Quebecor builds Western print hub

LOVELAND – When you drive north or south on U.S. Highway 287 at the north end of Loveland, look west toward the mountains when you reach 37th Avenue. Tucked down the street is Quebecor Inc.’s western hub of directory printing, Quebecor Loveland Printing Inc.Quebecor Inc., an international company, acquired Quebecor Loveland Printing, previously known as U S WEST Directory Printing, in June 1995, giving Quebecor a directory-printing presence in the western United States.
“Geographically it was a good acquisition,´ said Robin Crumpler, vice president and general manager of Quebecor Loveland Printing.
Until that time, the only directory-printing locations for Quebecor were located eastward in Hazleton, Pa.; Bromont, Quebec; Richmond Hill, Ontario; and Edmonton, Alberta.
“There were printing contracts and connections for Quebecor in this area of the country, but it was too expensive to print and ship west,” Crumpler said.
Part of the Directory GroupQuebecor Loveland Printing belongs to the Directory Group, which functions as a division of Quebecor Printing Inc., based out of Canada. The Directory Group was created for the specialized production of telephone directories and catalogs.
The bulk of the printing work at the Quebecor Loveland plant is telephone directories and automotive-parts catalogs and product catalogs.
The parent company also produces magazines, inserts and circulars, books, catalogs, specialty printing, checks, bonds, bank notes and newspapers.
The network of the Directory Group, Crumpler said, enables the Quebecor sales force to cross-link and market nationwide.
“We just completed a job for the Commonwealth of Virginia, out of the Vienna, Va., office,” Crumpler said.
What is contracted for in one part of the country can be printed in another part. Sales offices for the Directory Group are located in Loveland as well as Wheaton, Ill., and Vienna, Va.
With the acquisition of Quebecor Loveland Printing Inc., Quebecor Printing Inc. also secured a long-term agreement with U S West Direct to produce a variety of their directory titles. At the time of acquisition, 60 percent of the total amount of directories that Quebecor Loveland Printing Inc. produced were for U S West Direct.
U S West contract almost doublesIn 1996, this contract increased, almost doubling, bringing major expansion plans to Quebecor’s Loveland plant. Crumpler said the expansion plans include the addition of two eight-unit G16 Baker Perkins Presses to the already existing set of two presses.
The new units are comparable to the size of a locomotive and are capable of producing 64-page signatures in four-color process. One of these presses has already been installed, while the second is planned for installation in March.
The expansion, forecast for completion in March, will create an additional 25,000 square feet to the already 120,000-square-foot facility.
The increased workload will be covered by the employment of an additional 77 full-time employees.
It is expected that the number of completed directories will increase by 60 percent from approximately 16 million books to 26 million books. These numbers also include a forecast increase from 340 titles (or projects) to 452 titles per year.
The Baker Perkins Presses chosen for installation at the facility are mechanically the same as the existing press. The newer presses, however, have electronic upgrades in the drive and press controls.
Because the machinery is similar between the older and newer presses, there will be decreased time and energy spent for training press crews on the new machines.
The compatibility of the machines will also mean more efficiency in maintenance and repair.
Though Quebecor Loveland Printing Inc. is part of an international company, it has had an impact locally. The growth of Quebecor locally has created new jobs with job training and skill development.
“Our employees are learning the skills in the printing business, and it’s been a mixture of growth and knowledge from internal experience and external sources,” Crumpler said. “We work at quality, and our objective is to meet or exceed the customer’s needs,” said Crumpler. He added, “We are always looking for ways to improve.”
Award signals improvementOne gauge of improvement has been their success in securing a Management Plus Silver Award from the National Association of Printers & Lithographers.
Management Plus is mainly a diagnostic tool that enables printing managers across North America to judge their own management performance against accepted industry standards.
Simply put, it is a benchmark. Quebecor Loveland Printing Inc. secured above an 80 percent rating in the areas of business planning, human resources, environmental concerns, marketing, customer feedback, vendor relations, quality control, internal control systems, community and industry affairs, and financial performance.
Despite this success, competition and the health of the printing business is always a factor. Crumpler said the printing business, even with the increase in paper prices and the competition of a diverse array of media, is just as strong as ever.
“I have seen a significant increase in the amount of four-color used for advertising in telephone directories,” Crumpler said.
He sees this as a mark that stable businesses in the community are willing to pay for long-term advertisement that they believe will be used and will work.
“This shows that printing is strong,” he said.
Crumpler also pointed out that there is a multitude of products that are printed, including soda cans, shirts, calendars, art prints, menus É and the list goes on.
“There will be a change,” Crumpler said, “and printers need to be prepared to make changes and have foresight.”
Quebecor Printing Inc. is the second largest printer in North America; R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. is the first. While there is a Quebecor Printing company in Loveland, there is also an R.R . Donnelley printing company in Greeley, making an interesting local twist to a global competition.
According to Crumpler, “R.R. Donnelley are friendly competitors. We both work together towards U S West Direct’s success – we share a customer. However, we also bid independently for other contracts that R.R. Donnelley might also.”ÿ