Roger Chamberlain: In the Business of Printing

Roger A. Chamberlain, secretary and manager, Administrative Services at The Cincinnati Insurance Companies in Fairfield, Ohio, may be best classified as a businessman who just happens to manage an in-plant.

The Ohio native, armed with a business management degree from Miami University of Ohio, joined Cincinnati Insurance in 1986 as an insurance underwriter. In 1989, he transitioned into the company’s Information Technology (IT) department.

“The IT department [wanted to] understand business requirements [and] how to program things most efficiently from a user standpoint,” Chamberlain recalls. “So the company decided to start putting business people in our IT department to serve as a liaison between the business units and the IT development staff.”

After Chamberlain spent 10 years in the IT department, the company’s in-plant underwent a leadership change. There was an interim in-plant manager in place (whom Chamberlain just happened to be assisting with a project), when a passing remark changed his career path forever.

“He made a casual comment one day and said ‘you know, you are the kind of guy I really need to run the print facility—someone that has business experience and IT experience,’” Chamberlain recounts. “I kind of just brushed it off and laughed at the time. About a week or two later I called him up and said ‘what exactly did you mean by that?’”

So in 1999, he began managing the printing operations for the company. In 2009, he accepted administrative responsibility for the mail center operations, which include traditional mail services, as well as intelligent inserting operations, and the fulfillment/supply staff.

Moving to the in-plant gave Chamberlain a chance to oversee a whole organization instead of working on IT projects that changed every few months.

“It was a place to settle in and call home,” says Chamberlain. He relished the opportunity to apply his business skills and IT knowledge in his new position. Chamberlain now oversees 21 print employees in the 14,500-square-foot in-plant, as well as 32 employees in the mail center and 10 more in fulfillment.

‘Learning the Lingo’

Chamberlain admits it was a bit of a challenge when he first came to the in-plant because he didn’t know the printing industry and had no prior graphic arts training.

“It was about...learning the lingo,” he notes. “But management is management, and leadership is leadership. It was just applying the same skill set to a different environment.”

Chamberlain began by identifying and training the right people for the right positions, in both leadership and production roles. By doing so, he made operations more customer- and profit-focused, and was able to eliminate substantial outsourcing expenses.

From a technology standpoint, he moved the in-plant from labor-intensive offset printing processes to automated procedures and digital printing. Additionally, he merged printing with transactional printing, forming one centralized print center.

The in-plant recently replaced a Xerox iGen3 with an iGen4, added a Xerox Nuvera 288 and a Xerox 770, and will soon install a wide-format scanner to scan blueprints and legal documents.

Active in the Industry

A strong advocate and supporter of the printing industry, Chamberlain currently sits on the board of directors of the Printing Industries of Ohio and Northern Kentucky and serves as chair of its Southern Region Advisory Council. He is the president of the Xplor Midwest Region, and in April joined the board of directors of Xplor International. He was also recently honored by being named Xplorer of the Year, Xplor’s most prestigious award. It recognizes significant service to the association, dedication to the Xplor mission and achievement promoting the interest of the electronic document systems industry.

“When you get involved in these groups, you build up a network of resources, and you find out you are not alone out there,” Chamberlain says. “You can find someone that has done something you are trying to do or has done something similar.”

He adds that he appreciates the non-competitive nature among in-plant managers.

“There is an openness and willingness to share experiences,” he points out. “I am a firm believer that you have to give back to someone who gives something to you.”

Chamberlain notes that about 18 percent of the work his department handles ends up only online. So he is looking for more ways to grow the in-plant’s non-printing business by leveraging multi-channel communications.

“Print and electronic communications live together in the world,” Chamberlain concludes. “I think print helps drive the electronic experience.”

Outside of the office, Chamberlain enjoys camping and boating with his family, and serves as a music director at a church in Hamilton, Ohio.