Management

Ennis, Midlothian, Texas, recently named Charles “Chuck” Hester as general manager of the company’s Wolfe City, Texas location. The Wolfe City plant manufactures and sources advertising specialties, tags and labels in support of Ennis’ 40,000-plus distributor base. The previous general manager, Les Roisum, has assumed outside sales responsibilities for Wolfe City, with a focus on growing the company’s 360 degree Custom Labels Line and other core products. Hester, a 13-year veteran in manufacturing and plant operations management, comes to Ennis from Lancer Label, a Cenveo company, located in Omaha, Neb. As general manager of Lancer Label, he played an integral role in the financial

The theft of U.S. trade secrets was costing American companies billions of dollars a year in lost sales when President Bill Clinton signed the Economic Espionage Act into law on Oct. 11, 1996. Although theft of proprietary data and products has been designated a federal criminal offense, it occurs every day, according to John C. Smith, president of the John C. Smith Group High Technology Investigations & Security Consulting of Silicon Valley and Roseville, Calif. For eight years, Smith served as the senior criminal investigator for the high technology theft/computer crime unit in the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, working high-technology crime in

women Have made valuable contributions to the printing industry as far back as the Renaissance. Printing businesses were typically family affairs and all members participated. Men usually cast the type, which involved blacksmithing, and managed labor-intensive paper-making tasks, while women set type, folded paper and stitched bindings. When husbands died, wives continued running the shops and supporting their families with the permission of the industry-ruling guilds. But, by the early 1800s, women in America and Europe began being shut out of the industry, as developing technology and increasing demand for books and newspapers moved printing from family shops into the hands of male-only unions. Fast forward

Distributorships discuss compensation for sales staff and thoughts on recruitment and retention. BFL&S spoke with the owners of the following distributorships regarding their compensation plans, as well as a variety of factors involved in developing an effective team: • Midwest Single Source, Wichita, Kan., John Osborne, president and CEO • Professional Graphic Communications, Sewickley, Pa., Mike Weinzierl, president • S.W.M. Printing & Promotions, St. Louis, Mo., John Sanders, president, CEO • Venture Corporation, Lewis-ville, Texas, Gary Dunlap, president Not surprising, all of the contributors reported that their sales professionals earn a commission on their sales. At Professional Graphic Communications, there are four inside sales reps,

Six distributors share the secrets and strategies that put them on top. Workflow What makes the same distributor retain the No. 1 spot on the BFL&S Top 100 Distributors list for four consecutive years? According to Rick Wesley, president of Workflow (formerly SFI), a Norfolk, Virginia-based distributor, the formula for success lies in managing customer supply chains effectively. "Our strategy for the past three years has been to do an analysis of potential customers' supply chain needs, propose a better solution than what they have, and then begin managing their products on the iGetSmart e-commerce platform," said Wesley. The iGetSmart system is the

Sales increased in almost every category in 2003. Distributors had a healthy year in 2003, with a total BFL&S Top 100 revenue of $2.35 billion, which was 8.8 percent higher than last year's $2.16 billion. The main reason for the $190 million increase in sales is the rapid incursion of promotional products into distributors' product portfolios. Led by Proforma, which more than doubled its promotional product sales, the category increased by 45 percent overall. All other categories, except forms, also showed sales increases this year. Form sales for the Top 100 decreased to $774 million from $793 million last year. Forms accounted

The financial forms market can be a cash cow for distributors who learn the tricks of the trade. Although significant acquisition activity has changed the landscape of the financial services industry over the past few years, many forms professionals specializing in this market have remained adept at keeping their own businesses stable. "It's not the business it used to be," said Ray Hough, president of the Ray Hough Company, Muse, Pa., which has specialized in financial markets for the past 32 years. "We have been through three kinds of merger mania—in the late 1970s, the early 1990s and now—and the current wave is detrimental

As Global DocuGraphix transforms from acquisitional to operational, the marriage of traditional business forms and e-based initiatives has proved highly effective. Mike Cate can pinpoint exactly what persuaded him to leave his position as president of the South Texas division of Corporate Express and become the Chief Operating Officer at Global DocuGraphix, headquartered in Lincolnshire, Ill. It was something Global's CEO, Graham McClean, said. "Graham told me, 'We're just a bunch of good people, who have come together and are trying to build a world-class company and take care of customers,' " Cate recalled. "I think that speaks volumes about what Graham McClean is

Unified by a strong core infrastructure, PrintXcel serves all printing needs great and small. Upon learning that Englewood, Colorado-based PrintXcel was named BFL&S' 2002 Manufacturer of the Year, chief customer officer Charles Stickler exclaimed, "This is good news for everyone." For indeed the recognition proves that PrintXcel is on track and in touch with market de-mands, but it's also symptomatic of a healthy industry that's generating opportunities. Yet, as President and CEO Kevin Lombardo observed, "The industry is currently experiencing the same softness that the overall economy is experiencing and there is a sensitivity to people's spending." He explained that customers are

The printed products industry mirrored the economy with a slight drop in revenue. Although revenue for the Top 100 Manufacturers and Suppliers declined by 2 percent, or $900,000 to $4.87 billion this year, it is still quite a bit higher than the $4.38 billion reported two years ago. The total number of employees reported by the Top 100 decreased by 283 to 30,662 this year. The total number of locations decreased dramatically to 369 from last year's 423. Productivity, as measured by sales per employee, dropped a bit this year to $158,805 from the $160,123 reported last year. However, sales per location jumped to $13.2 million from