A Positive Story About Schmidt
Economic news isn’t rosy anywhere these days, and the paper industry hasn’t escaped unscathed, what with six straight quarters of price increases. But as 2008 saw many mills resort to “downtime”, to achieve a balance between supply and reduced demand, there comes an uplifting story out of Byron, MN.
Schmidt Printing, which has been around more than 100 years, announced plans for a $5 million investment in its Byron facility. That investment adds approximately 30 new jobs for a company that already has 350 employees. Schmidt President Joe Ferguson said in a release: “We are very fortunate during the current economic environment to be growing our business.”
The company grew its revenue 27% in 2007, and is on pace for 25% growth this year.
Schmidt is a web-offset printer that provides print and related services for magazine, catalog, newspaper and directory publishers, along with direct marketers. It is owned by North Mankato, MN-based Taylor Corp., one of the largest printing and marketing conglomerates in the U.S. Taylor Corp. was involved in a catalog acquisition this year, when Current USA, a subsidiary of Taylor Corp., bought personalized gifts cataloger Lillian Vernon for $15.8 million.
Taylor Corp. includes the Current, G. Neil, Paper Direct, and Sa-So catalog titles; its direct sales are about $700 million.
Schmidt is one of the few printing firms in the country that prints and packages direct-mail advertising card packs, which include pieces from multiple advertisers, wrapped in cellophane and found weekly in many mailboxes. The investment includes equipment such as a new press — larger than any previously used at Schmidt — and a new collating machine will improve efficiency and flow of production.
The new press and collating machine are expected to be up and running this month. So with all the doom and gloom in the paper industry, recently punctuated by a pattern of shutdowns due to an ongoing trend of reduced demand, it’s refreshing to see a positive story.
