company that's been making things happen, albeit quietly until now. Since 1975, this Ft. Lauderdale, Florida-based manufacturer operated under the name of Business Cards Tomorrow. But after a year of dramatic rebranding, it has become known simply as BCT, with the tagline "More options. Greater printing solutions."
BCT was initially founded as a 24-hour turn, wholesale only thermography business card provider to quick print retailers, recalled Peter Posk, president. Eventually, in the late 1990s, the company began to branch out into two specific areas. First, BCT reached out beyond its quick printer customer base to include sign shops, mail retailers, office superstores, Internet resellers and copy shops. Next, the company targeted brokers or distributors that serviced the commercial, or large account, end-users.
Remaining true to its new tagline, BCT now sells and manufactures four-color process, raised and flat printing, business cards, letterhead, envelopes, sell sheets, flyers and specialty items such as door hangers, brochures, booklets, UV coating and stamps.
And as an aside, BCT owns Pelican Paper, a significant paper converter/distributor. "We have three warehouses, located in Wisconsin, Nevada and New York. All plants pull from Pelican. It allows us to be very competitive and offer private label, comparable spec stocks, at much more attractive pricing than many brand names we inventory. It's a huge advantage we can pass on to distributors," Posk enthused.
When asked to identify BCT's greatest success over the last year, Posk proudly mentioned the company's new identity and mission. "The major shift was from a product focus to a solutions focus. The product we found had almost become incidental. The ability to provide technologies, integrate with other technologies, provide back end automated billing and reporting solutions and manage large corporate identity programs became the important factors for our resellers," he stated.
Posk went on to say BCT's top priority for the new year involves marketing. "We want distributors to know we are here to solve their problems," he proclaimed. "If we are guilty of one thing, it has been not talking about who we are and what we can do for distributors."
He expanded on this, joking, "... Prospects will often be impressed by the manufacturer with three locations and six presses and ask how we compare. It's almost embarrassing to say we have 60 plants and over 250 lines. They want to know where we have been hiding."
Well, wonder no more. BCT is here—always has been—and is not afraid to show it.
4. Better Than Ever
Longtime Butler, Wisconsin-based Western States Envelope & Label continues to hang tough, holding on to its number-four ranking.
"Our greatest success this past year for our customers was our ability to continue to provide industry leading products and ideas, enabling them to grow their business in a shrinking market," proclaimed Mark S. Lemberger, president. "For ourselves, it was our continued strong performance in our label business, and our ability to react quickly to scale down our operating costs to fit the current market volumes, without compromising product quality for our levels of service."
This piggybacks off the company's marketing strategy, which is to determine its customers' needs and develop solutions to help them grow their businesses, Lemberger remarked. "Over the years, this has led to product innovations, product diversification and geographic expansion for Western States. Helping our customers grow has helped us grow."
For next year, Western States Envelope & Label has set its sights on growing its top line through the introduction of new products and the entry into new markets. The company plans to focus on this while protecting its bottom line through "additional efficiency and cost control initiatives," he said.
Though the company is on the right track, the industry is not immune to problems. Lemberger believes one of the most significant problems plaguing this sector is "shrinking industry volumes combined with too many volume-based business models and commodity-based mind sets on the part of both print providers and buyers alike."
He continued, "Delivering a printed message to a targeted audience continues to be the most effective, economical and preferred way to communicate. We need to do a better job at getting the marketplace to recognize the value of print and mail."
On that same note, Western States isn't allowing the rocky economy to keep its business from thriving. To combat tough times, it continues to provide customers with the best products and service levels they can buy, Lemberger said. "Make it easy for them to do business with you, and let them know that you will work harder for them than anyone else. Watch your costs, but above all else, watch out for your customers' interests first."
5. Moving On Up
Paris Business Products, headquartered in Westampton, N.J., is slowly inching higher up the ladder of success, pulling itself up from six to five in the ranking.
Established as a continuous forms producer with a single press in 1964, Paris has celebrated more than 40 years as an industry leader for paper and business products. Paris commercial papers and custom forms have national distribution with paper merchants and distributors, while Paris consumer products are offered in more than 50,000 retail locations.
The company picked up significant growth over 2008 with the help of several new accounts, allowing for another successful year, said Gerry Toscani, CEO. "This was business that was turned over to us from a business partner that thought we would be able to deliver better results for the customer by improving their service levels and by developing a more comprehensive marketing program for them," Toscani explained.
Another key to Paris Business Products' thriving business is its marketing strategies. "Besides the 'givens' of quality and service, we focus on growth products, customers and channels," he noted. "We once had 95 percent of our sales in continuous forms, and now that is business that is less than 5 percent of our sales. So, it is in our nature to look for new opportunities so we can continue our growth."
Despite its growth and focused plans for next year, Toscani recognized the industry is facing problems. "The recession has quickened the rate of decline for paper-based forms and other products," Toscani said. "There is still too much capacity in our industry although it is coming down, and it should accelerate in the near future."
Paris Business Products will continue to stay strong by doing what it has always done—"never be satisfied with the status quo." He continued, "We want to 'make it better' everyday, with 'it' being any and every part of an organization including production, sales, marketing, quality assurance, on-time delivery, in-stock inventory, waste reduction, new product development, etc."
It's a baby step this year, but maybe next year Paris Business Products will move up another rung.
Gerry Toscani
Mark S. Lemberger
Peter Posk
Marshall T. Reynolds
Keith Walters
Elise Hacking Carr is senior production editor for Print & Promo Marketing magazine, and managing editor for PRINTING United Journal.