Printing company Quad/Graphics announced August 5 that it will close five plants that employ approximately 2,200 workers. The company, which acquired fellow magazine printer World Color Press July 2, said it is integrating operations to improve efficiency.
The plants that will be shut down before the end of 2010 — encompassing nearly 2.7 million square feet — are located in Clarksville, TN; Dyersburg, TN; Corinth, MS; Lebanon, OH; and Reno, NV. The Dyersburg location already was slated for closure in early 2011 by World Color, but Quad/Graphics is accelerating the process.
Quad/Graphics had 11 plants before the acquisition. It currently had 45.
“Certainly, when we closed on the acquisition, we said that we would be integrating operations, and of course, that means the difficult decision to close some plants because the industry has excess capacity and because there are overlaps in business operations,” said Claire Ho, director of corporate communications for Quad/Graphics.
Joel Quadracci, Quad/Graphics chairman, president and CEO, made similar comments to DMNews a month ago when discussing the integration of the two companies: “Anytime that you’re combining two companies where you are going to be rationalizing parts of it, there’s going to be people affected by it.”
Quad/Graphics expects to generate approximately $225 million in pre-tax net annualized synergies within the next two years.
The company said it will proactively help employees to find new jobs, with new openings existing at other Quad/Graphics plants.
