Moore Chairman
Slain
Robert Theodore Ammon, 52, a non-executive chairman at Moore Corp. Ltd., was found beaten to death Oct. 22 in his mansion in the beach town of East Hampton, N.Y.
The Suffolk (N.Y.) County Homicide Squad is investigating the death as a homicide.
Ammon was struck in the head and died of blunt-force trauma, Suffolk County police Detective Lt. John Gierasch said. Ammon's body was discovered in a bedroom of the home after he missed a meeting and a business associate went there by helicopter to look for him. Police are focusing much of their investigation in Manhattan, where many of Ammon's friends and colleagues live and work. As of press time, police had no suspect and no motive.
Ammon was elected as a non-executive chairman at Moore this year and wasn't involved in the firm's day-to-day business. He was founder and chairman of investment firm Chancery Lane Capital, a company in which Robert G. Burton, Moore's CEO and president, is an investor. Ammon was also chairman of Jazz at Lincoln Center, where musician Wynton Marsalis is artistic director. In the 1980s, Ammon was a partner at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., a private equity firm in Manhattan.
"On behalf of Moore and all of us who knew Ted, I want to convey our respect and condolences to his family, especially to his two young children," Burton said in a statement.
AB&C Mail Tests Negative for Anthrax
An envelope containing a yellowish, granular substance that was opened Oct. 23 at the Charles Town, W.Va., Lockbox department of distributorship AB&C Group tested negative for anthrax.
Approximately 35 employees at the mail-processing facility of the McLean, Va.-based distributorship were sent home Oct. 23 as Hazmat workers, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials, and state and local police tested the building for anthrax. "They didn't shut us down for the day, but we decided to be careful," said R. Michael O'Hara, president of AB&C Group and DMIA's 1986-87 president. Employees returned to work the next day.
Earlier in October, AB&C employees didn't open two envelopes with "suspicious handwriting and notes" that also tested negative for anthrax, O'Hara said. "I'm happy to say that everybody here is fine," he said. "The mood here is of quiet optimism. Overall, the staff morale is good, and we're just being cautious and want to follow heath procedures."
As a precaution, six AB&C employees--two female employees who had contact with the envelope, two Lockbox department managers and two delivery drivers--began taking the antibiotic Cipro. O'Hara said AB&C receives a significant amount of mail from Brentwood, a mail-handling facility in Washington, D.C., that has received envelopes containing anthrax.
Premier Extends SR Contract
Dayton, Ohio-based manufacturer Standard Register's contract with Premier Purchasing Partners LLC, a large group purchasing organization for the medical industry, was scheduled to expire in October, but Premier opted for a 2-year extension.
The contract stipulates that health care firms must buy 80 percent of their documents from SR annually, including custom continuous singles and multiples, custom unit sets, custom continuous or unit sets with labels affixed or collated, custom continuous labels, custom continuous mailers, single sheets, pre-collated sets, custom labels (non-pinfeed and rolls), custom envelopes and electronic forms. Tara Henriksen, public relations spokeswoman at SR, says products on the contract have not changed significantly since the 2-year extension.
Premier also has a contract with manufacturer Moore Corp. Ltd. Its contract includes but is not limited to custom forms, stock health care claim forms and digital services.
IDS Acquires Epoch Solutions
IDS--Integrated Document Solutions Inc., a distributorship in Carrollton, Texas, acquired the assets of Dallas-based Arjay Printing (dba Epoch Solutions Inc.).
Randy Johnston, president of Arjay Printing, joined IDS, as did Epoch Solutions' other employees. "We're excited with the addition of Randy and the other employees of Epoch Solutions and the expanded coverage and opportunities this will afford us in the Dallas-Fort Worth area," said Walt Smith, CDC, president of IDS.
Epoch is a $1.4 million firm that specializes in warehousing and distribution. IDS, founded in 1996, provides business communications printing and document management services. Last year, its sales were approximately $2.8 million.
Champion Acquires Transdata Systems
Champion Industries Inc., a Huntington, W.Va.-based commercial printing manufacturer, purchased the stock of Baton Rouge, La.-based Transdata Systems Inc. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. Transdata will operate as a subsidiary of Bourque Printing Inc., a firm owned by Champion.
"I'm excited about the critical mass that Transdata will bring to our existing plants in southern Louisiana, and look forward to the growth prospects this acquisition brings to Champion," said Marshall T. Reynolds, Champion's chairman and CEO.
Champion, whose stock is traded on NASDAQ under the symbol CHMP, had fiscal 2000 sales of approximately $126 million. Transdata's fiscal 2000 sales were approximately $5 million.
Eagle Business Products Acquires Key Business Forms
San Jose, Calif.-based distributorship Eagle Business Products Inc. acquired the assets of distributorship Key Business Forms, also based in San Jose. Key Business Forms' former owners, Patricia P. Fruhmann, CFC, and her husband Walter A. Fruhmann, CFC, are retiring from the document management industry. Walter Fruhmann was DMIA's Member of the Year in 1983.
Print Data Merges with UMEI, Begins Roll-Up Strategy
Print Data Corp., a $4.5 million manufacturer of printing and office products in Hopelawn, N.J., merged with publicly traded firm Universal Marketing and Entertainment Inc. (UMEI).
Jeffrey I. Green, Print Data's chairman and CEO, said Print Data has targeted 32 acquisitions, including a $3 million company that serves clients in New York and New Jersey. To assist its roll-up strategy, Print Data retained Chicago-based eWorld Capital Inc. and MJM Capital Inc. as strategic consultants.
Hewlett-Packard to Buy Indigo
Palo Alto, Calif.-based computer and office equipment supplier Hewlett-Packard (HP) has agreed to acquire the remaining outstanding shares of Indigo, a supplier of digital printing presses. HP currently owns 14.8 million of Indigo's common shares, representing 13.4 percent of the company's outstanding shares.
Under terms of the agreement, HP will acquire the remaining shares of Indigo for approximately $629 million in HP common stock and a potential future cash payment of up to $253 million (contingent upon Indigo's achievement of long-term revenue goals).
Earnings Increase at Ennis
Earnings at DeSoto, Texas-based manufacturer Ennis Business Forms Inc. rose 6.9 percent during its second quarter ended Aug. 31, compared with the same period last year. Net sales ($58.7 million) were relatively unchanged during the quarter. A strong performance by Ennis' Northstar Computer Forms Inc. division has aided a 9.6 percent sales increase at Ennis during the first six months of fiscal 2002.
Ennis, which operates 29 production facilities in 12 states, offers laser cut sheets, negotiable documents, internal bank forms, tags, labels, presentation folders, commercial printing, advertising specialties, screenprinted products and point-of- purchase items.
Agfa to Buy Autologic, Mitra
Agfa-Gevaert N.V., a Belgian image technology group, signed a definitive agreement to buy Autologic Information International Inc., an $81 million designer, manufacturer and marketer of computer-based electronic prepress systems based in Thousand Oaks, Calif. The deal, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year, is for approximately $42.5 million in cash.
Marc Elsermans, general manager of Agfa's graphic systems business group, said Autologic's computer-to-plate and computer-to-film systems have earned an excellent reputation for reliability and productivity. "The company's loyal and long-standing customer base, especially in North America, adds to Agfa's strong presence in Europe," he said. Autologic's newest developments in production workflow software and output systems complement Agfa's, he said.
Agfa also signed a letter of intent to acquire Ontario, Canada-based Mitra Inc., a provider of imaging and information management systems for the health care industry.
PIA Adjusts Market Forecast
In response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Printing Industries of America Inc. adjusted its economic and print market forecasts for the last two quarters of 2001 and 2002.
Dr. Ron Davis, PIA's chief economist, surmised that the U.S. economy will be in recession during the third and fourth quarters of 2001, but will begin to recover in early 2002. He also predicted that print sales will decline in 2001, but will recover and grow in 2002.
According to Davis, the difference between expected industry sales and profits for 2001 and 2002 before and after Sept. 11 is about $6 billion in sales and $1.5 billion in profits. The attacks are projected to cost printers approximately $3.3 billion in lost sales in 2001, PIA's forecast said. The survey took place Sept. 20-24 and involved 310 respondents.
IKON Office Solutions Cutting Jobs
Malvern, Pa.-based IKON Office Solutions will cut about 2,600 jobs as it closes or reduces some business units and cuts other expenses. The company said it will drop telephony operations in both the United States and Europe, close some digital print production centers, and downsize other operations throughout the organization. Those actions will result in the reduction of about 1,600 employees over the next 12 months, saving the firm about $50 million annually.
"For fiscal 2002, we expect the economy to put significant pressure on our revenues," said James J. Forese, IKON Office Solutions' chairman and CEO. "We will be further reducing our workforce by an additional 1,000 employees over the next 12 months."
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