In-plant Profiles

Today, insourcing accounts for more than half of the revenue generated by the 14-person in-plant at Woman's Hospital in Baton Rouge. "Becoming a profit center has greatly, if not completely, eliminated outsourcing threats," proclaims Dale Johnson, manager of Graphic and Mail Services.

For Nick Monello, moveable type and letterpress printing are not just curiosities from the past; they were the tools of his boyhood. Now director of the Reproduction Unit for the New York City Department of Health, the –amiable, Brooklyn-born Monello has worked in print shops since he was a boy—which, considering he's now 71, gives him one of the longest tenures in the printing business.

Moving to a larger facility usually means paying more money. But when Yale University Printing & Publishing Services (YPPS) relocated to new quarters in New Haven, Conn., last March, not only did the in-plant gain 7,000 square feet, a warehouse area and a better workflow, the shop cut its rent in half.

IPG Editor Bob Neubauer takes a road trip through Oregon, visiting three in-plants along the way.

Staff at the City of Los Angeles’ Publishing Services operation were shocked to learn of the sudden death on May 7 of their director, Michael Leighton. In charge of the 47-employee in-plant for the past 12 years, he suffered a heart attack in his home. He was only 52.

Ohio State University's in-plant is a heavyweight among its peers. In-Plant Graphics' December 2009 survey of the largest in-plants in North America lists Ohio State's UniPrint operation as the number-one revenue-producing ($18 million) university shop and as having the fourth-most employees (81).

As Alvin B. Griffin sees it, he couldn't have landed in a more ideal place than Charlotte, N.C. The Manassas, Va., native and his family moved to North Carolina in 1992, when his wife was transferred there for a job with IBM.

GALLUP PRIDES itself on its reputation for delivering "relevant, timely and visionary research on what people around the world think." To deliver much of that information, the 75-year-old organization depends on its 32-employee in-plant facility in Omaha, Neb.

AS A high-school student in Parma, Ohio, Rita Puljer had little interest in college as a stepping stone to a fast-track career. Ultimately, she wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, a very demanding (and rewarding) vocation, but one that doesn't require a degree, references or an elaborate résumé. Still, after graduation, Puljer needed an income.

WHILE VISITING Portland General Electric's Print & Mail Services operation last month, I had the good fortune to sit in on the in-plant's Monday morning staff meeting. As expected, they went over the daily workload and discussed some quality improvement ideas, but what impressed me most was when they paused to thank one another.