Print
Solutions June 2006
433
EAST Monroe
Some
Positive Economic News
Despite
a faltering stock market, the
prospect of slower growth and
rising inflation fears, there
are some good numbers to report
this month. Fiscal year 2005 saw
substantial improvement for the
distribution segment of the printing
industry, according to results
of our annual rankings of the
year’s Top 100 Distributors.
Average annual sales by distributorships
grew by a whopping 11.3 percent,
the first double-digit growth
in almost five years.
There
was sales growth across the board
in the major product areas of
paper-based forms, commercial
print, promotional products, cut
sheets, and labels and tags among
the top 10 distributors in those
markets. A detailed discussion
of those breakdowns followed by
the entire Top 100 list can be
found on pg. 21.
Another
indication of improvement can
be found at the bottom of the
Top 100 list, where No. 100, Quality
Graphics Inc., Somerville, Mass.,
reported $3.6 million in annual
sales. This is the second highest
“bottom” number in
the last five years. No. 100 in
the 2003 issue, when we reported
FY 2002 sales, was $3.8 million.
Last year, the No. 100 spot was
$2.6 million and two years ago
it was $2.1 million.
In
this issue you will also find
profiles of some of the top performers
during FY 2005, including the
No. 1 company, Workflow Management
Inc., which tallied nearly $1.2
billion in sales with the help
of its subsidiaries that now include
The Relizon Company. Workflow
Management is currently restructuring
operations for the smooth integration
of WorkflowOne and Relizon into
one entity, according to the company
(pg. 24). Other distributorships
profiled in this issue increased
their sales by embracing software
solutions (pg. 66). We also spotlight
some distributorships that demonstrated
superb production and service
capabilities, usually under strict
time constraints (pg. 92).
This
issue also includes a retrospective
on the Spring Management Conference
in April, where nearly 162 attendees
shared business strategies, developed
partnerships and exchanged ideas
at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa
in Miami (pg. 112).
You’ll
find the latest developments about
DMIA’s 2006 Print Solutions
Expo, coming to Chicago Oct. 3-5.
This year’s keynote speaker
will be former Speaker of the
House Newt Gingrich, who announced
this month that he’ll run
for president if the contest for
the Republican nomination still
seems wide open late next year
(pg. 108).
LaShell
Stratton
Assistant
Editor
