Quad's business, employee cultures will continue

Posted: Feb. 2, 2010

Village of Sussex — The day to day operations and employee-oriented corporate culture of the Quad/Graphics operations in Sussex, Pewaukee, and the other nine printing plants of the family owned company, are not likely change much as a result of the anticipated acquisition of World Color Press and expected transformation to a public company, according to Joel Quadracci, chairman and chief executive officer.

In an exclusive interview with Lake Country Publications, Quadracci said the company's employees will be provided with new opportunities as result of Quad/Graphics becoming a public company and acquiring World Color Press, an estimated $3 billion Montreal, Canada-based company with 18,000 employees and 35 printing plants in the United States and Canada, and seven in Latin America.

Quadracci declined to say whether the company headquarters would remain in Sussex. He said an integration committee will review the best location of a headquarters for the newly formed company considering the scope of its business, consumer markets, corporate culture and the locations of its various facilities.

The Quadracci family, which has deep roots in Lake Country, will maintain control of 78 percent of the voting power in the new company and Joel, the son of the late company founder Harry Quadracci, will become the chairman, president and chief executive officer of the new corporation.

The transaction is expected to be completed later this summer. Quad/Graphics officials say they will register the company's Class A Common Shares with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and proceed with a listing on a leading U.S. stock exchange.

Quadracci is optimistic about the future of print in the digital and "multi channel" media era. He points out that print publications - such as catalogues and special interest magazines - help steer consumers to digital media

"I think print can compete successfully in multi-channel media," he said, adding that he believed the acquisition will allow Quad/Graphics to "expand the future of print."

Since Harry Quadracci started the company in 1971 with a printing press and business office in Pewaukee, Quad/Graphics has focused on a tight-knit relationship with its employees and futuristic business planning.

"At Quad we have always managed for the day but planned for the future. We think in terms of planning for future generations rather than the next (business) quarter," he said.

Because his family will maintain control over the company, Quadracci is optimistic that cultural of long term business planning combined with a focus on workers' welfare will continue into the newly created company.

He said he hopes to instill some of that culture into World Color Press which prints such magazines at Sports Illustrated, US Weekly, Readers Digest, and Rolling Stone. Quad/Graphics prints titles such as Newsweek and the LL Bean catalog recently signed a new contract to print special-interest publications such as Vogue, Teen, Golf, World, Golf Digest, Wired and Architectural Digest.