Canadian Printer has learned that industry veteran Gord Griffiths is stepping in as CEO of grafikom—a network of eight commercial sheetfed printing operations (primarily in Canada), six that were spun off from Quebecor World in 2005 along with recent acquisitions of Speedfast Color Press in Edmonton and Grenville Printing in Toronto.
Griffith's past roles include president of Quebecor's Canadian Printing operations, president at St. Joseph printing and most recently president of the commercial print at Cenveo in the U.S., a job he's been out of for two years.
We caught up with Gord and asked him a few questions:
What is your new title and what are your responsibilities?
I'm CEO, reporting to the Board. It's my job to deliver the returns they expect - total P&L responsibility is mine. To achieve the needed returns I'll start by meeting with our employees, many of whom are on the front lines looking after our customers. It's been my experience that if you look after customers, those who appreciate your value add, then your investors and employees are also well served.
What are your challenges at Grafikom?
It's not easy being a commercial printer in today's environment but all the companies who enjoy long-term success and/or sell for a good return have a winning strategy, which they execute flawlessly. I think that's the major thing Grafikom needs right now -a winning strategy, which shouldn't take long to formulate; not to say they aren't doing well, but I am hoping I can help take them to the next level.
Look for a complete, exclusive, interview in the October issue of Canadian Printer.
According to our last poll (results above), it appears that almost three-quarters of our readers are familiar with Facebook, the latest social networking world of Web 2.0. People are using this Web function not only to re-connect with long-lost friends, but also to form communities with like-minded individuals, and for some it's serving as a networking and sales tool.
If you're not taking advantage of what the Web has to offer, spend the time and make the connections.
Quick hits:
Latest Ratios Show Rising Profits According to the 2007 PIA/GATF Ratios Survey, industry profits rose slightly over the past year, with the average printer's before-tax profit on sales coming in at 3.4%, compared to 2.7% percent for the average participant in 2006. Profit leaders (those in the top 25% of profitability) saw relatively steady profits at 10.1%. Materials are the largest cost category for the typical printer, consuming 35.4% of sales, with paper alone consuming more than one-in-five sales dollars.
For specific ratio reports, by size of firm, printing process, and print market, visit the PIA/GATF Bookstore http://www.gain.net/eweb/DynamicPage.aspx?webcode=
Productsbc&ptc_key=dd9e91db-cad1-4859-bd2f-c80ef228c50a
"Last Call" for Airline Tickets The International Air Transport Association (IATA), with headquarters in Montreal, has announced it has placed its final order for paper tickets. Some 16.5 million paper tickets were ordered from seven specialized printers to supply the 60,000 accredited IATA travel agents in 162 markets around the world until May 31, 2008.
And then beginning June 1st, 2008, 100% of tickets issued through the IATA Billing and Settlement Plan will be electronic.
"This is 'last call' for paper tickets," says Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's CEO. "E-ticketing went from 16% in June 2004 to 84% today...the paper ticket will become a collector's item.
"The cost saving of US$9 for every e-ticket compared to a paper ticket adds up to US$3 billion in annual savings for the industry," adds Bisignani. "And eliminating paper will save the equivalent of 50,000 mature trees each year. E-ticketing is a winning proposition for everyone."
http://www.iata.org/pressroom/briefings/2007-08-27-01.htm
Hall of Fame Nod for Hemlock Hemlock Printers will be named to the Burnaby Business Hall of Fame as this year's Burnaby Business Excellence Awards Hall of Fame recipient.
This award recognizes Burnaby-based businesses that have demonstrated outstanding business success over many years and have had a positive and significant impact on the community.
Hemlock is Western Canada's premier commercial sheetfed printer, offering a full range of services through a main plant and a small press division. The high-quality printer, recipient of numerous local and international printing awards, has also taken a leadership position in the printing industry with respect to environmental initiatives.
The Burnaby Hall of Fame and Nominees Luncheon takes place this Thursday, October 4th at the Hilton Vancouver Metrotown.
François Olivier (42), president of the printing products and services sector of Transcontinental, and son-in-law of company founder Remi Marcoux, has been identified as the next in line to succeed Luc Desjardins as CEO.
Olivier's promotion to president and CEO becomes effective February 20, 2008 (the next shareholders' meeting).
A Transcontinental employee since 1993, Olivier immediately steps into the role of Chief Operating Officer. Desjardins remains
president and CEO until February, a role he assumed in 2004.
"With François and our management teams, I am leaving the
company in good hands and in an excellent position for the future," says Desjardins. "For myself, at age 55, I expect to be taking on other major managerial challenges. François Olivier
HP is acquiring MacDermid ColorSpan Inc. , a Minnesota-based manufacturer of wide-format digital inkjet printers for small to midsize sign-making operations.
Screen (USA) announced that it will be leveraging the U.S. and Canadian dealer network of Hamada Printing Press Co. to promote sales of its Truepress 344 direct imaging press.
Coated paper manufacturer NewPage Holding Corp. (NewPage), headquarted in Ohio, is set to acquire Stora Enso North America, Inc for US$1.5 billion in cash, US$200 million in vendor notes and 19.9% of the shares in the new company. The newly combined NewPage, owned by private investment firm Cerberus Capital, will be comprised of 12 paper mills with annual revenue approaching US$ 4.3 billion.
Agfa Graphics has released a new security solution, :Secuseal 1.0, a set of plug-ins for Adobe Illustrator that can create complex backgrounds or convert images into complex linework patterns.
Convertec AB, a Swedish label and flexo printing specialist, has launched a new machine named Braillemaker One to digitally print Braille on labels, leaflets and booklets. Distribution is through AB Graphic International. http://www.abgint.com
Glunz and Jensen K&F, Inc has introduced a new patent pending Stainless Steel No-Tool plate-to-press registration lockup for the Goss Metro series of web offset presses.
Polkadots Software Inc. based in Montreal has released entry-level automated workflow solutions for commercial and newspaper environments, PrePage-it LITE and NEWSflo INTRO respectively.
Lüscher has introduced its JetScreen DX exposing technology for screen printers, which, unlike the previous hot melt wax inkjet technology, uses blue laser diodes to expose rotary and flatbed screens.
GRAPH EXPO 2007 is being hailed as one of the best printing trade show events in years. Held at McCormick Place in Chicago in mid-September, the sold out show floor, with 654 exhibitors filling 460,296 square feet of booth space, was apparently the largest U.S. national graphic communications trade show since 2000 and the second biggest GRAPH EXPO ever. The Graphic Arts Show Company reported 31,779 total participants (includes exhibitors and attendees) at the event, a 3% increase over last year, with 20,285 verified attendees.
[below]Gandinnovations, manufactured in Mississauga, Ontario, amazed crowds with its Jeti 3148 X-2 flatbed superwide inkjet printer, able to print at 1,500 sq.ft./hr.
Komori was running its new Lithrone SX 29, a highly automated 24 x 29-1/2-inch sheetfed press able to run at 16,000 sph.
Graph Expo was the first showing for Esko Artworks, the merger of Esko Graphics and Artwork Systems which closed earlier this summer.
Pantone launched Goe, its entirely new Colour System
EFI VUTEk was showing off its ability to print on fabric, with daily fashion shows featuring designs by Brazilian designer Casa Alessa.
Next year's GRAPH EXPO will be held on October 26-29 at McCormick Place. Based on the overwhelming success of this year's show, exhibit space for the 2008 event is already 80 percent reserved.
Events
2007
The 2007 PIA/GATF Workflow Conference is being held October 7–9 in Atlanta, Georgia. This year's event includes a plant tour of Aflac's print division.
For more information visit http://www.gain.net
The Ontario Printing and Imaging Association (OPIA) is holding its annual Captains of Industry dinner meeting Thursday, October 11th at the St. George's Golf and Country Club in Toronto. Featured speaker is Bob Danzig, former CEO of Hearst Newspaper Group and Vice President of Hearst Corporation. Danzig will discuss vision, passion and ideas for leading an industry through transitional times.
The event opens at 5:30 p.m. Registration is $69 each or table of 8 for $552. For more info contact Sue Bryant at sbryant.opia@on.aibn.com or call 905-602-4441 x 221.
The Print Industry Financial Executives (PIFE) Fall Conference is being held October 17-19, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Pittsburgh. Hot topics include Green Initiative, HR Issues and a Market Outlook.
For more conference information visit: http://www.pifegroup.com
The Specialty Printing and Imaging Association SGIA ¡¯07 Technology Expo will be held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida from October 24–27. This show will feature the latest in digital wide format printing, screen printing and more.
Visit http://www.sgia.org
The Label Printing Industries of America (LPIA) is holding its Fall Management Conference, November 4-7 at The Palms in South Beach Miami, Florida. The theme for this year's event is "Adapt to Survive and Thrive".
For more information visit http://www.labelsandpackaging.org
PIA/GATF is holding its Variable Data and Personalization Conference, November 4–6, in Phoenix, Arizona, helping printers plan strategy and learn new approaches, applications, and technologies. The conference has three seminar tracks: fundamentals, cross-media, and business. A hands-on Web-to-Print Boot Camp has been added on November 2–3. Visit www.gain.net (under "Events and Training")
Strategy 07 - Expanding Print Opportunities, Canada's conference for the printing industry, will be held November 6-8 at the newly converted Westin Bristol Place Hotel near Pearson International in Toronto. The conference will feature two seminar streams, an owner/CEO track and a technical/operations track. The conference will wrap up with a final session the morning of November 8th, ending just prior to the opening of Graphics Canada. The conference is open to all in the graphic communications world. For more information contact CPIA at belliott@cpia-aci.ca
Margie Dana's 2nd Annual Print Buyers Conference on November 7-8th will be held at the Westford Regency Inn & Conference Center in Westford, Massachusetts. Featured speakers include Frank Romano and Dr. Joe Webb. For registration details visit: www.bostonprintbuyers.com/pbiconference/conferenceregistration.html
Graphics Canada, the country's largest trade show for the printing industry will be held November 8-10 at the International Centre in Toronto. For program and registration details visit http://www.graphicscanada.com
2008
Macworld Conference and Expo will be held January 14-18 in San Francisco. For more info visit http://www.macworldexpo.com
The PODi Application Forum, featuring significant accomplishments in the field of digital printing, will be held January 28-30 at The Rio in Las Vegas. Discover successful variable data, personalization and solution sales techniques, along with new markets for digital print.
Visit http://www.podi.org/2008AppForum
Print Oasis 2008 Print Buyers Conference will be held February 9-12 at the Amelia Island Plantation in Amelia Island, Florida (near Jacksonville). For details visit http://www.printbuyersonline.com
PIA/GATF's 2008 Presidents Conference and Binding Industries Association (BIA) Conference will be held March 2¨- 6 at the Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach Hotel in Cancun, Mexico. The Presidents Conference is an annual three-and-a-half-day program focusing on management issues currently affecting owners, presidents, and senior executives. http://www.presidentsconference.com
Xplor International Conference and Expo is co-locating with the ON DEMAND Expo in 2008, taking place March 3-6 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. For more information visit http://www.xplor.org and http://www.ondemandexpo.com
Offset & Beyond 2008 will be held April 27-30 at the Renaissance Hotel just outside of Chicago in Schaumburg, Illinois. The event is a co-production of the Web Offset Association and the Printing Industries of America/GATF. For more information contact http://www.gain.net
Drupa 2008 will be held from May 29 to June 11 at the fairgrounds in Dusseldorf, Germany. There will be over 2.4 million square feet of exhibition space with an expected attendance of over 300,000. www.drupa.com
It's never too early to start planning your trip. For information on travel packages to DRUPA offered exclusively through Canadian Printer call 1 888-DRUPA08 (378-7208)
The Print Sales & Marketing Executives (S&ME) Annual Sales & Marketing Conference will be held June 22-25 at Francis Marion, Charleston, SC www.smegroup.org
EFI will host its Ninth Annual Connect user conference July 29 to August 1 at the Wynn Las Vegas.
More information is available at http://www.efi.com/connect08/
For more events in your area, here are links to regional associations:
Keep up to date on the big picture of the printing industry in Canada with a voice you can trust in Canadian Printer magazine. The national business publication for printers since 1892, Canadian Printer is recognized for leadership on business issues and editorial integrity.
For more information get in touch with editor Doug Picklyk (phone: (416) 764-1530, email: doug.picklyk@printer.rogers.com).
For advertising and marketing opportunities, contact Susan Ritcey (phone: (416) 764-1509, email: susan.ritcey@printer.rogers.com).
Griffiths to become CEO of grafikom
What are your challenges at Grafikom?
The Print Industry Financial Executives (PIFE) Fall Conference is being held October 17-19, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Pittsburgh. Hot topics include Green Initiative, HR Issues and a Market Outlook.
The Specialty Printing and Imaging Association SGIA ¡¯07 Technology Expo will be held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida from October 24–27. This show will feature the latest in digital wide format printing, screen printing and more. 
Strategy 07 - Expanding Print Opportunities, Canada's conference for the printing industry, will be held November 6-8 at the newly converted Westin Bristol Place Hotel near Pearson International in Toronto. The conference will feature two seminar streams, an owner/CEO track and a technical/operations track. The conference will wrap up with a final session the morning of November 8th, ending just prior to the opening of Graphics Canada. The conference is open to all in the graphic communications world. For more information contact CPIA at 
Graphics Canada, the country's largest trade show for the printing industry will be held November 8-10 at the International Centre in Toronto. For program and registration details visit 
Industries Association (BIA) Conference will be held March 2¨- 6 at the Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach Hotel in Cancun, Mexico. The Presidents Conference is an annual three-and-a-half-day program focusing on management issues currently affecting owners, presidents, and senior executives. 
Drupa 2008 will be held from May 29 to June 11 at the fairgrounds in Dusseldorf, Germany. There will be over 2.4 million square feet of exhibition space with an expected attendance of over 300,000.