Planning Ahead For Growth

By keeping management informed of his in-plant's anticipated growth, Tim Waltz has been able to keep his shop properly equipped.

Tim Waltz may not have been born to work in an in-plant, but he sure didn't waste any time getting himself a job in one. He was only 17 when he started working in the in-plant in his Minnesota high school, Austin Public School. He had taken a few graphic arts courses and fallen in love with the job.

Now, 18 years later, as printing services manager of Cherry Creek Schools' eight-employee in-plant in Aurora, Colo., Waltz still loves his job. He has overseen the operation for 10 years now, striving to keep customers happy while keeping his equipment up to date.

Waltz says he always wanted to be a printer. After high school, he went right to the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he studied printing management technology. He later took at job at a book manufacturing company in Virginia.

While working there, Waltz visited Colorado to attend the wedding of his brother-in-law. He spotted an ad in the paper for a job at Cherry Creek Schools' in-plant and decided to apply for the position. Ten years later he is still at the in-plant.

One of the keys to his shop's success, Waltz says, has been the five-year equipment replacement/purchase plan he submits to his management each year, detailing the progress the in-plant has made and its anticipated technology needs and expenditures. He updates this plan every year to include the most current technologies. Because of this, he says, his management knows several years ahead of time what equipment the in-plant will need. By giving them this advanced notice, Waltz says his shop has been able to get most of the equipment it needs. The most recent addition was a Xerox 6180, which was installed in August.

"The speed of it is phenomenal," he praises.

Technology upgrades have enabled the in-plant to increase its print volumes, Waltz says. Over the past six to seven years, volume has grown 40 to 50 percent, he says—and the shop has fewer employees than it did when he started. If volume continues to increase, though, Waltz says he may have to expand the shop's hours of operation in the future.

"We're trying to maximize our one-shift operation...but I'd imagine within the next couple of years we'll have to look at a second shift for DocuTech work just because of our volumes," he says. The shop currently runs a second shift only in the summer, its peak production period.

The in-plant prints a variety of items, ranging from annual reports, brochures and direct mail, to course packs, newsletters and business cards. About a third of the in-plant's jobs are multi-color.

Cherry Creek Schools has about 42,000 students at its 32 elementary schools, seven middle schools, five high schools and three other facilities. There is no mandate that compels the schools use the in-plant, so Waltz tries to encourage customers to use his shop by stressing the savings it provides. This is not easy, though, since many customers remember the old days when jobs took up to two weeks to get finished. Waltz has battled to erase this stigma by stressing the improvements he has helped implement.

"We've tried to change to a more customer-friendly environment," he says. "Our greatest improvement has been in communication. We try to listen to our customers' needs and help them find solutions in ways we might not have in the past—even if it means outsourcing."

The in-plant is developing a Web site to provide customers with information about the shop's capabilities and answer their common questions about job setup. He also hopes to allow customers to reorder jobs over the Internet. Currently most jobs come to the in-plant through the mail, either on disk or on paper.

Waltz, who is active with the International Publishing Management Association and serves as a regional vice president, intends to keep moving his in-plant toward a more digital future. He also foresees expansion into other areas.

"I'd like to get more involved in the mail and distribution end of things," he says.

Despite the changes he has brought to his in-plant, Waltz credits his employees for the in-plant's success.

"I've got a good crew," he lauds, "and we're all proud of the work that we do and what we do for our customers."