Quad/Graphics Strengthens Foothold in Poland

Printer Quad/Graphics, which gained majority ownership in Polish printer Winkowski in December 2007, is re-branding that company to QuadWinkowski.

Quad/Graphics president/CEO Joel Quadracci says the re-branding is the next step for QuadWinkowski, which has “grown to more than a quarter billion dollar company.”

“In the first stage of the partnership, we were minority partner,” Quadracci explains. “But after 10 years, the world changes. With Poland entering the EU (European Union), there is competition with the rest of Western Europe. In the past couple of years, you could throw more bodies at it, but with wage inflation, it’s starting to look like an America platform.”

Quadracci says although Poland represents a good growth opportunity for Quad, “we’ll continue to focus on our core domestic market.”

Quad/Graphics has also announced several new leadership positions: Tadeusz Winkowski, who founded the printing company in 1998, was named chairman of the company’s supervisory board; and Tom Frankowski, a 29-year member of Quad/Graphics’ U.S. manufacturing operations, was named president of QuadWinkowski. Also Tim Ohnmacht, a Quad/Graphics sales executive for 14 years, joins QuadWinkowski’s sales team as vice president of sales and marketing; and Chuck DuPont, a Quad/Graphics financial and business analyst, will serve as QuadWinkowski’s vice president of finance.

In the past year, QuadWinkowski has automated press deliveries and binding equipment at its plants in Wyszkow and Pila, Poland, as well as adopting a real-time scheduling program that manages all client work, capacity and equipment.

What’s more, the company is shelling out $35 million in capital investments, including new equipment and facility upgrades. Over the next year, the company will enhance product quality and overall productivity with the installation of numerous press conveying, stacking and palletizing systems; multiple press cover production systems; several polywrapping machines; as well as expanding value-added capabilities such as inline gluing in press; inline labeling and card feeding; and ink jetting in finishing.

Headquartered in Warsaw, QuadWinkowski has more than 1,700 employees and annual sales of about $275 million.

Quad/Graphics, which also has print partnerships in Argentina and Brazil, has about 13,000 employees worldwide. Its annual domestic sales are in excess of $2 billion.