Continuous Forms

USAdocufinish, Plainfield, Ill., now offers blood bag-compatible labels. The labels are both FDA- and American Red Cross-compliant. The specialty material used in manufacturing the products is a white, flexible polyolefin available in both piggyback and single-ply constructions.

No longer the workhorse of the industry, continuous forms can still create strong sales Cut-sheets, single-parts, electronic forms… All have eaten away at continuous forms' previous dominance as the heavyweight workhorse of the forms world. Despite this evolution in customers' needs and desires, manufacturers maintain that continuous can still be a strong selling point for forms distributors. "Continuous has been declining over the past several years; it's down 50 percent from 10 years ago," said Kenneth Adams, president of Central States Business Forms, Dewey, Okla. "In just the past six months, it's down 5 percent or so. There's been a shift to smaller orders. The larger

The trick is to identify key markets and then add value through service and related products. It may have seen its heyday come and go but, according to many, continuous product is still a viable profit center for distributors. The key is in paying attention to where and how it's used. For most manufacturers, sales volume on continuous is stagnant or suffering a slight decline, but they say that's no reason to write off this traditional product. "Our overall sales are solid for the past three years, though the percentage of continuous in our sales volume is down, but it's still a majority of

As of December 15, Service Continuous Forms (SCF), Glassboro, N.J., will be owned and operated by Printegra Corporation, Montgomeryville, Pa. The acquisition was prompted by SCF's President and CEO Lou Ianelli's wish to retire. "Ianelli searched out potential companies to partner with that could offer SCF customers a wider product mix, innovative technology and distributor support tools," said Bill Reid, Printegra's director of marketing. "Printegra was a natural fit, offering SCF's customers a national company along with a local presence and a long-term commitment to the industry." The majority of SCF's manufacturing capabilities will be relocated to Printegra's Montgomeryville plant. SCF's

A mere five minutes from Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, on the Condado strip nestled betwixt the Atlantic Ocean and the Condado Lagoon, rests the elaborate Condado Plaza Hotel & Casino. Boasting 570 luxurious guest rooms and suites, 27,000 sq. ft. of meeting and conference facilities, five international restaurants and the largest casino in Puerto Rico, the hotel faces a formidable challenge in meeting the needs of guests—specifically the tools required to register those visitors. Fortunately, Puerto Rico also houses frugal designer Guillermo Zabala, Alpha Business Forms, San Juan, whose creative innovations have been serving the hotel industry in PR for about 20 years.

Platinum Award: Continuous Forms. Many Happy Returns. Sometimes opportunity doesn't knock. Sometimes it just makes an appointment. At least that's how it happened to Jim Cramer, president of Data Flow, a forms distributor based in Amarillo, Texas. One day he was making a routine appointment to meet with a manufacturer's sales representative and the next day he had a fantastic new product and an idea for just the client to sell it to. In spite of all of his good fortune, Cramer said, it was little more than opportunity meeting preparedness. "Actually Ward/Kraft came to me and showed me a new product," admitted Cramer. "And I said, 'Yeah,

Newsbrief American Buys CST/Star Assets American Tissue, Happauge, N.Y., has purchased the assets of CST/Star Products, Wheeling, Ill., which recently closed. The purchase includes all of CST/ Star's eight plants, presses and other equipment, accounts receivable and all brands, trademarks and copyrights. The new company, operating under the name American Forms, is led by President and CEO Alan Vosper. American has opened three of the purchased plants—Wheeling, Ill.; Plano, Texas; and Leola, Pa.—employing about 100 people. Approximately 85 of those employees formerly worked for CST/Star. No senior management has been retained. In addition to the three plants, American Forms has distribution agreements at several

Newsbrief CFC Announces New President CFC Print Solutions, formerly Continuous Forms and Checks, Peachtree City, Ga., has named Casey Campbell president. Former president Bob Lenox has assumed the position of CEO, with Campbell taking over day-to-day operations and leadership as president. Campbell, BFL&S' 1998 Gerald Bostwick Manufacturer of The Year Award winner, has more than 21 years' experience in the business documents industry. For the past 11 years, he has held the position of vice president of marketing at CFC. Newsbrief Vallis, Champion Merge Vallis Form Service, Schiller Park, Ill., has merged with Champion Specialized Products, Glendale Heights, Ill. The newly-formed company–Vallis/Champion–will be

Manufacturers continue to shift toward cut sheets and finishing services By Barbara A. Bucci Plain vanilla products continue to disappear from the forms industry's product menus. In order to stay competitive, manufacturers are introducing new products within their area of expertise. Obviously, diversification follows market demand. As end-users demand shorter runs, printed cut sheets, variable imaging, document management and finishing services, manufacturers must deliver. Responses from the Business Forms, Labels & Systems' exclusive state of the industry survey revealed how manufacturers have responded to market changes. Equipment Leads the Way In order to diversify, manufacturers have purchased new equipment or enhancements to existing machinery--notably rotary and sheetfed presses. Of the respondents,

Top 20 Independent Manufacturers 1998 Rank Company Sales ($000) 1997 Rank Sales ($000) Principal Officer Employees Locations Year Founded 1 CST/Star Forms $255,000 1 235,800 William O. Nahikian, CEO 535 9 1969 2 Ennis Busines Forms $154,348 3 153,726 Keith Walters, CEO/COB 1,408 15 1909 3 *Poser $121,750 4 100,000 Dennis M. Grasso 940 15 1949 4 *TRANSKRIT $101,000 5 95,000 Jack Resnick 1,028 8 1938 5 GBF Graphics $82,700 6 87,400 Richard S. Kunz 500 6 1951 6 Adams Business Forms $65,000 9 60,000 Joe Bauman 350 3 1889 7 Datagraphics $60,473 10 58,354 John Staniforth 350 3 1889 8 * Label Art $52,203 - 58,392 Thomas Cobery 426 4 1963 9 Discount Labels $53,971 - $55,945 Allen C. Conway Sr. 665 1 1964 10 DSFI Distributor's Stock $53,000 8 $62,000 Malcolm Geffen 185 4 1979 11 Continuous Forms and Checks $48,500 13 49,910 Bob Lenox 435 10 1982 12 Calibrated Forms $46,175 16 45,152 Bill Amyx 320 1 1985 13 Northstar Computer Forms $43,000 15 46,200 Kenneth Overstreet 500 6 1962 14 Sovereign Business Forms $39,204 36 23,606 Donald D. Patteson 421 8 1962 15 Wright Business Graphics $38,813 20 37,507 Jim Wright 275 6 1971 16 Rittenhouse Label Media $38,236 - $38,000 Tom Pagel 125 3 1915 17 ELT $38,000 - 16,800 Tim Wright 150 25 1987 18 United Computer Supplies $37,500 18 $38,700 Jack Zimmerman 128 3 1984 19 Data Label $36,383 22 36,131 Geroge Snyder 180 5 1980 20 Highland Computer Forms $36,151 21 36,290 Philip D. Wilson 108 4 1979 For a complete list of the "Top 100 Independent Manufacturers," read the Oct. 20 issue of Business Forms, Labels & Systems. Subscribe by clicking on the "How to Subscribe" link below.