Manufacturing Industry In-plants Close To The Core

At Mercury Marine, Schrader says his shop is directly connected with the technical writers who write and design the manuals he prints.

"They write the manuals and transfer them to us over a shared folder," he explains. "Then they e-mail us and tell us it's there."

Marketing Still Matters

But no matter how closely these in-plants work with other departments, they must still market their services. That's what Dave Heinbach, manager of Reprographics and Mailing Services at Merck, in Whitehouse Station, N.J., has found. He also must consistently illustrate the savings he brings to the company.